Car chase

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A car chase is the vehicular pursuit of a criminal by law enforcement officers. Car chases are often captured on film and broadcast thanks to the availability of video footage recorded by police cars and police and media helicopters participating in the chase. They are a popular subject with media and audiences due to their intensity and drama and the innate danger of high-speed driving.

In television and film, the term "car chase" refers to a scene involving one or more automobiles pursuing one another; the chase may or may not involve a police car. Car chases are a staple of the action movie genre, and feature-length films have been built entirely around car chases, often featuring high-powered, exotic vehicles.

Contents 1 In reality 1.1 Risks and legal considerations 2 In film 2.1 Notable car chase films 3 In computer and video games 4 See also 5 References

[edit] In reality

Car chases occur when a criminal attempts to use a vehicle to escape from law enforcement attempting to arrest them. The crime committed may be as serious as murder, or lesser crime such as a traffic infraction. When the criminal realizes that they have been spotted by law enforcement, they attempt to lose their pursuers by driving away, sometimes at high speed. In 2002, 700 pursuits were reported in the city of Los Angeles.^[1] Police use a number of techniques to end chases, from pleading with the driver to more violent methods such as the PIT maneuver and use of spike strips.

The February 2005 Macquarie Fields riots occurred in Sydney, Australia after a local driver crashed a stolen vehicle into a tree, killing his two passengers following a high-speed police pursuit. The death of university student Clea Rose following a police chase in Canberra sparked major recriminations over police pursuit policies. Ole Christian Bach was found shot and killed in Sweden in a presumed suicide after he had been followed in a car chase by Swedish undercover police.

Reality television has combined with the car chase genre in a number of television shows and specials featuring real footage, mostly taken from police cruisers and law enforcement or media helicopters of actual criminals fleeing from police.

One of the most bizarre police chases ever recorded occurred when an M60 Patton tank was stolen by Shawn Nelson from an Army National Guard armory and taken on a rampage through San Diego, California, the massive tank crushing multiple civilian vehicles before high-centering on a concrete freeway divider where police were able to get aboard the tank, though had to resort to lethal force when the suspect would not surrender.

[edit] Risks and legal considerations

High-speed car chases are recognized as a road safety problem, as vehicles not involved in the pursuit may be hit by the criminal, who will often violate a number of traffic laws in their attempt to escape, or by the pursuing police cars. In the UK, it is estimated that 40 people a year are killed in road traffic incidents involving police, most as a result of a police pursuit. ^[2]

Kristie's Law is a proposed California law that would restrict immunity for damage (including injuries or deaths) caused by high-speed pursuits, where law enforcement agencies have established, but not followed, written pursuit policies.

In 2007, the United States Supreme Court held in Scott v. Harris, (05-1631), that a "police officer's attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death."

[edit] In film

Although car chases on film were staged as early as the motor vehicle itself, the first modern car chase is generally seen as that in 1968's Bullitt. The chase in this film was far longer and far faster than what had gone before, and placed cameras so that the audience felt as though they were inside the car. Even during the most calamitous scenes, the star - Steve McQueen - could be clearly seen at the wheel of the vehicle. The French Connection further increased the realism. While previous chases had been filmed on closed roads and isolated highways, The French Connection placed the chase in the midst of busy traffic and pedestrians. Further after this was The Seven-Ups, which featured Bill Hickman as one of the drivers who previously featured in Bullitt, which contained a frantic chase again through New York, and was regarded as having many qualities similar to that of Bullitt.

As time went on, so did the expectations of the movie car chase. Since Bullitt, car chases featured in movies have continually become more advanced and therefore more entertaining. Car crashes have also formed an increasingly important role, with the destruction of any vehicle often coming as a delight to the viewer. An early example of a staged but startling accident in a movie chase can be found in the 1974 movie McQ, which featured an incredible rollover, the first cannon rollover in fact, across a beach. The spectacle came at a cost for the stuntdriver Hal Needham however, who sustained multiple injuries after setting the explosives too high.

Arguably the most typical car chase is one in which a car is being pursued by police cars. In part because car chases are so common many movie makers try to introduce a new twists to them. One of the most famous variations is from The French Connection and involves a car chasing an elevated train. Chases involving buses, trucks, snowmobiles, tanks, and virtually every other type of vehicle (with or without wheels) have appeared in one film or another.

Probably the most complex type of car chase involves going the wrong way in moderately congested freeway traffic (e.g. Ronin, To Live and Die in L.A.). There are also a number of films that feature complex large-scale chases involving a lot of vehicles in the pursuit. Notable examples including The Blues Brothers, The Transporter, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Mad Max 2

Another method of escalating a car chase scene is to have a character move from one vehicle to another and to fight in or on top of a moving vehicle. The Wachowski Brothers used this method with stunning effect in The Matrix Reloaded.

Several television shows have been built around the popularity of car chases, such as The Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider and Airwolf.

In more modern times, the use of computer-generated imagery is becoming increasingly popular, and, although costly (and with a careful eye, easily distinguished from a real car chase) eliminates any danger level. While impressive at times, it is often argued that it eliminates the realism of the chase scene, which can then in turn damage the established thrill factor. Recent examples of this computer-generated imagery can be found in the Michael Bay films Bad Boys II and The Island. An example of a lower budget film using computer-generated imagery in a car chase is RSTC: Reserve Spy Training Corps. Such criticism has affected recent Hollywood productions, for example films like The Bourne Supremacy, The Kingdom and The Dark Knight having car chases filmed for real, with the CGI used minimally, if at all.

In the film Hot Fuzz, the scene where Angel chases the speeding car has been declared the shortest car chase in film history. The scene, as discovered in interviews, was done on purpose.

[edit] Notable car chase films

^[3]

[edit] In computer and video games

Certain racing computer and video games with police cars have car chase (pursuit) racing/evasion modes. Notable examples of such games include the following:

• Certain installments of the Need for Speed series, most notably Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998), Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999), Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002), Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) , Need for Speed: Carbon (2006) and Need for Speed: Undercover (2008).
• The Grand Theft Auto series (1997 to present).
• The Driver series (1999 to present) is described as a direct tribute to car chases, and all but the most recent in the series have featured a "Film Director" mode which allows players to take any driving they have just done and create their own car chases by setting up cameras and the like in a post-production style movie suite.
• Starsky and Hutch is a video game based on the popular classic TV series, and the majority of the game revolves around a car chase of some sort through the various missions on offer.
• Enter the Matrix, a game that parallels the events in the second Matrix movie, features several chases, including the famous highway chase from the movie.
• Chase H.Q. (1988) and its sequels (1989 and 1992) form an arcade racing game series where the player assumes the role of a police officer who, along with his partner, must stop fleeing criminals in high-speed pursuits.

[edit] See also

• Commandeering

[edit] References