Line #45 Main/UnderTheTruck


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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/NeverSayNeverAgain https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/never_say_never5.jpg]]]]
10
11	->''"A semi has about four feet of clearance under it. Sliding beneath on a motorcycle is possible, but risky. Too low and the pavement will grind you to a pulp. Too high, and any part of your body that hits the trailer will no longer be a part of your body."''
12	-->-- '''Michael Westen''', narrating the dangers of this trope before doing it himself, ''Series/BurnNotice''
13
14	When a chase scene involves motorcycles, there seems to be only one way the chase can end. The motorcycle will invariably come across an intersection with a large semi towing a large trailer at the exact moment the trailer is blocking the entire intersection.
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16	If it's the hero on the motorcycle, who will often be chased by cops in police cars, then the hero drops to his side and slides safely underneath the semi, while the cops blindly [[LemmingCops slam into the trailer without stopping]]. This is possible but extremely dangerous; misjudging the slide can easily result in decapitation by truck or in the rider's low-side leg being ground into paste.
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18	If the hero is being chased by motorcycles instead, he will just barely zip around the truck, while his pursuers take the slide and are taken out of the race.
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20	Note that motorcycle riders unfortunately used to be advised to try something similar to this if they realize they can't avoid being in a collision. The goal of this maneuver is (incorrectly) to stop in the shortest distance possible, taking a ''very'' severe case of road rash in favor of slamming into the back of a stopped vehicle or other obstacle. In real life, stopping with your brakes while remaining upright will bring you to a stop in a much shorter distance and in less time. Intentionally lowsiding is, unfortunately, still passed on from old bikers who have never used the brakes to their fullest extent. This is especially true on newer bikes equipped with ABS. Stereotypical biker leather came about as a means of protection from road rash in case of an accident, and back in the day bikes and road surfaces may have been poor enough to merit this maneuver.
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22	See also InstantConvertible for when a car tries to do the same. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do with]] the [[UrbanLegendOfZelda myth]] of [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Mew]] being under the truck in Vermilion City. Not to be confused with throwing someone under a bus, metaphorically or otherwise.
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24	----
25	!!Examples:
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27	[[foldercontrol]]
28
29	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30	* Yasha does this in Chapter 97 of ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'', to Ryuji's amazement.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Comic Books]]
34	* ''ComicBook/LargoWinch'': Simon is duped into being the star of a TV series. There is an UnderTheTruck scene in the show, but it's faked (and the explosion afterwards isn't seen either).
35	-->'''Actress:''' We're making cheap TV, not a Bond movie.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
39	* In ''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseCatwoman'', ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} slides her stolen motorcycle under a truck while chasing Rough Cut. For bonus style points, the truck is tipping over at the time.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'': During the motocross event, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer are forced into this maneuver under the stalks of the giant [[ManEatingPlant Man-Eating Plants]]. Rainbow slides past easily, but Sunset falls off her bike because the next one is too low.
41	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Vivo}}'', Gabi slides under a drawbridge barrier on a ''bicycle'' and then somehow gets back upright without even slowing down.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
45	* The 1995 Indian (Telugu) film ''Film/AlludaMajaka'' features the hero pulling this trick off [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cRs_nnhBe4 with a horse]]! The effect is not very convincing, to say the least.
46	* ''Film/TheArtOfTheSteal'': In Warsaw, Crunch loses the second motorcycle cop who is pursuing him by sliding his bike under a tanker truck that turns in front of him.
47	* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'': In Seoul, Natasha Romanoff slides with her bike under the truck where Captain America and Ultron are fighting, before tossing Cap his shield that she picked up earlier.
48	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Not a chase scene, since the Joker is coming at Batman head on in a truck, while Batman races towards him on the Batpod. However Batman fires two tow cables that hit the truck and then proceeds to weave in and out between the wheels of the trailer to tie it up. Because the Batpod is built low to the ground and the truck is quite high off the ground, he doesn't need to slide, just drive normally.
49	* ''Film/DriveAngry'', Milton drives his car underneath the hydrogen tanker as it flips over at the police blockade.
50	* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'':
51	** Subversion: in ''2Fast 2Furious'', the hero manages to zip into a narrow gap between two trailer trucks. One of the bad guys then tries to do the same, but ends up losing control, then gets stuck under the truck, and is finally splatted by the rear wheels.
52	** Contrast with the opening scene in the original, where one of the cars slips underneath a hijacked semi-truck. And manages to stay clear of the wheels.
53	* In ''Film/GleamingTheCube'', the BigBad has kidnapped Brian's love interest just after killing her father for plot-related reasons. Instead of chasing the villain's car with another car, Brian sticks to the movie's theme by holding onto another car while riding his skateboard. During the chase, they end up on a six-lane highway, and Brian in the left lane lets go of the car he was holding to zip under the trailer of an 18-wheeler, grabbing onto a pickup truck driven and ridden in by his skater friends in the right lane.
54	* The motorcycle goes under a few library desks in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''.
55	* ''Film/JamesBond'':
56	** A variation in ''Film/DrNo''. Bond is driving a convertible which gives him enough clearance to drive under a mobile crane, while the hearse full of gunmen chasing him swerves to avoid it and drives off a cliff.
57	** During a chase scene in ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', Bond dives under a truck with his motorcycle and exits the other side.
58	** In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', James Bond slides his motorcycle underneath a helicopter that has its rotor blades tilted downwards.
59	* Johnny does it in a motorised wheelchair in ''Film/JohnnyEnglishReborn''.
60	* A humorous case without motorcycles occurs in ''Film/KungFuHustle''. In the scene where the landlady begins chasing Sing they end up running on the road. As they come up on a truck Sing opts to use this trope sliding under the truck at high speeds. The landlady opts to jump over, and ends up hitting a billboard.
61	* ''Film/MadMax''. Brutally subverted in the climax of the film, when the [[BadassBiker outlaw biker]] [[BigBad leader]] Toecutter is desperately fleeing at high speed from the titular protagonist and [[OhCrap fails to notice an oncoming semi truck]] [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises until it is too late]]. Unable to even attempt a slide or other evasive maneuver, he collides head on with the truck and is absolutely obliterated.
62	* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad''. One of the Rock Riders slides his cycle under the War Rig to grab at Furiosa who is trying to enter the Rig via a hatch underneath, as she's being fired on at the time.
63	* ''Film/MenInBlack3'': Twice during the bike chase. First J slips under a truck on his [[MonowheelMayhem wheel-bike]] (which survives). Later Boris does the same on a conventional motorcycle (which gets trashed).
64	* Chun-sim does this during the pile-up at the start of the South Korean film ''Film/{{Quick}}''; sliding her bike underneath the jackknifed tanker truck. She comes off the bike after the slide and gets up and walks away.
65	* ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne2018'': At one point during the first hunt in the virtual world of OASIS, [=Art3mis=] slides with her bike under a truck that's crossing her way. One of the Sixers following her rides his car right into the truck, resulting in an InstantConvertible.
66	* ''Film/Red2'': The protagonists are driving a Lotus Exige S with such a low profile they can literally drive sideways under a truck, coming out behind the vehicle that's chasing them.
67	* In ''Film/SpiderMan2'', Spidey is chasing two crooks in a car and naturally, a truck pulls out in the way. Rather than slide under, Spidey swings ''through'' the gap between the cab and trailer.
68	* Subverted in ''Film/TheStoneKiller'' (1973). Creator/CharlesBronson's character is in a car chase with a criminal who tries this, but he falls off his motorcycle in the process and can't get back on before the pursuing car catches up.
69	* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
70	** In ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', one of the Moto-Terminators uses its ArtificialIntelligence to [[BulletTime instantaneously]] [[AwesomenessByAnalysis plot the course]] of low-bouncing debris hurling towards it, and comes up with this trope as the only solution. Like the ''Ben 10'' example in Western Animation, having no driver makes it easier to recover.
71	** And in ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', Arnie shows you don't need a motorcycle to do this. The TX is on top of a hearse being driven by the T-800, cutting her way through the roof, so he shouts at everyone to get down, then drives underneath the trailer, scraping the entire cabin off with the TX.
72	* Another quasi-example, this time from ''Film/{{Transformers\|2007}}''. Captain Lennox grabs an abandoned motorcycle, drives it straight at the Decepticon walking away, and puts it in a slide right through his legs, ''while firing his GrenadeLauncher [[GroinAttack straight into said Decepticon's codpiece]]''.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
76	* ''Series/BurnNotice'': Michael Westen has done this at least once. He takes time to note in his voice-over that, while doable, this maneuver is extremely risky and should only be done when it's absolutely necessary. Works great for deterring pursuers who don't feel like risking life and limb, however.
77	* ''Series/GameOfThrones''. During a foot chase through the streets of Braavos, Arya Stark does the medieval version by sliding under a handcart. The pursuing Waif [[LeParkour leaps over the top]].
78	* ''Series/HardcastleAndMcCormick'''s most famous stunt when [=McCormick=] maneuvers his CoolCar, the Coyote X, under the undercarriage of a moving semi-trailer truck. Fortunately, the car has an unusually low profile to enable that and a driver reckless and skilled enough to attempt it.
79	* ''Series/Hunter1984''. In "The Shooter" the motorcycle-riding VillainOfTheWeek goes around killing motorcycle cops, so Hunter disguises himself as one to lure him out. The subsequent chase scene ends when a truck pulls across their path and they both come off their bikes while doing this trope.
80	* ''Series/TheMagician'': In "The Illusion of the Lethal Playthings", Tony is being chased by a model plane loaded with plastique. He escapes by driving his low-slung Corvette under the trailer of fuel tanker. The plane slams into the side of the tanker and explodes.
81	* Made a joke on a ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' screening of ''Film/RocketAttackUSA'':
82	-->'''AFB officer (in movie):''' There's an armored truck arriving here at noon...\
83	'''Tom Servo:''' Be under it.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Video Games]]
87	* You will do this in chapter 8 of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' to avoid oil-tanker trucks.
88	* In a cutscene to ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals: Zero Hour'', a pair of GLA pick-ups and a limo are escaping from a pair of US Humvees. After one of each is eliminated by a falling tower, an ''oil tanker'' pulls across an intersection just as the terrorist vehicles cross. The Humvee crashes, and the tanker ''explodes''. Lampshaded by the words "Really Explosive" on the side of the truck.
89	* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedMostWanted2005'' features the ability to do this with any car.
90	* Done in the motorcycle chase sequence in ''VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing.''
91	* In ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'', Jake will have to slide under a truck roughly three times every driving section, due to the fact that [[DrivesLikeCrazy apparently nobody can drive straight.]]
92	* In the video game ''VideoGame/{{Stuntman}}: Ignition'' where you play as a stuntman you have to do this particular stunt frequently.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Web Comics]]
96	* ''Webcomic/DawnOfTime'', during the future ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' [[http://www.dawnoftimecomics.com/index.php?id=264 parody arc.]] Slightly subverted in that Dawn escapes her pursuers, but gets blown off her bike when the truck explodes.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Western Animation]]
100	* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', there is an episode that begins with Ben (as Upgrade) chasing a criminal, not on a motorcycle, but ''as'' it. He pulls this trick to slide under a truck and continue the chase. This version of the stunt is much easier since there's no actual driver.
101	* Much to his own amazement, Wile E. Coyote pulls this trick off in the short "Vicious Cycles" on ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''. Of course, he is flattened immediately afterwards by a truck going in the opposite direction.
102	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Marge does this (although she is on foot), dropping underneath Hans Moleman's truck while running home, in "You Kent Always Say What You Want".
103	* ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'': In the episode "Watch Dog", Kitty slides under the garage door to the Tuff Parking Garage as it is closing.
104	[[/folder]]

Context Main / UnderTheTruck