A bypass route or ford (see Image 25), is a point where vehicles and people will be channelled to move slowly through a defined point or area to avoid a barrier or blockage. Sometimes these may be lower than the route that is being bypassed so the lines of sight will be impaired. Use of the bypass may be restricted by the size and type of vehicles used by an armed group. Due to all these factors, the most likely type of IED to be present at a bypass route or ford is a VOIED, rather than a command-initiated device.
Image 26. Example of a bypass route due to an obstacle that would only apply to certain groups
3.3.2.ASCENT / DESCENT / OBSTACLES
Image 27. Steep banks causing vehicles to slow
Steep ascent and descent will cause people and vehicles to slow and also potentially make them more prominent against the skyline, increasing the distance from which they can be observed. If they also serve as an approach to a dominating feature (as seen in Image 28) they may have been identified as an area of tactical advantage to opposing parties to an armed conflict, and attempts may have been made to deny access to this feature with IEDs.
IED indicators
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