One of the top three killers of U.S. personnel in Iraq is not the enemy -- it's vehicular accidents. And most of those accidents involve Humvees. Not long after major conflict ended, Secretary Rumsfeld quipped that Baghdad's murder rate paled in comparison to the annual death toll in Washington D.C. But Rumsfeld neglected to mention that Americans are more than twice as likely to die on a trip down an Iraqi road as they are on a U.S. byway -- and that's factoring out the deaths caused by enemy fire.

One could easily ignore this trend and assume that U.S. roads are in much better condition than those in Iraq. This fact is certainly true. But the U.S. military is the most well-equipped organization on the planet. "Bad roads" should not become a fatal factor for a $100,000 four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Yet vehicle accidents, mostly Humvee accidents, have proven fatal for 46 service people while performing non-combat duties since the war in Iraq began. That number doesn't include fatalities caused by accidents outside of Iraq.

The most well reported Humvee-related death was probably Michael Kelly, rock star magazine editor and daring war correspondent. Kelly and the Humvee's driver, Army Sergeant Wilbert Davis, were both killed when their vehicle overturned in a ditch full of water on April 3rd. On May 26, Sgt. Jonathan W. Lambert's Humvee rolled resulting in fatal injuries. On September 24th, National Guardsman Michael Andrade was killed when his Humvee collided with a truck. On May 21st, Sgt. Oscar L. Nelson III was driving a Humvee on night patrol when he hit a bump, causing the death of Spc. Nathaniel A. Caldwell Jr. Nelson is now serving seven years in a military prison for involuntary manslaughter. The list goes on and on, until the phrase "Humvee overturned," and "death" seem to sound alike.

Sure, many of these fatalities could be written off as the result of typical automobile accidents. When you mobilize 130,000 people, there will be problems. However, as Rumsfeld has often stated, "World-class organizations do not tolerate preventable accidents." Are the Humvee accidents preventable? Yes they are.

In the United States, motor vehicle accidents claim about one in every 5,000 people every year. But if you're in Iraq, buckle up. About 1 in every 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed in an auto accident, just since the beginning of major conflict (only 9 months!). Sure, Iraq is a dangerous place to drive -- but so is the U.S. Here in the U.S., about 41 percent of annual traffic fatalities are attributed to drunk driving. The numbers don't exist for the military, but I think we can assume drunken driving is less common among troops who are on duty. U.S. roads are also filled with inexperienced teens and aging drivers. Ideally, anyone driving a Humvee in the military has had extensive training with that vehicle.

Our acceptance of this number of deaths caused by Humvee is ludicrous. Compared to other safety standards, the numbers don't hold up. From 1993 to 2000 there were 99 children killed in automobiles by airbags. That tiny number was enough to create a public outrage -- convincing automakers to include safety features designed to reduce the likelihood of fatality by airbag.

Troops need better training in the handling of their equipment in adverse environments. Driver shifts should change more often. Humvees should be rebuilt with more safety features, redesigned to reduce rollovers, and fitted with better safety harnesses. Quite simply, if the death rate doesn't drop, the military should drop the Humvee.