The most dangerous police chase that springs to mind- at least for the police men has to be the one in The Blues Brothers, where the most ridiculous number of police cars end up stacked on highways and upside-down in ditches.

 The following however, are all real.

Police chases tend to occur when someone is approached initially for a minor traffic offence, but is actually attempting to escape something more serious, be it DUI, stolen vehicle, driving without up to date documents like a licence or insurance, or drugs. Then there’s the ones where the driver actually intends to wreak havoc from the get-go.

They can also occur though when someone goes on the run, like the now infamous OJ Simpson case. It always astonishes me that anyone attempting it actually thinks they can get away with it; as soon as you leave the highway, you’re essentially heading for some kind of a dead end, tailed as you invariably are by heat sensitive helicopter. But some nevertheless still manage to get away…

It’s always a bit of a decision from the Police perspective as to whether to chase or not. Obviously, they need to take into account the safety not only of the officers involved, but the occupants of the car they’re pursuing (unless it’s America...), as well as innocent motorists and bystanders. Many of them though were simply made so much more dangerous to life by the Police themselves. So with this in mind, here are my Top 5.

A bit of a long one, but so worth it. This guy is a demon, challenging the Police and then just giving the bike rein to do what it was designed to do, with not a small degree of skill, even evading the chopper pursuit. Props. You really have to question the Police decision to pursue at such speeds in a built up area, when they were quite so far behind. But then, like Keyser Soze, phoof! he was gone…!

18-wheeler goes on the run, job-stress and meth use contributing to sending this poor guy over the edge. Now, if only he’d had a bulldozer…

Commandeered an armoured bulldozer and went and did what bulldozers do. Nothing was safe. The bank, a concrete factory, the local Police station and of course, any vehicles that got in the way. With complete disregard for anyone’s safety, Emeyer went and exacted his revenge in his personally pimped ride of choice. And how.

Out of work driver stole a whole articulated lorry and weaves it dangerously in and out of traffic, crossing the central reservation. But it gets better. He hits several cars and a school bus, his payload of timber catching fire after the rear tyres are shot out, a couple of them busting loose and rolling down the highway on fire!

His reason for going on the rampage in the first place was because the local mayor was leaving office that day... go figure. He eventually gets shot by the Police. And it’s this fact, coupled with the way he manages to sashay the truck about the place, dumping wood with no thought for bystanders, truck on fire and flaming wheels bouncing akimbo that it makes the top two.

 Do what?! Yeah. A guy with military training stole a Patton M60 tank from a local military base! You couldn’t make it up. Just amazing... something out of GTA on steroids, the guy bowling down the highway, wading through traffic poles, cars and Winnebago’s with gay abandon. Man, he must have enjoyed himself. Before he was shot dead by the Police. In terms of the potential for chaos and injury though, this one stands alone.