PIT maneuver


The PIT maneuver or Police Intervention Technique is a technique commonly employed by police departments to end high speed chases more safely, and with minimal damage to police equipment.

Overview

The acronym PIT has many interpretations, including Precision Immobilization Technique, Pursuit Intervention Technique, Precision Intervention Tactic, and Parallel Immobilization Technique. The PIT maneuver appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the tests in the driving school in Doherty, San Fierro, and as a required technique during one of the Wang Cars asset missions, namely the mission Zeroing In.

Technique

The technique involves approaching a vehicle from behind and moving up along one side until your car's front end is approximately in-line with the other vehicle's rear axle. At this point, you must swerve carefully into the rear fender of the other vehicle in an attempt to cause its rear tires to lose traction. Once traction is lost, you must then brake, while continuing to turn into the other vehicle's rear fender and maintaining control. Managing acceleration/braking and steering are key at this point. When done properly, braking, then accelerating carefully into the rear fender of the fishtailing vehicle will cause it to make a complete 180 degree turn and to lose all momentum in its original direction, allowing officers to attempt surrounding the recipient, effectively ending the chase. This method can be observed by either waiting for chases to randomly happen, or to turn on the Aggressive Driving Cheat. This technique does not work for cops who are trying to PIT the player, as the player's car won't easily spin out and will continue to drive, regardless of numerous cops chasing him.

Instructions on How to perform a PIT Maneuver

  1. Drive up to 'suspect' vehicle
  2. Ram your 'bullbar' or bumper into one of the two back wheels of the vehicle
  3. Push hard on left if you are 'PIT-ting' the right wheel , or push hard right if you are 'PIT-ing' the left wheel.
  4. The car should spin out of control(If not try steps 1-3 again).
  5. Slam on your car's brakes, jump out and kill the 'suspect'.
  6. That's it, you've successfully learned how to perform a PIT Maneuver.

Trivia

  • The body-on-frame construction of cars such as the Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria is an essential component of the ability of police cars to perform the PIT maneuver. Because of this design, damage to the vehicle's frame resulting from the PIT maneuver is minimized, making repairs far less expensive and time-consuming.
  • The Premier is used as the police vehicle in both the Los Santos Police Department and San Fierro Police Department in GTA: SA, and is an ideal car for performing the PIT maneuver during the game, as it is seemingly based off both the Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria.
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Demonstration [1]