It’s a crazy scenario and there are too many variables to calculate the “ideal” response. The best you can do is have a survival mindset and work hard to maintain a high level of awareness.
There aren’t many times where one small part of my work experience comes into play, but this is one of them. I spent a chunk of time working on a full time 7 man protective service detail (PSD). On that job I got to work every day with four retired USSS agents who had worked POTUS and FLOTUS teams.
Of my many assignments on the team, one of my primaries was driver. Lessons learned there still inform my driving today. So my philosophy is if I’m driving, I’m not shooting. That 4,500 pound projectile is my primary weapon if a weapon is needed. I can escape, evade or attack, depending on what the threat calls for. With the vehicle I have a bit more control over what it impacts. There are no brakes or steering wheels on a bullet.
Pull up beside me and point a gun? I’m going to put my side mirror right up in your face, hard. A quartering attack from behind and to the side and I’ll stab the brakes as hard as I can, then turn in and accelerate on your rear quarter. From the rear, hammer the brakes as hard as possible, then accelerate hard while maneuvering to evade. Whatever you do, don’t let them get in front of you and box you into a hard stop.
If I can’t drive anymore, then I can switch to the gun.
There is a caveat to the above though. Automotive technology is leaps and bounds beyond what it was when I did PSD work. Automotive engineers have developed driving nannies that may prevent you from using your car offensively. Most of these electronic nannies are only partially defeatable, if they’re even defeatable at all. So if you try to ram or pit an attacker, you might find yourself fighting your own steering and brakes. If your airbag deploys, you’re most likely be disabled on the spot.
Most of the time these days a mobile attack would be from a road rage driver. Do what you can to drive defensively and if someone gets fixated on you, do whatever you can to break contact and get as far away from them as possible.
There aren’t many times where one small part of my work experience comes into play, but this is one of them. I spent a chunk of time working on a full time 7 man protective service detail (PSD). On that job I got to work every day with four retired USSS agents who had worked POTUS and FLOTUS teams.
Of my many assignments on the team, one of my primaries was driver. Lessons learned there still inform my driving today. So my philosophy is if I’m driving, I’m not shooting. That 4,500 pound projectile is my primary weapon if a weapon is needed. I can escape, evade or attack, depending on what the threat calls for. With the vehicle I have a bit more control over what it impacts. There are no brakes or steering wheels on a bullet.
Pull up beside me and point a gun? I’m going to put my side mirror right up in your face, hard. A quartering attack from behind and to the side and I’ll stab the brakes as hard as I can, then turn in and accelerate on your rear quarter. From the rear, hammer the brakes as hard as possible, then accelerate hard while maneuvering to evade. Whatever you do, don’t let them get in front of you and box you into a hard stop.
If I can’t drive anymore, then I can switch to the gun.
There is a caveat to the above though. Automotive technology is leaps and bounds beyond what it was when I did PSD work. Automotive engineers have developed driving nannies that may prevent you from using your car offensively. Most of these electronic nannies are only partially defeatable, if they’re even defeatable at all. So if you try to ram or pit an attacker, you might find yourself fighting your own steering and brakes. If your airbag deploys, you’re most likely be disabled on the spot.
Most of the time these days a mobile attack would be from a road rage driver. Do what you can to drive defensively and if someone gets fixated on you, do whatever you can to break contact and get as far away from them as possible.
