/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/ |:| |:| |:| Driving: Techniques |:| |:| For Escape and Evasion |:| |:| |:| /:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/ Vehicle Improvements Listed below are modifications which will enchance both the performance and reliability of a vehicle. Also listed are modifications which will serve as deterrents to an attack. Tires - Get the best radial tires you can afford. Radials offer increased durability, superior handling, and better gas mileage than old-fashioned bias ply tires. Also, to some degree, radials are bullet resistant. Be sure to slightly overinflate them and fill them with run flat foam. Heavy Duty Shocks and Springs - Other than good tires, nothing will improve your car's handling more than top quality shocks and springs. Shock and springs are items where price is an indication of quality, so get the best you can afford. Lights - You should replace your old-fashioned sealed beam headlights with quartz-iodine lights. These give off twice the light of the sealed beam units and will enable you to drive much faster at night. There are quartz-iodine lights to fit almost every vehicle. Auxillary lights should be mounted low and angled slightly outward. Spotlights - Four high intensity spotlights should be mounted high on your wehicle. These will effectively blind an attacker. Three of the spotlights should be directed to the front, one aiming straight ahead and the other two angled slightly outboard. A forth light should be aimed to the rear. Cut Out Switches - Cut out switches enable you to independently control each light on your vehicle. The addition or elimination of various lights at night will alter the appearance of your vehicle and might allow you to lose a pursuer. C.B. Radio's - Even though C.B. radio's are a virtual party line, the fact that somebody is always listing in could prove useful in an emergency. Also to be considered is the use of two-way radio's between the car and the home. Locking Gas Cap - A locking gas cap prevents anyone from using the tank as a receptacle for explosives. It will also prevent Halloween pranksters from putting unwanted items in the tank. Guns and Crowbar in Trunk - Kidnappers have been known to throw the victim into the trunk of his own car. A gun and a prying bar instrument such as a crowbar could prove useful in an escape. Pressurized Oil Slick - A pressurized device which sprays oil onto the roadway will eliminate almost any pursuer. Calthrops - Calthrops are metal spikes constructed so that one point is always up. If thrown in the road behind you, they will flatten the tires of a pursuing vehicle. One company who sells them is Beaver Products, P.O. Box 1580, Anna Maria, FL 33501. Thick Bolt Through Tailpipe - A thick heavy bolt put through the tailpipe and welded into place will prevent a bomb from being placed in the exhaust system. Smoke Screen - A cheap but effective smoke screen can be made as follows: First drill a hole into the exhaust manifold of your car, and weld the nozzle of a small plant sprayer over it. A gas line is then run from the nozzle to a pump and container containing castor oil inside the vehicle. Clouds of ssmoke are produced by pumping the castor oil onto the hot exhaust manifold. Reinforced Ram Bumpers - Bumpers can be reinforced by bolting or welding extra supports from the vehicle frame to the bumper. Further reinforcement can be made by welding a two-inch metal pipe to the vehicle frame, right in back of the bumper. These extra reinforcement could prove useful in a ramming situation. Surveillance and Antisurveillance One of the keys to avoding a terriost attack is recognizing when you are under surveillance -- sometimes for as long as several months prior to the attack. In order to stop an attack before it occurs, you must develop a surveillance awareness. To develop this awareness you must be constantly alert to suspicious people in the vicinity of your home and at work. In stalking their victims, terrorists have posed as laborers, hookers, derilects, and used numerous other ruses. I do not expect you to become a raving paranoid constantly on red alert against everyone and everything, but it should be in the back of your mind that someone's eyes might be watching you. Tactics of Professional Surveillance To my knowledge, there have been no instances of terrists using the sophisticated techniques of surveillance employed by professional investigators. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that sooner or later they will be using these methods. In any case, it is always best to be prepared for anything. The Single Tail The easiest type of surveillance to detect is when you are being followed by a single surveillant. The lone surveillant must stay close enough to keep you in sight, yet far enough away to avoid detection -- no easy feat. In residential areas, he can remain a few cars back due to the density of traffic. Also he has the option of following the victim on a parallel street. In rural areas, about all he can do is remain well back and hope for the best. The single tail may employ certain tricks of the trade to make his job easier. At night, he may break a taillight or place a small luminous sticker on the rear of the victim's vehicle to make it more distinguishable. To decrease the possibility of detection, he may change his seating position or use various types of disguise. Professional investigators, whether governmental or private, rarely conduct a surveillance using a single unit. The risk of getting burned is just too great. Parallel Surveillance This type of surveillance is conducted by two or more vehicles. One vehicle tails the victim at a reasonable distance. His comrades follow on parallel streets ready to take up close survillance should the victim turn. Obviously, this method will not work in area where there are no parallel roads. Eluding a Tail The following will give you some general ideas on how to detect and elude a vehicle surveillance. (1) After running a red light or driving the wrong way on a one-way street, watch to see if anyone follows. (2) While travelling on a freeway at high speed, suddenly cut across four lanes of traffic and make an exit. (3) After rounding a blind curve, make a bootlegger's turn and take off in the opposite direction. (4) After turning a corner, pull over and park. Take note of all vehicles passing by. (5) Go through alleys, dirt roads, or even cut across people's lawns. (6) While driving over a long undivided bridge, then make a bootlegger's turn (7) Have a friend follow you to detect any surveillance. Cornering It is commonly held belief that the best way to handle corners is to blast through them as quickly as possible. This is completely wrong. The speed at which you exit a corner itself. Assuming identical cars, the car which exits the corner at a greater speed will be going faster on any straight stretch of road that follows. Proper Apex - The apex of any turn is that point at which your wheels are closest to the inside edge of the corner. By choosing a relatively late apex, the drive can exit a corner at greater speed than if he had chosen an early one. The 90-degree Turn - This is the most common turn, particulary in urban areas. This turn is begun as far outside as possible. Obviously, if there is a lot of traffic on the road, you are going to have to adjust your turn. In that case, drive as far to the outside as you can within the confines of your lane. Approaching the corner, gradually increase braking pressure to heavy breaking. Be careful not to lock the brakes, as all this does is prevent you from steering. If you feel any of the wheels locking up, let off the brakes for an instant, then reapply them. After downshifting (manual transmission only), start trailing off the brakes into the first third of the turn. Then gradually increase the throttle to full acceleration coming out of the turn. S Turns - Actually, this need not be a turn at all, as you can go straight through it. Remember to set yourself up to take full advantage of and straight that might follow. Turns Bootlegger's Turn - This maneuver enables you to change your direction 180 degrees, without stopping, within the width of a two lane road. The bootlegger's turn is eaisiest to do in cars having an automatic transmission and a hand emergency brake. Here's how it's done. (1) Speed at around 25-30 m.p.h. (2) Get off the gas and crank the wheel 1/2 to 1/2 of a full turn. At the exact same time, hit the emergency brake hard. (3) When your vehicle is at approximately 90 degrees, release the emergency brake, step on the gas, and straighten out the steering wheel. If you have a manual transmission, you will have to let out the clutch as you hit the gas. (4) Get out of the area fast. This maneuver is easier to do if you make the emergency brake catch inoperative. On hand brakes this can be done by putting strong tape across the release button. On foot type brakes, you can put a piece of stiff garden hose behind the handle of the brake release. Before practicing the bootlegger's turn, be sure to inflate your tires to 40 lbs. p.s.i. Otherwise, the tires might blow. Moonshiner's Turn (Reverse 180) - Looking like a bootlegger turn in reverse, the moonshiner's turn allows you to change your direction 1800 degrees within the confines of a two lane road, while going backwards. (1) Accelerate in reverse to 20-30 m.p.h. (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 90 degrees, shift into a low gear, hit the gas, and straighten out the steering wheel. (4) Get out of the are fast. Ramming The basic steps involved in ramming a single vehicle stationary roadblock are as follows. (1) Slow down almost to a complete stop and put the car in low gear. This will give the impression that you are going to stop. (2) Suddenly hit the gas hard and pick a ramming point. (3) Hit the target at an angle and keep the accelerator fully depressed through the collision. Your speed at impact should be between 15 and 30 m.p.h. (4) After breaking through, get out of the area fast. Even if your car is badly damaged, keep going. * The ramming points are (1) the rear wheel and rear fender area; and (2) the front wheel and front fender. When ramming two vehicals hit inbetween the two, and follow the above steps.