Involuntary Ejection

Niko Bellic having been ejected through the windshield of an Oracle after a high-speed collision with a lamppost.

An involuntary ejection is an occurrence in the Grand Theft Auto series in which the player, while on a vehicle, is involuntary thrown off or out of their vehicle. This is commonly the result of a collision, but other actions may result in the player being thrown off anyway. The ability serves as a penalty for reckless driving, and attempts to simulate a certain degree of realism in accidents involving one or more vehicle. Where the ability is available on a certain class of vehicles, NPCs may also be easily ejected from their vehicles when the player hits them with a large vehicle at high speed.

Motorcycles and bicycles

GTA 1

When motorcycles were first introduced in Grand Theft Auto 1, they were designed with a drawback in which the player will be dismounted from their motorcycles while colliding with vehicles and buildings at a certain speed or higher, hurling the player off the vehicle forward.

The feature is introduced to offset the motorcycles' superior maneuverability and nimble nature, and also to discourage recklessness while riding motorcycles, as collisions and subsequent dismounts will often result in wasted time because the player would have to return to the motorcycle and get back up on the vehicle again. A minor deduction in health is also given to the player.

GTA Vice City — GTA Chinatown Wars

Since GTA 1, the feature has been present in all GTA games where motorcycles are available to be controlled, including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

When motorcycles were reintroduced in GTA Vice City, more conditions that result in dismounts were added, in which the player can also be thrown off when leaning the bike too far back (during a wheelie) or too far to the front (during a stoppie), or while the motorcycle is rolling backwards at over a certain speed. This system has remained unchanged in GTA games which recycles GTA Vice City's game engine (GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories).

Bicycles, which debuted in GTA San Andreas, applies the same weakness to counter their versatility and support for bunny hops. In addition to dismounts from collisions and bad control of the vehicle, the player may also be dismounted from a bicycle during a collision with a pedestrian in GTA San Andreas (when motorcycles could still run over pedestrians with no problem). For GTA San Andreas, improved bike and cycling skills will improve the player's ability to hold on to a bike or bicycle while rolling backwards.

GTA IV still applies the same set of rules with regards to motorcycle dismounts, although ragdoll physics is now used when the player is thrown off their bike, making it difficult to ascertain the degree of injury the player may sustain in such a crash. The susceptibility to dismounts also varies between GTA IV and its DLC, The Lost and Damned; in GTA IV, even a minor-to-moderate collision may propel the player off their bike; as the player character in Lost and Damned is more accustomed to motorcycles, however, the risk of him being thrown off a bike is lower.

Cars and aircraft

Involuntary ejections from a car or aircraft is a feature introduced later in the series, after Grand Theft Auto IV. If the player is traveling at a high speed and they smash into an object or vehicle (particularly an immobile one), there is a chance they will be propelled through the windshield. If a player is ejected through the windshield, the windshield will break and the player will be flung out of the vehicle, from which point GTA IV's physics engine sends the player's ragdoll rolling and bumping to a stop, inflicting damage with each impact. The feature also applies to the game's helicopters.

Although being ejected from the windshield is unlikely to kill a protagonist in decent health, the player may be thrown into oncoming traffic, risking collisions which will cause major damage. If a player is ejected straight into an oncoming vehicle (especially in places where traffic moves fast, such as a highway), the player risks being killed. Like dismounts in GTA IV, the effects of such an ejection can be catastrophic if the player is low on health.

See also

• Bail out, a voluntary ejection from a vehicle.