How to Jump Out of a Moving Car and Survive

So I was reading a lot of articles and posts out there on how to properly jump out of a car, but none of them really explained to me in clear simple detail how to do it. Some articles referenced movies, some gave some metaphors, etc.. anyways, I think some of those authors have never done it so they just used movies and “physics” to explain how to jump out of a car and survive.

The reason I was reading up on this is because I was action coordinating for a Qiyi.com original film. I went out to Tianjin and coordinated some small fights and chase sequences. The main stunt though would be jumping out of a car. In the movie a mother and daughter are kidnapped and at a stoplight the mother pushes her daughter out, then while the car is moving she jumps out. I doubled the mother and jumped out of a moving car a few times. The car was going about 15mph.

Anyways, for those who want to KNOW how to jump out of a moving car and survive with little to minimal damage, I’ve written four steps to survival. (Btw, do not try this at home and or without safety and experienced supervision*.) FYI – For stunt work I wore elbow pads, knee pads, and a back protector.

1) Find the softest, clearest, most open piece of land you can find. Obviously if this is on the road you would have to watch out for other cars, dividers, objects in the road, etc. Point is – spot your landing and rolling area. You do not want to safely roll out of the car only to roll over a cliff or ram into something as you are rolling.

2) Almost in a one-two motion aim to get on your hands and knees as quickly as possible. Leap out and land on your feet but know that you won’t be able to stand up (and don’t even try to stand up) and let your body fall forward with the momentum. Go to your hands and feet as smoothly as possible. If the car is not moving too fast you can transition from your feet to your knees easier. Your knees should land first before your hands but the motion is pretty fluid.

3) Roll in the direction the car is going. Once you get on your hands and knees let the momentum roll you on your back. Roll as you would in a stop drop and roll fire drill motion. I would say forearms up protecting your face or wherever you feel comfortable, but does not get in the way of your rolling. It is important that your body stay tight. This is where all those core workouts come in handy. Stay tight and consciously roll your body in the direction of the momentum. This will help you smoothly go with the flow of the momentum.

4) When you are out of harms way and you feel the momentum in your roll has dissipated – Slow your roll and come to a stop. If you are on the road, quickly gather your wits and get out of the way of any potential oncoming traffic. Also I forgot to mention earlier that you can slightly control which direction you are rolling by the angle you jump out of the car and also just by your body movement as you roll. Practice rolling on the ground and you can get the hang of it.

And there you have it. Spot your landing area, drop to your knees, fire drill roll, slow your roll, and safely survive jumping out of a moving car. Woohoo!

*This article was obviously written for amusement and insight from one person’s personal experience. Do not put yourself in an unsafe situation to test this out. Everyone including experienced professionals should use the appropriate safety equipment when performing dangerous stunts.

Hope this article was clear and informative!