A Stunt Driving Story: Before the Action Starts

It was 7:00 pm and I had just arrived at work. 'Pick a car that has a good e-brake, you'll need it for this sequence.' When hearing these cautionary words from the stunt coordinator two things passed quickly through my mind. First, I thought "Great!" I was pretty sure I was going to have a good evening. Second, I hoped the cars did indeed have strong e-brakes.

I picked up the bag with my driving gear and walked toward the picture cars that were lined up at the rear of the location area. Cars of various shapes and sizes were to be used in the shoot that evening and my eyes were drawn to the Crown Victorias parked there. Police lights were set up on the cars and I was excited to be playing a 'goodie' that evening.

I systematically tested the e-brake pedal in each car to find a vehicle that had a strong brake. After eliminating two cars with brakes that were too soft, I narrowed it down to two that felt OK. I wasn't completely happy with them, but I felt that although the brake didn't go down firmly, it didn't just keep going to the floor either. I picked the car with the most effective e-brake, got in, and started driving out of the stall.

I wanted to test the e-brake further, so I called out to a friend to keep an eye on the passenger side rear tire while I headed off; accelerating to 30 KMH before sticking my head from the window to look at my side rear tire. I hit the e-brake and confirmed with my friend that the tires had locked. I was pleased that the e-brake was good. Awesome! I was over the first problem.

Pulling up in my car, I double checked the air pressure in the tires. Deciding that it was on the low side, I took out a transportable compressor that plugs into the car cigarette lighter hooking the remote end to the tire. As the tires were being pumped up, I set up the e-brake release handle to ensure it stayed out, using a length of hose pipe and some duct tape. This was important to ensure that the e-brake wouldn't lock up when I depressed it during the stunt sequence.

Once the e-brake was ready and the tires in suitable shape, I adjusted my car seat into the desired position. Seeing a few things lying around on the floor I gathered them up so I could be sure that nothing would slide around under my feet while I drove.

Ensuring the tire pressure was set to an appropriate 38 lbs. in the rear tires and 32 in the front was essential for the precision slow speed sequences, especially with the featured 90 and 180 degree turns that where to be shot. The correct tire pressure was a key factor to make sure that the car came to a stop at the right angle.

Now that the car I was most confident about was ready to go, I repeated the whole process with the second best vehicle I had come across. Having the back-up ready would ensure a speedy switch if the first car had any problems. With all the prep work done, I went in to have some "breakfast" as the sky darkened. Another night on a film set as a stunt driver was just beginning.

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Until now, the world of stunt car driving has been a secret. Mark Aisbett, professional stunt driver, reveals all the stunt driving tricks he's learned over the last 20 years in his book, The Secret Art of Stunt Driving. The book subtitle really says it all: All The Insider Tricks of Driving at The Edge.

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