This is one of the scenarios which shows the root cause of this bug.
1.Place two tanks 200-300 meters apart, one player as commander, one playable
2.Start game
3.Get out of tank and run away 5 meters
4.Teamswitch to commander of second tank
5.Switch to gunner seat
6.Fire at the second tank
Observed: You'll see the dirt effects on screen as if you were close to the tank being shot.