The Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) is a tactical maneuver used by law enforcement to force a fleeing vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.
The Mechanics: A patrol car aligns its front bumper with the target vehicle's rear quarter panel. By applying a lateral force, the patrol car overcomes the friction of the target's rear tires. This creates a yaw moment (rotation around the vertical axis), spinning the car out.
Defense: To counter a PIT attempt, a driver must reduce forward momentum (brake) to change the contact point and steer away from the patrol car to break the leverage angle.