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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Oct 30, 2015 15:19:26 GMT
I know the MBs explored how well someone could drive in reverse. But, on last night's episode of 'The Blacklist', I saw a different twist on that.
Elizabeth Keen was fleeing from a sniper perched in a building. She breaks into and hotwires a car. She is laying across the passenger seat (head towards passenger door, legs in driver's seat), looking backwards. She is able to get her left foot on the gas pedal & right hand on the steering wheel. She rips the rearview mirrow off the front windshield and begins *driving forward* while *facing backwards* using the mirror to see what's ahead of her. She manages to get away and drive roughly five blocks before stopping to meet up with Red Riddington.
Is this possible? This is a different dynamic than driving in reverse because the turning wheels are still in the front of the car.
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Post by the light works on Oct 31, 2015 6:27:33 GMT
I know the MBs explored how well someone could drive in reverse. But, on last night's episode of 'The Blacklist', I saw a different twist on that. Elizabeth Keen was fleeing from a sniper perched in a building. She breaks into and hotwires a car. She is laying across the passenger seat (head towards passenger door, legs in driver's seat), looking backwards. She is able to get her left foot on the gas pedal & right hand on the steering wheel. She rips the rearview mirrow off the front windshield and begins *driving forward* while *facing backwards* using the mirror to see what's ahead of her. She manages to get away and drive roughly five blocks before stopping to meet up with Red Riddington. Is this possible? This is a different dynamic than driving in reverse because the turning wheels are still in the front of the car. my first question is if this is even mechanically possible. lying on your left side on the front seat, you'd have to use your heel on the throttle, and have very little range of motion on the steering wheel - meaning no sharp turns. also, how do you hold the mirror?
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Post by silverdragon on Oct 31, 2015 10:15:43 GMT
"Mirror driving", erm... no... Not without a Lot of practise.... Doing that one handed whilst holding the mirror?.. Even harder.
You see the mirror, think turn wheel left to go right, but dont, then try and mirror again, you know its in the mirror but real world isnt... Thats like trying to back up a trailer on mirrors alone... Can be done, but not that simple.
To find out how hard that is, try reversing your own car on mirrors alone... (I always reverse this way as its easier for me...) Then tack on a trailer and have to think to get the trailer to turn [mirror] left you have to turn the car [mirror] right....
Now think of trying that going forwards, even if you have a mirror held in place.... and no peeking out the windows?...
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 1, 2015 20:37:36 GMT
What kind of car was it?
The only vehicle I can think of where there's no console in the middle between the front seats (gearshift, parking break, cupholders and so on) to get in the way of that maneuver is a newer model VW Transporter, but those aren't very popular in the States, are they?
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Post by the light works on Nov 1, 2015 22:23:37 GMT
What kind of car was it? The only vehicle I can think of where there's no console in the middle between the front seats (gearshift, parking break, cupholders and so on) to get in the way of that maneuver is a newer model VW Transporter, but those aren't very popular in the States, are they? if it was old enough to hot wire, it was also old enough to have a bench seat. or it could have been an SUV, in which several models have a split bench instead of buckets with a console.
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 2, 2015 0:26:44 GMT
What kind of car was it? The only vehicle I can think of where there's no console in the middle between the front seats (gearshift, parking break, cupholders and so on) to get in the way of that maneuver is a newer model VW Transporter, but those aren't very popular in the States, are they? if it was old enough to hot wire, it was also old enough to have a bench seat. or it could have been an SUV, in which several models have a split bench instead of buckets with a console. If that's the case, then at least getting the right body position to operate the throttle and steering wheel might not be all that difficult. That would just leave the mirror thing and I'm having trouble seeing how a person would stabilize themself with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand up in the air to hold the mirror up. Especially when facing the back of a seat, because that'd kinda get in the way of holding the mirror far enough out that you wouldn't have to break your neck to see out the windscreen, wouldn't it? I'm just trying to picture how that would work and I'm having trouble seeing it...
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Post by the light works on Nov 2, 2015 1:08:09 GMT
if it was old enough to hot wire, it was also old enough to have a bench seat. or it could have been an SUV, in which several models have a split bench instead of buckets with a console. If that's the case, then at least getting the right body position to operate the throttle and steering wheel might not be all that difficult. That would just leave the mirror thing and I'm having trouble seeing how a person would stabilize themself with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand up in the air to hold the mirror up. Especially when facing the back of a seat, because that'd kinda get in the way of holding the mirror far enough out that you wouldn't have to break your neck to see out the windscreen, wouldn't it? I'm just trying to picture how that would work and I'm having trouble seeing it... I guess if a person rolled onto their back, they might steer with the right hand and use the right heel for the throttle - it still leaves the challenge of holding the mirror steady enough to be useful.
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 2, 2015 6:42:40 GMT
If that's the case, then at least getting the right body position to operate the throttle and steering wheel might not be all that difficult. That would just leave the mirror thing and I'm having trouble seeing how a person would stabilize themself with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand up in the air to hold the mirror up. Especially when facing the back of a seat, because that'd kinda get in the way of holding the mirror far enough out that you wouldn't have to break your neck to see out the windscreen, wouldn't it? I'm just trying to picture how that would work and I'm having trouble seeing it... I guess if a person rolled onto their back, they might steer with the right hand and use the right heel for the throttle - it still leaves the challenge of holding the mirror steady enough to be useful. I was thinking the same thing. Left heel for the throttle? Seems more of a hassle than it's worth to be on your side, facing the back of the seat...
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Post by silverdragon on Nov 2, 2015 7:29:18 GMT
You ever tried controlling a throttle with your heel. There is a trick "Heel and toe" used to control a car whilst changing gear and braking at the same time during fast rally sections, to keep the engine revs up, so you can shoot out of corners with full "Turbo" boost etc. Highly trained drivers sitting the right way up... need I say more?.. Laying down on your back using the back of your heel... its either an on/off switch or nothing?...
The usual precision of throttle use is being able to bend your ankle, or knowing how much "Stomp" a heavy truck needs. You cant do that with the back of your foot... feet dont work that way.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Nov 2, 2015 14:04:11 GMT
Rewatched the sequence: It is a late model Dodge Stratus (1998/9?). Link for video: The Blacklist: "Arioch Cain" (skip to 07:40) Unfortunately, I haven't been successful in my attempts to embed the scene into the page.
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Post by the light works on Nov 2, 2015 15:01:27 GMT
Rewatched the sequence: It is a late model Dodge Stratus (1998/9?). Link for video: The Blacklist: "Arioch Cain" (skip to 07:40) Unfortunately, I haven't been successful in my attempts to embed the scene into the page. okay, looked to me like she crawled in head first from the passenger side, and the model of car did not have a tall center console she appeared to be using one hand to hold the mirror, the other hand to turn the wheel, and I have no idea what she had that was flexible enough to push the throttle, unless she was transferring her steering hand back and forth between the wheel and the throttle.
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 2, 2015 15:24:19 GMT
Rewatched the sequence: It is a late model Dodge Stratus (1998/9?). Link for video: The Blacklist: "Arioch Cain" (skip to 07:40) Unfortunately, I haven't been successful in my attempts to embed the scene into the page. okay, looked to me like she crawled in head first from the passenger side, and the model of car did not have a tall center console she appeared to be using one hand to hold the mirror, the other hand to turn the wheel, and I have no idea what she had that was flexible enough to push the throttle, unless she was transferring her steering hand back and forth between the wheel and the throttle. Well, some ladies can bend in ways that are very interesting
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Post by silverdragon on Nov 3, 2015 7:13:54 GMT
"Video wont play in your location" and I havnt got the blackberry working at the moment (keyboard on other duties)
That may explain why it wont embed in anywhere else.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Nov 3, 2015 13:34:52 GMT
"Video wont play in your location" and I havnt got the blackberry working at the moment (keyboard on other duties) That may explain why it wont embed in anywhere else. It's from NBC/Universal's US site. Does NBC have a dedicated site for European countries?
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 3, 2015 13:37:43 GMT
"Video wont play in your location" and I havnt got the blackberry working at the moment (keyboard on other duties) That may explain why it wont embed in anywhere else. It's from NBC/Universal's US site. Does NBC have a dedicated site for European countries? Don't think so. European channels just buy the rights from NBC to broadcast their shows.
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Post by silverdragon on Nov 4, 2015 7:34:15 GMT
Regional protection....
BTW, We dont "get" that show over here anyway.
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Nov 4, 2015 14:01:29 GMT
Regional protection.... BTW, We dont "get" that show over here anyway. That is a shame. It is an excellent show. It should be on Hulu...then again, is NBC able to limit Hulu content by region?
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Post by OziRiS on Nov 4, 2015 21:26:08 GMT
Regional protection.... BTW, We dont "get" that show over here anyway. That is a shame. It is an excellent show. It should be on Hulu...then again, is NBC able to limit Hulu content by region? Yes. Yes they are. And they're getting pretty good at recognizing proxys too, so that doesn't help.
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