Tracy Hightower
Member
I wrote this a few days ago after reading this post. It got me to thinking.
Vehicles and The Tactical Response
By: Tracy Hightower
The 2002 Criminal Victimization Report from the U.S. Department of Justice states that twenty-three of every one thousand people over the age of twelve were the victims of a non-lethal violent crime in the United States. A joint U.S. Department of Justice/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report states that one in four victims of violent crime are physically injured. According to the 2001 National Household Transportation Survey, conducted for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans over fifteen years of age spend an average of fifty-five minutes a day driving their personal vehicles traveling an average of twenty nine miles in four separate trips. Based on the amount of time that we spend driving, there is a reasonable concern that we could be the victims of a violent attack while in our vehicles. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Report does not break down its data to separate vehicle related violent crime such as carjacking. Carjacking is categorized with all robberies so there is no new data on this crime. However a 1996 report from the U.S. Department of Justice states that between 1992 and 1996 there were about forty nine thousand attempted or completed carjackings for each of those years. According to the report about half of those attempted were completed and seven of ten involved firearms. Most however resulted in no injury to the victim.
We at Tactical Response believe there are some habits that you can develop that may help you avoid or survive an attack while in your vehicle and at the very least should keep you from being that guy that say's "Officer, He materialized out of nowhere, I never saw him coming". One of the keys to avoiding any attack is to maintain good situational awareness and this is especially true when in our vehicles as we have a tendency to feel safe inside our vehicles and let our guard down. Obviously we are most vulnerable to attack when we are entering and exiting our vehicle and according to the data above, we enter and exit our vehicles on the average of four times a day. Whether in or out of your vehicle, always keep your doors locked. Don’t make it easy for someone to hide in it while away from it or attack you while inside of your vehicle. When approaching your vehicle look at it and around it before getting close to it, looking for anyone loitering or hiding near it. Also look for and be aware of occupants in vehicles parked next to or near your vehicle. When preparing to enter your vehicle, have your keys in your hands before you reach it and if it is not possible to have your other hand free, be prepared to drop or throw anything you are carrying. Carrying a small canister of OC on your key ring is also a good idea. If you detect a possible threat, you do not have to approach your vehicle. You can always return to where you were and wait or seek help. When preparing to exit your vehicle make the same observations regarding people near where you parked and occupants of other vehicles. If you feel threatened or uneasy about anything you observe, simply drive away. Your car is not a safe environment for doing clerical work. If you need to write a check or address an envelope or do anything that requires you to sit in your parked vehicle looking down. Don't; do it inside of the business where you stopped or prepare a little better before you leave home. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration completed an investigation in November of 1997 on the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles. The report recommended the use of Hands Free Phones and limiting all calls while driving; to urgent calls only and to park the vehicle for longer calls. Well, we are all guilty of driving and using our phones and the recommendations are good from a driver safety standpoint. However, when parked, whether you are using a hands free phone or a handheld phone, its use can rob you of your ability to maintain awareness of your surrounding. Use your own judgement when
using a cell phone in your car and be aware of the potential for danger when using it while stopped.
When driving, always be aware of your surroundings and try not to zone out, thinking about other things or listening to the radio. That may be ok while driving down the Interstate, but it is especially important to be aware of your surroundings when in stop and go traffic or when planning to stop. Always look ahead to where you will be stopping. If you are planning on stopping and exiting your vehicle, look over the parking area for potential threats before you turn in or before coming to a stop. It is like looking into the future because that is where you will be in 10 seconds. Also, remove your seatbelt before coming to a complete stop when parking. If you are attacked after stopping, your seatbelt will inhibit your ability to access a weapon and or your ability to exit the vehicle. Likewise when entering your vehicle it is also a good practice to put your seatbelt on after your vehicle begins moving. While driving in the city or anywhere there is a potential for stop and go traffic, be aware of your lane usage. Try not to stop in a center lane that leaves you no avenue of escape. When stopping leave enough room between you and the car in front so you can maneuver around it to make an escape if necessary. If you have to escape an attacker while stopped in traffic, you may disregard stop signs and red light’s as obeying traffic laws during an attack is not conducive to survival. If an attacker is using his body to block your escape and you are justified in using deadly force then your three thousand-pound vehicle is a very effective means of applying that force. If your vehicle is bumped from behind, especially by young males, be wary, as this is a common carjacking technique. When stopped in traffic, if someone approaches your vehicle, and he is not wearing a funny hat and a colorful vest and carrying a bucket, you should probably consider him a potential threat. You can drive away if traffic permits, or you can lower your window, point your finger at him, and forcefully tell him to STOP. This may work, and the idea is to keep him from approaching near your vehicle. (Vehicles equipped with electric windows and the “auto driver window†feature, are quicker in this case) When approached by a potential threat, it would not be inappropriate to have your weapon in your hand out of view. Having quick access to OC stored in your vehicle is also advisable. Regarding weapons in your vehicle, I have heard some suggest that it is ok to have your firearm tucked under your strong side thigh so it will be quicker to access. Personally, I think an unsecured firearm in a vehicle can be dangerous in the event of an accident. Maintaining good situational awareness of your surroundings can give you the needed time to access your firearm from a secure location (preferably in a holster on your person) if a potential threat is spotted.
Fighting from your vehicle! We hope that following the suggestions given will help in avoiding a fight but if you are forced to fight from your vehicle, there are some things you should be aware of. Cars and trucks are not generally a good source of cover and most all handgun rounds are capable of penetrating the vehicle into the passenger compartment depending on the Karma Factor. What I mean by this is, if a bad guy is
shooting at you in your vehicle, all rounds will usually penetrate into the passenger compartment without fail. If you are a civilian or a Police Officer shooting at a bad guy in a vehicle, your rounds will invariably bounce off of glass, strike a center post, a door hinge or some other hard object that will stop bullets and fail to penetrate the vehicle.
I do not know why this is; it just is, expect it. Rifles and Shotguns are even more effective in penetrating vehicles. At Tactical Response we have shot a lot of vehicles with many different weapons and rounds and have found few if any that will fail to penetrate the passenger compartment. We have found that shotgun slugs will not only penetrate a car door but will penetrate the entire car exiting through the opposite door. In a test using an AR-15 .223 rifle, the rifle was fired at the front of the vehicle. The rounds that did not hit the engine traveled through the firewall and dash, through both front and rear seats into the rear storage compartment and exited through the bumper. If you are able to fight your way out of your vehicle and cannot find better cover elsewhere, the front and rear wheels and tires offer a limited amount of cover. If possible using the rollover prone position and shooting under the vehicle from behind the wheels is a good tactic. If you have to shoot over the hood or trunk of the vehicle lean back away from the vehicle and expose as little as possible of yourself as incoming rounds can skip off of the surface and strike you. If you are forced to shoot from your vehicle one important rule to remember is to shoot or drive but don’t shoot and drive. You can shoot through glass but your rounds may be deflected. In training we have placed targets next to and in front of vehicles and had students shoot through glass. When targets were within a couple of feet of the vehicle the rounds were slightly deflected from the point of aim but still made good hits. If shooting through the windows or rear glass, the glass will usually shatter completely after the first round. When shooting through the laminated windshield, the rounds will punch holes leaving the glass intact. When engaging a target at the drivers door, turning to face the target and falling or leaning back toward the passenger door will allow both a left and right handed shooter to use a two handed grip and keep the weapon further from the attacker to prevent a weapon grab. Engaging a target at the passenger door, a left-handed person would turn slightly toward the target use a two handed grip and would end up in a Weaver stance. A right-handed shooter would shoot one handed without the need to turn your body toward the target. When engaging a target through the windshield both right and left handed shooters should lean toward the passenger door and engage the target through the center of the windshield with a two handed grip. This should be done for two reasons. One, by leaning to the right you are lowering yourself behind the dash and obscuring your view from the attacker and the dash may offer some cover. Two, by shooting through the center of the windshield instead of over the steering wheel, your elation at surviving a gun fight will not be hampered on your drive home by the wind hitting you in the face at sixty miles an hour. Finally, when drawing a weapon while seated inside of your vehicle use care not to cover yourself. In training we teach students to draw their weapon and bring it over the steering wheel when engaging a target at the drivers side. This is a good practice but in reality, under stress people have a tendency to thrust their weapon directly at the target. In a vehicle this usually means sweeping both of your legs with the muzzle. By keeping your finger off of the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made a conscious decision to fire, you can prevent accidentally shooting yourself.
We never know when a violent attack may occur and we train so we can be prepared for it to come at the worst time. Being attacked in your vehicle would be one of those “Worst Times†By using good situational awareness and changing some of our habits when in our vehicles we can go a long way toward preventing an attack or at least making sure the outcome is in our favor.
Vehicles and The Tactical Response
By: Tracy Hightower
The 2002 Criminal Victimization Report from the U.S. Department of Justice states that twenty-three of every one thousand people over the age of twelve were the victims of a non-lethal violent crime in the United States. A joint U.S. Department of Justice/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report states that one in four victims of violent crime are physically injured. According to the 2001 National Household Transportation Survey, conducted for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans over fifteen years of age spend an average of fifty-five minutes a day driving their personal vehicles traveling an average of twenty nine miles in four separate trips. Based on the amount of time that we spend driving, there is a reasonable concern that we could be the victims of a violent attack while in our vehicles. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Report does not break down its data to separate vehicle related violent crime such as carjacking. Carjacking is categorized with all robberies so there is no new data on this crime. However a 1996 report from the U.S. Department of Justice states that between 1992 and 1996 there were about forty nine thousand attempted or completed carjackings for each of those years. According to the report about half of those attempted were completed and seven of ten involved firearms. Most however resulted in no injury to the victim.
We at Tactical Response believe there are some habits that you can develop that may help you avoid or survive an attack while in your vehicle and at the very least should keep you from being that guy that say's "Officer, He materialized out of nowhere, I never saw him coming". One of the keys to avoiding any attack is to maintain good situational awareness and this is especially true when in our vehicles as we have a tendency to feel safe inside our vehicles and let our guard down. Obviously we are most vulnerable to attack when we are entering and exiting our vehicle and according to the data above, we enter and exit our vehicles on the average of four times a day. Whether in or out of your vehicle, always keep your doors locked. Don’t make it easy for someone to hide in it while away from it or attack you while inside of your vehicle. When approaching your vehicle look at it and around it before getting close to it, looking for anyone loitering or hiding near it. Also look for and be aware of occupants in vehicles parked next to or near your vehicle. When preparing to enter your vehicle, have your keys in your hands before you reach it and if it is not possible to have your other hand free, be prepared to drop or throw anything you are carrying. Carrying a small canister of OC on your key ring is also a good idea. If you detect a possible threat, you do not have to approach your vehicle. You can always return to where you were and wait or seek help. When preparing to exit your vehicle make the same observations regarding people near where you parked and occupants of other vehicles. If you feel threatened or uneasy about anything you observe, simply drive away. Your car is not a safe environment for doing clerical work. If you need to write a check or address an envelope or do anything that requires you to sit in your parked vehicle looking down. Don't; do it inside of the business where you stopped or prepare a little better before you leave home. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration completed an investigation in November of 1997 on the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles. The report recommended the use of Hands Free Phones and limiting all calls while driving; to urgent calls only and to park the vehicle for longer calls. Well, we are all guilty of driving and using our phones and the recommendations are good from a driver safety standpoint. However, when parked, whether you are using a hands free phone or a handheld phone, its use can rob you of your ability to maintain awareness of your surrounding. Use your own judgement when
using a cell phone in your car and be aware of the potential for danger when using it while stopped.
When driving, always be aware of your surroundings and try not to zone out, thinking about other things or listening to the radio. That may be ok while driving down the Interstate, but it is especially important to be aware of your surroundings when in stop and go traffic or when planning to stop. Always look ahead to where you will be stopping. If you are planning on stopping and exiting your vehicle, look over the parking area for potential threats before you turn in or before coming to a stop. It is like looking into the future because that is where you will be in 10 seconds. Also, remove your seatbelt before coming to a complete stop when parking. If you are attacked after stopping, your seatbelt will inhibit your ability to access a weapon and or your ability to exit the vehicle. Likewise when entering your vehicle it is also a good practice to put your seatbelt on after your vehicle begins moving. While driving in the city or anywhere there is a potential for stop and go traffic, be aware of your lane usage. Try not to stop in a center lane that leaves you no avenue of escape. When stopping leave enough room between you and the car in front so you can maneuver around it to make an escape if necessary. If you have to escape an attacker while stopped in traffic, you may disregard stop signs and red light’s as obeying traffic laws during an attack is not conducive to survival. If an attacker is using his body to block your escape and you are justified in using deadly force then your three thousand-pound vehicle is a very effective means of applying that force. If your vehicle is bumped from behind, especially by young males, be wary, as this is a common carjacking technique. When stopped in traffic, if someone approaches your vehicle, and he is not wearing a funny hat and a colorful vest and carrying a bucket, you should probably consider him a potential threat. You can drive away if traffic permits, or you can lower your window, point your finger at him, and forcefully tell him to STOP. This may work, and the idea is to keep him from approaching near your vehicle. (Vehicles equipped with electric windows and the “auto driver window†feature, are quicker in this case) When approached by a potential threat, it would not be inappropriate to have your weapon in your hand out of view. Having quick access to OC stored in your vehicle is also advisable. Regarding weapons in your vehicle, I have heard some suggest that it is ok to have your firearm tucked under your strong side thigh so it will be quicker to access. Personally, I think an unsecured firearm in a vehicle can be dangerous in the event of an accident. Maintaining good situational awareness of your surroundings can give you the needed time to access your firearm from a secure location (preferably in a holster on your person) if a potential threat is spotted.
Fighting from your vehicle! We hope that following the suggestions given will help in avoiding a fight but if you are forced to fight from your vehicle, there are some things you should be aware of. Cars and trucks are not generally a good source of cover and most all handgun rounds are capable of penetrating the vehicle into the passenger compartment depending on the Karma Factor. What I mean by this is, if a bad guy is
shooting at you in your vehicle, all rounds will usually penetrate into the passenger compartment without fail. If you are a civilian or a Police Officer shooting at a bad guy in a vehicle, your rounds will invariably bounce off of glass, strike a center post, a door hinge or some other hard object that will stop bullets and fail to penetrate the vehicle.
I do not know why this is; it just is, expect it. Rifles and Shotguns are even more effective in penetrating vehicles. At Tactical Response we have shot a lot of vehicles with many different weapons and rounds and have found few if any that will fail to penetrate the passenger compartment. We have found that shotgun slugs will not only penetrate a car door but will penetrate the entire car exiting through the opposite door. In a test using an AR-15 .223 rifle, the rifle was fired at the front of the vehicle. The rounds that did not hit the engine traveled through the firewall and dash, through both front and rear seats into the rear storage compartment and exited through the bumper. If you are able to fight your way out of your vehicle and cannot find better cover elsewhere, the front and rear wheels and tires offer a limited amount of cover. If possible using the rollover prone position and shooting under the vehicle from behind the wheels is a good tactic. If you have to shoot over the hood or trunk of the vehicle lean back away from the vehicle and expose as little as possible of yourself as incoming rounds can skip off of the surface and strike you. If you are forced to shoot from your vehicle one important rule to remember is to shoot or drive but don’t shoot and drive. You can shoot through glass but your rounds may be deflected. In training we have placed targets next to and in front of vehicles and had students shoot through glass. When targets were within a couple of feet of the vehicle the rounds were slightly deflected from the point of aim but still made good hits. If shooting through the windows or rear glass, the glass will usually shatter completely after the first round. When shooting through the laminated windshield, the rounds will punch holes leaving the glass intact. When engaging a target at the drivers door, turning to face the target and falling or leaning back toward the passenger door will allow both a left and right handed shooter to use a two handed grip and keep the weapon further from the attacker to prevent a weapon grab. Engaging a target at the passenger door, a left-handed person would turn slightly toward the target use a two handed grip and would end up in a Weaver stance. A right-handed shooter would shoot one handed without the need to turn your body toward the target. When engaging a target through the windshield both right and left handed shooters should lean toward the passenger door and engage the target through the center of the windshield with a two handed grip. This should be done for two reasons. One, by leaning to the right you are lowering yourself behind the dash and obscuring your view from the attacker and the dash may offer some cover. Two, by shooting through the center of the windshield instead of over the steering wheel, your elation at surviving a gun fight will not be hampered on your drive home by the wind hitting you in the face at sixty miles an hour. Finally, when drawing a weapon while seated inside of your vehicle use care not to cover yourself. In training we teach students to draw their weapon and bring it over the steering wheel when engaging a target at the drivers side. This is a good practice but in reality, under stress people have a tendency to thrust their weapon directly at the target. In a vehicle this usually means sweeping both of your legs with the muzzle. By keeping your finger off of the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made a conscious decision to fire, you can prevent accidentally shooting yourself.
We never know when a violent attack may occur and we train so we can be prepared for it to come at the worst time. Being attacked in your vehicle would be one of those “Worst Times†By using good situational awareness and changing some of our habits when in our vehicles we can go a long way toward preventing an attack or at least making sure the outcome is in our favor.
