Don Shift Sends: Surviving a Freeway Sniper

The world certainly seems to be coming unhinged lately, doesn’t it? Five people were shot in Kentucky on Saturday, September 7^th, by a gunman whose motives are still unknown. While freeway shootings are not uncommon, nor are sniper attacks, incidents like this one are not something most prepared citizens have considered. As the security situation continues to devolve, and definitely after SHTF, our roadways will become increasingly unsafe.

Roads and highways have been considered danger zones since antiquity. Bandits and brigands have frequented them. In lawless times and places, ambushes were frequently laid on busy roads. Now we’re seeing our highway system become sites of terrorism and spree killings.

You may be asking why anyone would just take random shots at vehicles. Aside from the lunatics who commit these kind of things for their own demented reasons, there are political/strategic ends in a lawless world. It might make strategic sense for one faction to terrorize traffic in an area. It’s quite possible that if the United States experiences a collapse in law and order or a civil war, that highways and Interstates will become battlegrounds.

Freeways in particular are ideal for sniper attacks because the entire point of a freeway is to channel vehicles into the roadway with limited opportunities to exit or turn around. This makes it a shooter’s dream. For the purposes of this article, we will be looking at sniper-type attacks on vehicles—not ambushes—and mostly on freeways rather than smaller roads.

There’s two types of shootings that can occur by a stationary shooter against a moving vehicle:

• Pot shots; aiming at the car in general, not necessarily to kill.
• Sniping; aiming deliberately at the occupants.

The latter may just be a thrill-seeking act, such as the kind of thing gang members do.

Pot shots can be anything from someone harassing and terrifying drivers to a homicidal, but incompetent gunman. The psychological effect of a “freeway sniper” just hitting vehicles and causing only incidental deaths or injuries can be as good as a deliberate kill. These types are more likely to be shooting on impulse and from any position that afford them a view of the roadway.

Intentional snipers will aim for the driver or passengers; sometimes the engine to disable the vehicle. The latter will probably be more skilled, crafty, and persistent. Snipers should be considered more dangerous because they have killer intent combined with some sort of planning and/or ability. Snipers will probably have a designated kill zone, be shooting from an elevated position, and aiming at approaching traffic.

Snipers are likely to be shooting at approaching vehicles for two simple reasons: 1. the distance to the target is decreasing and, 2. the driver is visible. This makes a lot less work for the sniper. He can select his target range and engagement zone, then let the car drive into it. A good shooter should have his eyes on the kill zone. “The sniper has a tendency to watch his target instead of his aiming point. He must force himself to watch his lead point.” (FM 23-10). All he has to do is adjust slightly to put the reticle on the driver.

A sniper will have a more difficult time leading you in a lateral direction if he’s perpendicular to the roadway. Though you will eventually pass the sniper’s position by 90°, at least initially the shots probably won’t come from your direct broadside. The rifle has to be traversed too much to track the vehicle and the engagement time will be too short. Of course, this doesn’t consider traditional massed fire ambushes or someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.

An ideal attack site has unrestricted observation of the target. That means no trees, signs, or jump fences get in the way. Overpasses are obvious sniper’s hides, as are wooded rises immediately adjacent to the road, or nearby buildings. Freeways with Jersey barrier separation help hem in those that would flee as open medians allow for an escape route. Watch out on heavily constrained freeways, near overpasses with landscaping or vegetation, at overpasses with no exit (you can’t escape or flank the attacker), and for vehicles parked on overpasses.

Curves are good sites because traffic approaching the curve can’t see any danger signs as they approach. On the other hand, straightaways give the sniper the best field of view. The ideal kill zone would probably be on the approach side of a bridge, just after the exit, but roughly within 100 yards of the bridge itself. This may be more or less depending on the skill of the shooter and his weapon. A shooter could be very good at his craft or some incompetent psycho taking potshots at cars just before they pass underneath.

In large “spaghetti-bowl” type areas the shots could come from anywhere, although the principles of proximity and approach will probably hold true. Urban areas allow for an easier escape into city traffic, but more potential for witnesses or interference. Rural areas can allow for lower chance of being caught as they permit escape directly into natural areas, but are harder to escape into on a vehicle or on foot if the sniper has bad bushcraft.

There may be warning signs, such as a vehicle parked on the overpass that shouldn’t be there, or the shooter is visible. Other vehicles may be disabled, crashed, or taking evasive action before you get to the kill zone yourself. Pay attention. Watch traffic 15-20 seconds ahead. Most drivers make the mistake of looking one or maybe two car lengths ahead and are oblivious to anything happening down the road. Scan overpasses, buildings, and any elevated point before you reach it.

You cannot count on any warning other than the first shot, perhaps a muzzle flash, but more likely the first bullet impact is what will get your attention. Accelerate and change lanes or weave to throw off the sniper’s aim. Scan around your vehicle to make sure that the shot didn’t come from another vehicle.

A hit on the side of the vehicle would tend to indicate a shooter in another car or perpendicular to the roadway. Single shots, or slow semi-auto fire indicates one or at most two shooters. A heavy volume of fire would indicate a small-unit ambush instead.

Keep moving and get out of the kill zone. Odds are it’s a lone shooter and as soon as you are past his position, you’re safe. Remember a car traveling at 65 MPH is traveling at 95 feet per second. In nine seconds you’re out of the effective range of an AR-15 for average shooters. Your best defense in this case is speed, so hit the gas and get off the X so long as there aren’t any obstacles in the way.

A sniper may attempt to get you to stop and exit the vehicle, or at least slow down. The road may be obstructed, blocked, or barricaded. A ruse like a staged car accident, an “injured” dummy, or something on the road could be used to pique your curiosity. Don’t immediately stop and bail out unless you absolutely must; the sniper may be counting on you to do just that. You can then be shot more easily or ambushed by a concealed ground team.

Unless it’s the end of the world or you are a paramedic, trauma nurse, or physician there’s probably very little you can do for anyone who has been wounded or hurt in a crash. Remember, you goal is to survive, not be a hero. If you don’t have the ability to offer meaningful lifesaving first aid, why are you risking your life by stopping? The author has been to plenty of car accidents where good Samaritans stopped for no other reason than they felt they should and ended up needlessly standing around.

Do not dismount from the vehicle, except only when you must and in force with full perimeter security. All too often vehicle attacks like this have turned into massacres or kidnappings when the car has stopped and a ground element has time to move in. If the vehicle is still running, keep going. If you can still see, keep going. Only stop if the vehicle physically cannot drive any longer or if you are going to lose consciousness.

If your vehicle is disabled, remember that a car body is only concealment, not cover. Vehicles have very poor bullet resistance. Their chief protection involves the luck of a bullet going through open space and missing entirely or deflecting off something. Get to true cover, like in a ditch, a culvert, or behind a retaining wall.

Even if you can see the sniper, don’t attempt to return fire while moving. If you can see him, great, but very few people have the ability to shoot and drive at the same time. You will probably have a pistol at hand and if you do have a rifle, you’ll have to stop and use it. With your goal just being to “survive,” you’re better off getting out of there. If it’s post-SHTF and you have to take the guy out, a whole different set of tactics will come into play.

If law and order is gone, you want to travel on roads that don’t have potential sniper positions surrounding them and plenty of places you can instantly divert to if needed. Freeways hem you in; avoid them when possible and only travel on them if the traffic volume is somewhat normal.

If you commute or travel regularly through a certain area, avoid routines and vary both your route and travel times. Be careful when using alternate routes to leave the area. A lone sniper may be the only threat in that area in semi-normal times, but after a collapse of law and order, the sniper could be one part of a trap. The bad guys may be prepared or expecting you to take the next exit or crossroad.

Note: Don Shift is a veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. His books in the Suburban Defense/Rural Home Defense series have more information about roadways safety and surviving critical vehicular incidents. Joe Dolio’s Tactical Wisdom series of books have great info on traveling and convoys post-SHTF.