Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 7
Vehicle Safety
Measures
ALMOST EVERYONE DRIVES A CAR in the United States. Often the
American love of driving remains while living or traveling abroad.
It allows us to be more independent and relieves us of the dependence on
local forms of mass transit. Unfortunately, it also provides terrorists or
common criminals with another avenue of attack. This chapter will teach
you how to be less vulnerable during an attack —whether at home or
abroad. The rules are simple and easy to follow.
Let's begin with one important premise: You are vulnerable while in
your car. Attack can come in many forms: car bombs, road bombs, drive-by
shooting, ambush, roadblock, and carjacking, to name but a few. You must
appreciate the dangers that driving abroad may present and learn to min-
imize those risks. Before we go into detail about specific security-related
issues, we want to make it clear that the greatest danger to Americans who
are driving overseas is traffic accidents. It is estimated that at least 200
Americans die each year in traffic accidents overseas. In fact, traffic acci-
dents abroad kill far more Americans each year than disease, violence, or
terrorism. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel
(ASIRT), “the chances of being killed on the roads in countries to which
many Americans currently travel is from 20 to 70 times higher than in the
United States.”
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All internationally bound Americans should consult ASIRT.
It provides excellent analysis of road and travel conditions around the world
as well as detailed information about the road conditions, driver behaviors,
patterns of traffic, seasonal hazards, night travel, medical care, and traffic
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