SEAL Survival Guide (65 page)

 Immediate avoidance: This is performed by quickly turning the steering wheel ninety degrees, followed by immediately returning it to its original position.

 Use maximum effective braking, or what’s called “threshold braking.” Know how quickly your car will come to a straight-line stop without locking up the wheels. Practice this turn, or any of the above suggestions, in an isolated parking lot or in a safe clearing until you know how get the brakes to the point when they will not lock and you are able to still maintain control of the vehicle. If you have ABS (antilock brakes), this system will do all the work for you. Just keep the pedal pressed. (Don’t pump the brakes on an ABS vehicle!)

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

The following advanced techniques require a very high level of skill. Seek professional instruction before performing any of these.

EMERGENCY BACKING: Y- AND J-TURNS

You have been cut off and have to reverse out. Get off the X.

Y-turn technique

1. With your left hand on the steering wheel at the twelve o’clock position and your right arm over the passenger seat, look over your right shoulder and begin accelerating in reverse.

2. When able, reduce speed and turn the vehicle 90 degrees as you come to a full stop.

3. Turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction and drive forward.

J-turn technique

1. Maintain speed in reverse, but do not exceed 35 mph. With your left hand at the twelve o’clock position on the steering wheel, quickly turn the wheel so your hand moves to the six o’clock position.

2. Just before the car has rotated 180 degrees, turn the steering wheel back to its original position.

3. Immediately put the car in Drive or another forward gear and hit the accelerator.

4. If this is done properly the vehicle will, in a fairly smooth transition, have gone from reverse to forward on the same track.

Barricade Breaching

If you are approaching a vehicle barricade consisting of a car or a truck parked broadside to block your path, and reversing out is not an option, then employ this technique:

1. Slowly approach the vehicle barricade. Once you are within fifteen feet, hit the accelerator.

2. Strike the barricade vehicle at the wheels (front or rear). This is where the axles are. Hitting the barricading vehicle
at these spots will cause the vehicle to move and not fold toward you to potentially trap you. Even if you are in a compact car and a truck is barricading you, your 3,500-pound smaller car doing 30 mph and aimed at the wheels will be forceful enough to pivot the truck out of the way.

3. Continue to accelerate, and the vehicle you hit will clear your path to the left or right, depending on which axle you struck.

4. Understand that your air bags may deploy as a result of this technique, so keep your hands at four o’clock and eight o’clock and your head back against the headrest.

Being Rammed

If you find yourself in a situation where you are being struck by a vehicle, understand the most vulnerable place on a car is the side doors. This provides the least amount of protection for driver and passenger. The goal is to keep your car moving longer than that of the person who is chasing or ramming you. Ideally the rear of your car will take the brunt of the impact.

1. Maneuver to try to keep your pursuer directly in the middle of your rearview mirror.

2. Slam on the brakes occasionally to disrupt their attempts at passing you, and thereby getting to your vulnerable driver or passenger doors.

3. Be aware that the pursuer may attempt a PIT maneuver, which is used to spin a car by impacting the quarter panel just behind the rear wheels. Don’t let them. If they attempt this, steer in the opposite direction and accelerate.

Passenger-side Driving: “Driver down”

There may be a situation in which you are the passenger in a car, and the driver has for whatever reason become incapacitated and unable to drive. Use the following technique when stopping is not an option.

1. Immediately slide over and take control of the steering wheel and accelerator.

2. Position yourself on the lap of the driver and use your left arm to make yourself stable while steering with the right.

3. If you are in the backseat, the same can be done from over their shoulders. You will, however, need something like a bat, golf club, stick, or rifle to control the accelerator and brake.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

If a major earthquake strikes, it could be three to five days before you see any help. First responders are going to be totally overwhelmed, and it will be up to you and those who survived to do whatever is possible to help.

You may be safe, but there will be people out there fighting for their lives. The clock is ticking, and you have a duty to render aid. Gather as many people as you can. This is a clear-cut case of
strength in numbers,
and your mission is to save lives. Organize the group and tackle one challenge at a time. Don’t forget to do a continuous scene size-up. You are operating in a very hazardous and constantly changing environment.

Gear Up

Wear sturdy, closed-toed shoes to protect your feet from broken glass, and if you have a hard hat or any kind of helmet, put it on. You may think you look ridiculous wearing a football helmet, but if that’s all you have, use it. Keep yourself safe from falling rubble and other hazards. Your mission is to save lives, not add to the fatalities.

Search: Going In

As I’ve mentioned, you should not reenter a structure unless it has been cleared by an engineer, but if there are no professionals of this caliber and you hear survivors trapped, you must take action. Never go in with fewer than two people in your rescue party, following the buddy system used by SEALs.

1. Ensure the gas and power sources to any building you need to search have been turned off.