Posts
Widner's did an article about how shooting out the tires doesn't work like Hollywood, and thus not like how most people think it should.
Anyone who's watched a live cop show has seen how long it takes spike strips to flatten a tire and seen that it will still run on the rims for a bit.
But the rims don't give a lot of traction or control...
Shooting out the tires could cause a car to do far more damage than the driver is trying to inflict.
In my real world job, I routinely perform tests evaluating vehicle handling and tire performance after “instant” air loss. It’s surprisingly hard to get a tire to “blow out” or achieve 0 pressure in less than a second.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve even had instances where we had to abandon the test when using heavy duty LT tires on lightly loaded vehicles… I’m looking at you, Bronco…
In other words, it’s rarely dramatic, and often disappointing from a laypersons standpoint. A single bullet just won’t cut it.
Your point on the rims is spot on, though. Once the tire de-beads on both sides, things can get a little western.
Run over a dead raccoon late at night when you just wanna get home and go to sleep.
ReplyDeleteTire tech the next day: That hollow raccoon bone embedded in the tire acted just like an organic stop strip.
Me: F!@#$%. Thank you. Here's my credit card.