J-turn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the air combat maneuver also known as the "J-Turn", see Herbst maneuver.
A J-Turn is a driving manoeuvre which is basically a 'backwards' U-Turn. It is defined as turning a car through 180 degrees from reversing in a straight line to driving forwards in a straight line.
To perform a J-Turn, a driver would need to execute the following steps:
- Reverse at a speed of around 15 - 30mph
- Steer hard to the right
- Stop accelerating and turn the wheel to the left simultaneously
- Before the car turns a full 180 degrees, put car into 1st gear and accelerate hard
[edit] World Record
The narrowest J-Turn was performed in a Ford Escort Estate, in a space measuring 172 cm (67.7 in), by stunt-driver Russ Swift of Darlington, England, at the Zenithhalle, Munich, Germany, on 9 April 1999.
[edit] Trivia
- This manoeuvre is occasionally referred to as a "Rockford", after The Rockford Files, - a television show whose protagonist frequently performed the J-turn.
