Statistically, driving a car is one of the most dangerous activities we engage in on a daily basis. Inattentive or impatient drivers can cause fender-benders or more serious crashes, so we should always be alert and aware of these dangers. However, there are situations in which someone may be actively trying to cause you harm while you're behind the wheel. This may be the result of road rage, or it may be a more coordinated attack to block your escape route while an accomplice robs or carjacks you. No matter the case, it's valuable to know how to use your car or truck as a battering ram to push through a vehicular barricade and escape to safety.

Earlier this year, we attended the Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving, and studied many driving skills related to escape and evasion. If you haven't already, check out our Bondurant recap article. Our RECOILtv film crew also attended the event, and covered some of these skills in action. The video below shows how to push a perpendicular car out of the way with your own vehicle.

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As seen in the video, the key to this technique is to line the frame rail of your vehicle's chassis with the axle of the barricade vehicle. A quick lift and jab of the throttle before impact will also help shove the car out of your way. Keep in mind that newer unibody cars with airbags and electronic safety systems may incur more damage during this maneuver, and may even go into limp mode when the sensors detect a crash. So an old-school body-on-frame car or pickup truck is best in this case.

For more lessons learned from our time at Bondurant, pick up a copy of RECOIL OFFGRID Issue 28 and read “The Will to Drive On: Emergency Driving Skills”. For information on Bondurant high-performance driving classes, go to Bondurant.com.

Written by Patrick McCarthy