Why every driver should bring the technique of “police turn” to automaticity

In almost every movie where car chases are present, you can see how the main character, who is also a top-level professional, performs a “police turn”, confusing his opponents. Perhaps that is why motorists have formed a strong opinion that this element of the driver’s art belongs to the category of the highest complexity and is available only to super agents.

In fact, a “police U-turn” as such can be performed by absolutely anyone, even without sufficient driving experience. The main thing here is to follow the correct sequence of actions. Which, we note, is absolutely independent of the type of drive, the presence or absence of an “automatic” and “handbrake”.

By the way, a very important point is that in no case should the “handbrake” be used here. This can cause the car to go into a side skid rather than a compact turn in a gentle arc. Which will surely lead him into a ditch or into the gentle embrace of a tall and strong pillar. To perform a maneuver, we really only use the steering wheel, which allows the car to rotate compactly around its own center of mass. And for this you need to accelerate. At a speed of 30 km / h, a “police turn” is possible even on asphalt. The algorithm of actions is simple.

But on the other hand, he knows that the car is spinning around its center of gravity, which is still moving in the direction of the velocity vector. That is, in a straight line. And in this situation, you just need to put the steering wheel in the “straight” position and let the wheels roll freely by pressing the clutch or putting the selector in “neutral”. As a result, when the longitudinal axis of the car rotates along the velocity vector, it will stabilize. This is because the sliding friction of the wheels on the road is greater than the rolling friction. And if the car is stabilized stern forward, then here you can recall the skills of performing a “police turn” to return it to the correct position on the road. However, if you have not perfected this technique to automaticity, it is better to just choose a reasonable speed and take into account the road conditions.

In almost every movie where car chases are present, you can see how the main character, who is also a top-level professional, performs a “police turn”, confusing his opponents. Perhaps that is why motorists have formed a strong opinion that this element of the driver’s art belongs to the category of the highest complexity and is available only to super agents.

In fact, a “police U-turn” as such can be performed by absolutely anyone, even without sufficient driving experience. The main thing here is to follow the correct sequence of actions. Which, we note, is absolutely independent of the type of drive, the presence or absence of an “automatic” and “handbrake”.

By the way, a very important point is that in no case should the “handbrake” be used here. This can cause the car to go into a side skid rather than a compact turn in a gentle arc. Which will surely lead him into a ditch or into the gentle embrace of a tall and strong pillar. To perform a maneuver, we really only use the steering wheel, which allows the car to rotate compactly around its own center of mass. And for this you need to accelerate. At a speed of 30 km / h, a “police turn” is possible even on asphalt. The algorithm of actions is simple.

But on the other hand, he knows that the car is spinning around its center of gravity, which is still moving in the direction of the velocity vector. That is, in a straight line. And in this situation, you just need to put the steering wheel in the “straight” position and let the wheels roll freely by pressing the clutch or putting the selector in “neutral”. As a result, when the longitudinal axis of the car rotates along the velocity vector, it will stabilize. This is because the sliding friction of the wheels on the road is greater than the rolling friction. And if the car is stabilized stern forward, then here you can recall the skills of performing a “police turn” to return it to the correct position on the road. However, if you have not perfected this technique to automaticity, it is better to just choose a reasonable speed and take into account the road conditions.