Team O'Neil Rally School isn't your average educational institution. Located deep in the woods of New Hampshire, the 600-acre facility is the hub of some high-intensity tactical driving, and it's not just for any ol' Average Joe. Special operations and security professionals come to the school to learn how to pull off evasive driving techniques and incredible stunts behind the wheel that you've probably only seen in movies. This place is the REAL DEAL.
Wyatt Knox is the Special Projects Director at the Team O'Neil Rally School, and in the below video from Wired, he breaks down some of the different driver training techniques that he teaches to his students. The biggest takeaway from the driving course is for students to master what is known as "tactical mobility," which, as Knox explains, is "basically having excellent car control, so if something happens, you're capable of handling your vehicle and its occupants safely." Seems pretty straightforward, but as you can see from the video, it's definitely no easy task.
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Ready for the most obvious disclaimer of all time? DO NOT try this at home. It looks like fun and games (who wouldn't want to be among some of the most highly trained drivers in the world?), but the sorts of people who attempt these kinds of stunts tend to fall into two groups: People with dangerous jobs who know what they're doing and people who end up on the news. And not the good kind of news.
Techniques like J-turns, pit maneuvers, left-foot braking, and "driver down" drills are all incredibly badass and are all taught at the Team O'Neil Rally School. But, unless they're part of your job requirement, there's a good chance that trying to execute even one of these moves will land you in a ditch somewhere. Nothing wrong with watching other pros pull off these moves on the big screen, though.
This post was originally published on May 1, 2019.