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MLeake · May 30, 2012, 02:02 AM

I would be a lot less worried about whether I could convince a jury that shooting at a car was justified, than I would be worried about whether shooting at a car was likely to be effective.

As others have noted, cars pose certain challenges with regard to penetration and deflection.

(OTOH, parked cars don't provide much protection to their drivers. Doors and side windows aren't hard to penetrate. Best defense for a driver is to use the vehicle to leave ASAP.)

As a pedestrian, can I outrun a car? Not likely... assuming I stay on the road or in a relatively level, relatively solid off-road area. BUT!!! If I can leave the road area, and enter woods, or scale a wall, or enter a building, or run into a swamp - or even just hop across a ditch - I can evade most vehicles.

When walking near traffic, I normally look for escape lanes, just as I would when driving a car or truck or riding a motorcycle. (Defensive walking can be just as important as defensive driving or riding.) I'm not really worried about being deliberately assaulted by a vehicle, per se, but I am worried about drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and possibly even drivers suffering catastrophic drops in blood sugar or other acute medical problems.

Note that in the cases of drunk, distracted, or medically disabled drivers, shooting at them is very unlikely to have any effect whatsoever.

From a physics perspective, say one has a .45acp. A 230gr bullet weighs approximately 1/30 of a pound. Call momentum 850/30 or about 28.3 (just for comparison purposes). My wife's 3000lb car at 30mph (or 44fps) would have 132,000 vs the 28.3 of the .45 bullet for a momentum comparison - IE the bullet, if it doesn't hit the driver, or take out a tire, has absolutely no chance of even slowing the vehicle.

If it does hit the driver (or near the driver) it might cause a swerve - but it might not.

If it takes out a tire, it will probably cause a swerve, but whether it will cause enough of a swerve...

Odds are much better to put some kind of physical barrier between oneself and the vehicle.

May 30, 2012, 02:02 AM	#8
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	I would be a lot less worried about whether I could convince a jury that shooting at a car was justified, than I would be worried about whether shooting at a car was likely to be effective. As others have noted, cars pose certain challenges with regard to penetration and deflection. (OTOH, parked cars don't provide much protection to their drivers. Doors and side windows aren't hard to penetrate. Best defense for a driver is to use the vehicle to leave ASAP.) As a pedestrian, can I outrun a car? Not likely... assuming I stay on the road or in a relatively level, relatively solid off-road area. BUT!!! If I can leave the road area, and enter woods, or scale a wall, or enter a building, or run into a swamp - or even just hop across a ditch - I can evade most vehicles. When walking near traffic, I normally look for escape lanes, just as I would when driving a car or truck or riding a motorcycle. (Defensive walking can be just as important as defensive driving or riding.) I'm not really worried about being deliberately assaulted by a vehicle, per se, but I am worried about drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and possibly even drivers suffering catastrophic drops in blood sugar or other acute medical problems. Note that in the cases of drunk, distracted, or medically disabled drivers, shooting at them is very unlikely to have any effect whatsoever. From a physics perspective, say one has a .45acp. A 230gr bullet weighs approximately 1/30 of a pound. Call momentum 850/30 or about 28.3 (just for comparison purposes). My wife's 3000lb car at 30mph (or 44fps) would have 132,000 vs the 28.3 of the .45 bullet for a momentum comparison - IE the bullet, if it doesn't hit the driver, or take out a tire, has absolutely no chance of even slowing the vehicle. If it does hit the driver (or near the driver) it might cause a swerve - but it might not. If it takes out a tire, it will probably cause a swerve, but whether it will cause enough of a swerve... Odds are much better to put some kind of physical barrier between oneself and the vehicle.