RetiredUSNChief
Member
Here's the deal: in that training scenario, the "carjacker" was an instructor who was trained and prepared to shoot at you if you decide to floor it and get out of there. His reactions and muscle memory were already set up in his head. He is also probably an accomplished marksman. If he were a bad guy, he would be what you would call a "trained killer."
In real life, however, you almost certainly won't be dealing with a trained killer. You may be dealing with someone who is prepared to kill, but not someone who has practiced this exact scenario over and over again and is also an accomplished marksman to boot.
Were this to happen in real life, the best scenario is to floor it while ducking down. There's a solid chance you'll nail the guy with your mirror, and even you don't, he's going to be shaken by nearly getting run over. I'm guessing you'll survive 95% of the time in this situation.
My own experience:
I have considered such a situation before, and I watch for it. One time, I was stopped at a light. I was in "pole position" (which is where carjackers always strike, since jumping in a car you can't immediately drive away is stupid). This particular light had the stop bar a good 10 feet back from the crosswalk. There was also a median that ended at the stop bar. As I'm sitting there, I see a pedestrian suddenly deviate from the crosswalk and start heading towards my driver side door, which was locked.
I am left-handed, but ambidextrous when it comes to pistols. I carry a Polish P-64 on my left hip in a cavalry draw (handle forward) position. The moment I saw him start heading my way, my left hand went to the handle. In a split second I could have that gun out and in my right hand, aimed at him. I also was prepared to floor it and get the hell out of there. He could not see what I was doing, as I kept it concealed and I also drive a tall vehicle (FJ Cruiser).
Fortunately, for both of us, he, for whatever reason, had just decided to stop at the median instead of finishing crossing (I don't know why; he had plenty of time and getting to the median took about as long as to the other side, and he definitely wasn't a panhandler). I don't know what he heck he was thinking, but I don't think he would have expected what would have transpired had he had ill intentions.
Well, of course he's a trained instructor. They probably don't have very many actual carjackers out there doing this training for a living.
But to say that the "best scenario" is what you describe belies the conditions of the actual circumstances one may find themselves in. You cannot, for example, "floor it while ducking down" if there's nowhere for you to go when you floor it.
And this particular car jacking scenario isn't even the most likely one, necessarily. A quite popular way of conducting car jackings is a minor car accident which prompts the parties to get out of their vehicles, like a miner rear-ending. You got a car too close to you in front and one on your bumper, you ain't flooring it and getting away.
And many carjackers DO practice, even if they may not be "trained killers".
The purpose of any given interactive training is to develop and exercise a particular skill set, in this case involving situational awareness, evaluation, and action based upon the specific circumstances.
And congratulations on heading off your own potentially deadly encounter.