It seems the new terrorist tactic is driving large commercial vehicles through crowded places, and though it's only been in Europe it's almost certain it's coming here sooner or later.
So lets say you're out Christmas shopping this year, or at some other large gathering of people in a public place. All of a sudden, you hear screaming and the roar of a diesel engine barreling into a crowd. You're armed with your EDC, and let's just say despite the tread title you're packing something in the .380-9mm-.45-.40 class. Where do you fire to stop the threat?
Now the obvious first choice is at the driver... from some quick youtubing anything .380 and up is going to pass through the windshield pretty easily, and likely with little change in point of impact. But what if you don't have the angle to make that shot?
From what I know about large diesel engines, most handguns aren't going to do much to stop the motor. Any shot hitting from the front will pierce the intercooler/radiator, but the truck could still run for quite a while afterwords perhaps 5-10 minutes. Unless you're the guy on here who said his EDC was a .44 magnum, any common pistol round would stand no chance of penetrating the block and even a hit to the oil pan would still allow the motor to run for several minutes.
A lucky shot to the fuel system, such as the injector pump, could stop it in it's tracks even with a low powered round... but that would be something impossible to do on purpose and you would have to hit the pump itself, taking out one fuel line would leave several other cylinders functional. Same goes for anything such as a crank sensor on newer computer controlled trucks... they are small and buried deeply.
So the best thing I can think of that is left is the air system... I don't know a ton about large trucks but I know that some of the axles upon loss of air pressure will lock up the brakes... I think it's not all but just some. And the air tanks are usually visible on the side of the truck, as is the air dryer which is often plastic and could be broken even by a 22.
Any CDL holders on here who can shed a little more light on the subject?
So lets say you're out Christmas shopping this year, or at some other large gathering of people in a public place. All of a sudden, you hear screaming and the roar of a diesel engine barreling into a crowd. You're armed with your EDC, and let's just say despite the tread title you're packing something in the .380-9mm-.45-.40 class. Where do you fire to stop the threat?
Now the obvious first choice is at the driver... from some quick youtubing anything .380 and up is going to pass through the windshield pretty easily, and likely with little change in point of impact. But what if you don't have the angle to make that shot?
From what I know about large diesel engines, most handguns aren't going to do much to stop the motor. Any shot hitting from the front will pierce the intercooler/radiator, but the truck could still run for quite a while afterwords perhaps 5-10 minutes. Unless you're the guy on here who said his EDC was a .44 magnum, any common pistol round would stand no chance of penetrating the block and even a hit to the oil pan would still allow the motor to run for several minutes.
A lucky shot to the fuel system, such as the injector pump, could stop it in it's tracks even with a low powered round... but that would be something impossible to do on purpose and you would have to hit the pump itself, taking out one fuel line would leave several other cylinders functional. Same goes for anything such as a crank sensor on newer computer controlled trucks... they are small and buried deeply.
So the best thing I can think of that is left is the air system... I don't know a ton about large trucks but I know that some of the axles upon loss of air pressure will lock up the brakes... I think it's not all but just some. And the air tanks are usually visible on the side of the truck, as is the air dryer which is often plastic and could be broken even by a 22.
Any CDL holders on here who can shed a little more light on the subject?
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
Not a problem in NH... Of course, being in NH, there's a much larger chance of LOTS of rounds being directed at the truck and driver.![[rofl2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/035.gif "ROFL2 [rofl2]")
