The PIT Manuever is a police tactic used during a car chase where the pursuing officer spins out the vehicle he’s chasing with a bump to the side of the back bumper. However, whenever I see this on TV, less so now but a lot in the past, the driver who gets spun around just stops. The wiki says it’s supposed to make you lose control of the car, but that loss of control, at the very longest, must last only a few seconds. Why not hit the gas and keep going in the opposite direction?
When I was younger, I heard a rumor that somehow that spin disables the engine. I think that was an urban legend or something as I’ve never been able to confirm that. It seems like it would be a pretty useless thing to do if you’re just one cop and the road doesn’t have any ditches on the side you can force the other driver in to.
Maybe they normally stop because they are normally run off the road. And there are normally other police cars following as back-up that block the stopped car.
Having lost control on a wet road and done a 180 before, I would not underestimate the psychological impact of being subjected to this maneuver.
OTOH, I have seen a video where the driver was PIT-ed at least three times in sucession before wrecking the car.
I’m pretty sure spinning and coming to a halt would cause the engine to stall in a manual transmission car. OTOH, my (automatic) car did not stall when I spun out.
ETA: In police chase videos, a common scenario is for the PIT to leave the car facing the wrong way on a divided highway. This is also a deterrent to continued flight.
Sometimes the car does manage to keep driving once it’s been turned. But a second police car usually follows to pull right up in front of the pursued car once it spins. Also a lot of the time the car skids into something and either damages its engine or blocks itself in anyway. That’s one of the criticisms of it - that it’s dangerous because it can throw a car completely out of control at high speed, sometimes with other civilian cars still nearby.
How? Anyone know the mechanics to this? I’ve spun out more than once (no, wait, that was my friend) and never had this happen–so I assume it’s more than swiping a deer, ice, or hitting the parking brake.
It’s the same principle as stalling a stick shift by letting the clutch out too fast. If the engine stops, it stalls. This is far less possible with modern automatics and electronic controls. In crashes, the engine usually stalls instantly. The stall could be avoided by quickly shifting into neutral or putting the clutch in before the PIT. A quick restart is the obvious solution. The PIT maneuver depends on fear and intimidation to some extent.
I’m with awldune on this - spinning out is freaking scary. If you’ve never experienced it before the natural response is to sit there stunned for a while.
My guess is that the driver in the video pulykamell linked to has either some pro-driving training or a lot of practical experince to be able to recover from spins like that so quickly.
How often do such police pursuits happen? I’ve seen a few track-the-speeder’s on Calif. freeways, but nothing worse.
How often does the target actually escape from a pursuit like that?
The youtube clip is almost unbelievable! Are we sure it wasn’t done for a movie?
[del]I’ve[/del] My friend has done some 720’s. Or at least that’s what they seemed like. No more; [del]I[/del] my friend drive like a little old lady these days.
PS: I live in Thailand now, where almost everyone drives like a maniac, but the only time I’ve ever seen police chase a car was when some confused driver forgot to stop near a police station for the 6 PM flag-lowering. :smack:
Still not understanding. If I let the clutch out too fast when stopped, the mechanical link between the still tires and the trying-to-crank engine will result in the engine coming to a standstill. If I am in one of those not-so-gentle spin outs, what causes the engine to stop? This assumes a quick hop on the clutch in a standard transmission or a lack of serious crash stoppage. What’s happening inside the engine compartment?
I think it would be tough to have the composure to think about pushing in the clutch while you are being crashed into, especially if you are not used to driving a stick.
It looks like the pit maneuver often ends with the car rolling backwards. I am not an expert on the workings of an automatic transmission but would being pushed backwards cause it to stall? What about if the torque converter was locked up?
I think a big part of the reason people stop is the ‘Oh, I guess they are serious’ aspect and the shock of being in an accident.
Carburetors depend on gravity to regulate the float bowl. If the gas all runs to one end, the level will be wrong and either flood or starve the engine. Also, if the float drops, excess gas will be pumped in. With a carburetor or FI, it could also mess up the gas tank pickup.