Driving techniques for escape and evasion

If you find yourself behind the wheel in a situation where you're being pursued, I hope you've familiarized yourself with the lessons in this fine 1983 booklet Getaway from anarcho-libertarian publishers Loompanics, now available for free reading at the Internet Archive. Inside, "veteran dirt track racer and survivor of several demolition derbies" Ronald George Eriksen 2 explains the finer points of the Bootlegger's Turn, ramming, cornering, and even how to make smoke screen with a plant sprayer and castor oil. Oh yeah, don't try any of this.

From the preface:

Many people have become concerned with the dramatic rise in assassinations and kidnappings in recent years. A great number of these attacks have occurred while the victim was in his automobile. The purpose of this book is to instruct the reader in the proper handling of his vehicle in the event of such an attack.

The skills of a grand prix driver are not necessary to learn these maneuvers. A few days of practice is all that is required. The time spent practicing is trivial when you consider what might happen if you are not prepared.


From Getaway: "The moonshiner's turn is another slick maneuver pioneered by the mountain people of the Southern United States. Looking like a bootlegger turn in reverse, the moonshiner's turn allows you to change your direction 180 degrees within the confines of a two lane road, while going backwards. The proper procedure for this maneuver is as follows (see Figure 7): (1) Accelerate in reverse to 20-30 mph. (2) Get off the gas and crank the steering wheel all the way to the left as fast as you can. (3) When the car is at 90 degrees, shift into low gear, hit the gas, and straighten out the steering wheel. (4) Get out of the area fast."
From Getaway: "To practice ramming, go to your local auto junkyard and buy three running wrecks. Move all three to an unused parking lot or abandoned airfield and practice per the directions in this chapter. For safety's sake, wear a helmet and a seat belt. You might also want to remove all the glass from the vehicles. Make arrangements to have the cars towed away when you are done, as you are going to have three non-running wrecks on your hands. Property owners tend to have bad feelings towards those who litter their land with junk vehicles."

(via Weird Universe)