KD5NRH wrote:Even a weak barrier may be a psychological barrier against an attacker. ISTR anecdotal evidence of people successfully taking cover behind thin sheet metal signs in gunfights due to that effect. More importantly after the fact, staying in the car during the attack provides the presumption of your reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary under PC 9.32(b) if the attacker attempts to enter or to remove you from the vehicle.cbunt1 wrote:I'm not sure I'd want to stay in the car (not tactically sound) but I know I'd NOT want to remove that barrier (cover...limited, but some).
(Charles, which definition of "enter" applies here? If the one from BMV - entry by any part of the body or object attached to the body - applies, then it sounds a lot more useful than the one from criminal trespass requiring entry by the entire body.)
Car sheet metal and thin signs are concealment, not cover. Cover would presumably stop a bullet. There may be a psychological barrier effect, I don't know. I believe that using concealment when cover is unavailable may work in a mass shooting incident or possibly when dealing with untrained assailants.
I do know that in my long life I have witnessed, been victimized by and perpetrated potential road rage incidents. I know that now I let the small stuff go but will follow someone, at a discreet distance who has done something dangerous on the road while reporting it on 911. If I'm driving my truck. If on the MC I just let it go.
There is no definitive answer as to what course to take in a given situation. Too many factors are involved. Skills, vehicle, training, mindset, ETC...