I love crime shows; NCIS, Criminal Minds, Numbers, etc. But the one thing that bothers me most (among the many possible annoyances) is that they always shoot out the back windows or at the driver from a terrible angle or whatnot.... Just shoot out the tires! Am I the only one who sees that?
shareIt's a great theory, and I'm with you in thinking it's much more effective. BUT-- think any law enforcement officer will tell you: a four-foot-wide back window is a LOT easier to hit than an 8-inch-wide tire.
shareI always wonder why they don't just shoot out the tires.
shareThis is true (I don't know from experience, this is simply based on what I've been told), but keep in mind these are television shows. These people can run DNA comparisons and facial recognition in mere minutes, have magic computers than can make even the blurriest image crystal-clear, can jump down a 20-foot fire escape without injury or even scuffing their shoes or ripping a single thread on their suit, can survive automatic gunfire coming from multiple angles even when ambushed, etc... television doesn't play by real rules. So why then would they play by real rules in regards to the difficulty in shooting out a tire on a moving vehicle?
I'm guessing maybe because shooting out the tires would make things too easy; a lot of times, an episode is extended (sometimes by a great deal) because the LEOs have to find where their escaped suspect went. That means half the plot of the show could be tossed out the window if the tires had simply been shot out. So, that's my guess... they don't break the rules of the real world and shoot out the tires simply to elongate the story.
I have no enemies, but am intensely disliked by my friends.share
I'm pretty sure MythBusters did an episode showing how tremendously difficult it is to hit the tires of a moving car that is moving away or toward you (as opposed to perpendicular).
shareAlso, if you shoot out a tire, especially one of the front tires, the vehicle would be hard to steer and the driver could lose control, which can injure or kill anyone nearby.
shareThat's right. I saw that episode of MythBusters. Even trained snipers have difficulty shooting out the tires of a moving vehicle. Most LEOs are only average marksmen.
shareThis is something like the folks who say an officer should just shoot a suspect wielding a gun or other weapon in the leg or shoot the gun out of their hands. They don't understand how difficult either of these shots would be.