Current vehicle construction almost precludes the use of a vehicle for reliable personal cover. Even the area around the engine provides only limited cover. As a result, evacuation may represent the preferred solution to a sudden direct attack with heavy weapons. If attacked while seated in the patrol vehicle, officers should seek personal cover behind the engine area of the vehicle while evacuating the kill zone using the most direct route. Usually this means the officer quickly must place the patrol vehicle in reverse 3 To do so, the officer's hands must remain free of all obstructions, including pens, notebooks, radio microphones, and the like.
Trainers usually emphasize moving at right angles to exit a kill zone.
Therefore, officers should consider using a gradual right-angle evacuation, keeping the general area of the engine between themselves and the attack. After evacuating and taking cover, officers can stop and initiate critical incident procedures. Traditional vehicle-stop training focuses on what stands in front of and, sometimes, to the sides of the officer. A frontal attack from sophisticated high-impact weapons means expanding the area officers must consider when preparing to make a vehicle stop. Because evacuation may represent the only viable survival option, officers must remain aware of what lies behind the police vehicle at the time the stop occurs.