You know, it's funny to hear you describe the tension of a broken down commute back home. Here in Baghdad everyone drives like a madman, but when there are traffic snarls, you don't see people losing their cool here. I guess that is because no one wants to:

A - get blown up by an insurgent car bomber on the lookout for a suitable target. Flipping off someone who is ready to blow themselves up to kill another American is not advisable.

B - get shot by a soldier who somehow mistook your rig for a car bomber and put a half dozen 50 cal rounds through your engine block and windshield. After 20 hours on patrol, these guys don't see so well anyways, and they have no patience left for insults.

C - get strafed by a security helicopter who was radioed by one of their ground crew that your car was posing a threat.
These guys are even more paranoid than our Army patrols.

D - get kicked out of Iraq for pissing off the Seargent Major.
In the IZ, the Seargent Major is God. Flip him off and you may end up checking cars for bombs in Fallujah. Trust me, this is not a good thing.

How about having to pack an additional 30 lbs of body armor with you everywhere you go along with that BOB? I just love hearing people back home complain about having to hod 10 lbs of survival gear around with them. There is no good excuse.