Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Driving Out Of An Ambush

The following two videos are old--one is from 1976 and the other from 1988--but illustrate valuable concepts on avoiding or escaping from an ambush while in an automobile. I think that the real differences will be that modern cars are probably less likely to be drivable if you have to ram another vehicle if for no other reason than most cars have fuel pump cutoff switches that will shut off the fuel pump after a collision and airbags may deploy. (See here for Ford's instructions on resetting a fuel pump after a collision--I assume it is the same or similar for other makes).

    I would also recommend watching both videos as some details are missing from one or the other. For instance, the 1988 video from the Army mentions that to go over a curb you need to hit the curb at a certain angle, but doesn't mention what is that angle, whereas the 1976 video gives your the range needed. Conversely, the Army video discusses using a bootlegger turn or backing and executing a J-turn, but neither are mentioned in the 1976 film. Also, the Army video was definitely low budget and no cars were harmed in its making, whereas the 1976 film actually rams cars into one another which I think provides some additional useful information. 

    Finally, Matthew Allen at his StraightForward in a Crooked World blog has a series he calls "Dark Arts For The Good Guy" includes a couple articles (illustrated) discussing some of the same techniques shown in the videos:

VIDEO: "Vehicle Ambush: Counterattacks (Ca. 1976)"--US Auto Industry (17 min.)


G.P. R. (20 min.)

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