Shooting at an oncoming car thats trying to hit you

T

TheNocturnus

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Hey guys, it's time for another thread by Nocturnus31.:cool:

So I was thinking about defense scenarios. What do you do if you are caught in the sights of a crazy driver? It seems that they are deliberately aiming to run you over and you have to make a quick decision.

I would like to think it would be simple to just jump out of the way and get away but I have seen many videos where that was impossible. Do you shoot them or do you just produce a gun and hope they stop? Do you do nothing and hope that the 2000+ pounds of steel magically glide over you without damaging you.

Ths seems like an unlikely scenario but I am at a loss as to what I would do.
 
I'm interested in the legal answer here, there would be alot of speculation of was the driver intentional or just out of control. Sketchy scenario indeed.
 
Shooting seemed to work well for Danny Greene:D Head shot through a windshield.

However, if there are stairs nearby or some other solid obstacle, why not just go up, around, or in someplace the car cannot go?

Unless you are being chased by a car that really turns on a dime, I would expect you could just move out of the way.
 
Something to consider, it is less than likely that even if you instantly kill the driver, and/or cause mechanical failure in a car by shooting at it, that the car will come to a stop before running you over. If I see a car coming at me and have time for any reaction, it would be getting out of the way, not trying to stop a multi-thousand pound object in motion.

Unless you're big, orange and your name happens to be Thing, then you just stand there and giggle.
 
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This is why you should carry a S&W 500, so if this day every comes. You can whip it out and unleash it on the engine...

Joking...

I thought about this, but very very very very very rare this would happen, way more likely to get attacked by someone than a car coming after you.

I would walk behind another parked car/pole so if the car hit it he/she would get damaged by it.

If I was in a open road with no poles/cars to use for cover I would defend myself. The threat is when he/she gets out of the car after trying run you over, no telling what might come out of their pants/car.

Cars dont turn on dimes, so it's possible to fake the driver, shoot for the tries. If you shoot at them in the windshield once or twice they will duck and not beable to see the road, this is your chance to make a dash.


I would be more worried about moving out of the way, even if you HIT the driver he/she is still in a 2000lb+ moving car thats rolling at you. So moving out of the way is most important.
 
The legalities of shooting at the car or driver would be very dependent upon the laws of the state in which the incident occured. An action that would be legal in one state might well be highly illegal in another.
 
Saw a cop do what the OP described on the show COPS. The guy threw the car into reverse and gunned the engine while the cop was standing behind the car. FWIW.
 
I would try to get out of the way as well but what if it just wasn't possible. I'm just wondering if you could claim self defense as the driver was seemingly wanting to cause harm or kill you.
 
You can claim anything you want. Whether the prosecutor agrees is another matter.

Massad Ayoob wrote of a gunshop owner who foiled a robbery years ago in which the owner fired at an oncoming vehicle with both a S&W 76 submachine gun and an AR-15, killing the driver. I believe it's in the current Guns or American Handgunner magazine.

Again, that was years ago, on his property and in the rural U.S.
 
I would also imagine that felony charges that begin with "vehicular" exist for a reason. However, is this person actually trying to run you over, or has granny simply mistaken her pedals?

Safest & most legal, IMO, would be to get the heck out of the way and reassess the situation once the car has past
 
was the driver intentional or just out of control
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Either of the above suits my "intent" decision...
In fla, that car is all that is needed for me to rationally determine that my self defense, using any force I deem necessary up to and including lethal force, is needed to prevent possible GBH or death... Goin' for it...:cool:

Brent
 
I guess it would depend if a Zombie is driving it or not.

Do you do nothing and hope that the 2000+ pounds of steel magically glide over you without damaging you.
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Only if you are one of the walking dead
 
Been there twice. Bottom line, you can either run out of the path of the oncoming vehicle unharmed, or you can stand your ground and shoot at the windshield and probably get run over.
 
You do a defensive roll, then jump straight up in the air pulling yer feet up so you clear the car. Then when you come to the ground you can do a tactical spin and shoot the back of his head off. Clean off if you use a 44 mag....

Now that my day dream is over, In all reality I would get out of the way and take cover behind something he couldnt run thru and dial 911.
 
Well, at first glance, it sounded like a really stupid question. But, it is a valid point, it does happen in real life, The fact that it happens probably 100 times a day on a cable channel somewhere doesn't mean that it never happens in real life.

Two examples.

Rodney king was picking up a transexual prostitute once, after the incident, a plain clothes cop flashed his shield, and rodney gunned his car and tried to run him over. Cop jumped over a concrete divider and saved his own life.

In May 1991, he was arrested on suspicion of trying to run over a vice officer who allegedly found him with a transvestite prostitute in Hollywood, but no charges were filed
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Here, in my hometown, two or three whacked out nutcases ran over another whacked out nutcase that they knew with a pickup truck. IIRC, they then backed up over the corpse, and hit him again. They eventually were convicted.

Don't look to me for answers. As has been said, this isn't a question about what gun will stop a charging swarm of killer bees, this is entirely about how to handle the scenario of having a car, maliciously or not, bearing down on you. The only answer to save your life is dodge. The ONLY answer. If the driver makes a second go at it, well, what the heck. he's engaged in attempted vehicular manslaughter once. All bets are off. Draw your gun, and expend all the ammo you have trying to stop the car. You might get lucky.

A newton county deputy sheriff fired a pistol through the back of an SUV whose driver had attempted to kill him, stopped the car, and killed the driver. he was crucified.

The police chief of Duquesne village fired a .40 S&W through the windshield of a car that was bearing down on him, after a fairly short high speed chase. He was canned for it.

No, It doesn't seem to be a good idea, even if you're the chief of police, the guy is trying to kill you, and he's already attempted to kill other people during a high speed chase. You'll wind up in the cell next to the driver.
 
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