If you go play ball in the middle of the highway...

Ok, the jumping off point for this post is Ido Zoldan. If you remember, Ido Zoldan was an Israeli driving home from Kedumim to Shavei Shomron in the Shomron (West Bank) on 19 Nov 2007. On the way home, at approximately 2330, he was ambushed while passing through or near the Arab Moslem village of Funduk. There are several accounts of the incident. What I have been able to piece together is that the Arab Moslem terrorists were waiting in a car by the side of the road for an Israeli vehicle. When one came by (Ido Zoldan) they pulled into the road and matched speeds with him. They then rolled down their windows and opened fire on his vehicle with automatic rifles. Interestingly, the shots were fired from the passenger side and exited the drivers side, as can be seen on this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrfDEcmiu1k

What I don't understand is that this is not the first time a car has been ambushed in the Shomron. In fact, there have been many such shootings, including the one in which Binyamin and Talia Kahane were murdered. If these attacks are so common, why do residents of those areas not take more precautions when driving?

This brings me to the title of this post. (For my British and European readers, highway is American for motorway). If you go play ball in the middle of the highway, whose fault is it if you get hurt? I mean, sure, we can bitch and moan about Israeli government policies, the inability of Israel to secure the roads, the insanity of allowing Arab Moslems to own anything more lethal then a butter knife, and on and on, but in the end WE have to take responsiblity for our own security. And that is exactly what I don't see the residents of these areas doing.

So in today's post I would like to discuss tactics for surviving a driveby shooting on your car. For the sake of discussion we are talking about a case in which you are in motion, and another car contains the assailants. Different considerations would apply to assailants on foot. I will divide the recommendations into two areas: equipment and training.

Equipment:

1. Kevlar armor installed in car doors.
2. Bullet proof glass in all car windows.
3. Body armor
4. Some sort of weapon, such as a rifle or shotgun for returning fire.
5. Cell phone.

Training:

1. Situational awareness: be able to see threats coming before they are actual.
2. Evasive driving: be able to make j-turns and other evasive maneuvers.
3. Shooting from a moving vehicle.
4. Tactics for evading pursuit.

I will briefly discuss these points. First, equipment. It is obvious that cars in these areas need to be armored. The thing to keep in mind regarding armor is that the preferred small arm for Arab Moslems is the AK-47, which fires the 7.62x39 round. This requires level III ballistic armor, which I realize is not cheap. However, even applying kevlar soft level II ballistic armor to car doors will result in significant slowdown of the rounds. This combined with the metal of the door itself will significantly increase survivability for the passengers. Many companies make auto glass that installs exactly where the original glass went, such as this company:

http://www.secureglass.com/Automobile.html

There have to be Israeli companies that can do this kind of glass. But lets say the cost of these upgrades is prohibitive. One can still take precautions and train oneself to respond in the event of an incident. And we will get to the cell phone and weapon in a minute.

First, situational awareness. Security professionals generally use a five color system to gauge their surroundings:

1. White-I take no notice of my surroundings. No security posture at all. No one should ever be in condition white.
2. Yellow-I am always scanning my environment for threats. I am alert to what is around me. I will immediately notice any unusual activity. This is the preferred condition for everyone at all times.
3. Orange-I have spotted something unusual. I begin to get ready for evasive action. I focus on the potential threat. If I have a weapon, I make sure it is loaded and the safety is off. If driving, I get ready for evasive maneuvers. I get ready to call emergency services for help.
4. Red-The unusual activity is confirmed as a threat. I initiate evasive action, trying to outrun or evade. I call emergency services and report my position and the nature of the attack.
5. Black-I am engaged with the assailants. I am returning fire to their position. I am in full bore combat.

Second, evasive driving: it is possible to learn evasive driving techniques. Here are some websites I found:

http://www.navysealteams.com/drive.htm

This seems to be a good book:

http://tiny.cc/3NiTK

Thirdly, and this is where I will end for tonight, can someone please tell me why anyone, ANYONE, would go driving in the Shomron without a weapon? I honestly don't get it. Like I said in the beginning, if you go play ball in the middle of the highway...