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0 pointschris19934y ago0 comments

My wife's cousin almost died from heat-stroke in her drive-way when her car trapped her inside the vehicle in full Australian summer sun because the battery failed while she was inside checking something. Doors and windows wouldn't open. Nobody heard her calls because the new car had good sound-proofing. She eventually managed to crawl through the panel behind the back seat to get into the boot (luckily she's quite petite) and get a tyre lever and smash a side-window so she could call out to a neighbour for help.

0 comments

brokenmachine4y ago

It's too late now for her of course, but you can take the headrest off the seat and use the metal prongs to smash the windows to get out.

mauvehaus4y ago

Having watched a burly firefighter take three good swings with an axe to bust out a window (to get to the hood release of an unattended car fire), I am extremely skeptical of this claim.

Somebody on YouTube tested those emergency hammers and concluded they're basically useless. If you really want to break a tempered glass car window (I.e., any of them but the windshield), their recommendation was an automatic center punch.

aaaaaaaaaaab4y ago

You’re supposed to do it like this: https://youtu.be/tZTa8Nh0VlE

1 more reply

jes4y ago

Right. As a firefighter, I carried a spring-loaded center-punch in the pocket of my bunker coat. No muss, no fuss. Just put the tip on a side window and press until it fires.

kingcharles4y ago

Watch this... this made me realize how tough car windows really are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L91_K-s4pMM

2 more replies

fdjsafdsjl4y ago

Depends if you are trying to break the window from the inside or the outside. It's very difficult from the outside, and much easier from the inside (I cracked my windscreen and needed a replacement, because I was carrying a long piece of wood and it moved a little and contacted the windscreen).

1 more reply

mlindner4y ago

> Having watched a burly firefighter take three good swings with an axe to bust out a window (to get to the hood release of an unattended car fire), I am extremely skeptical of this claim.

Wrong window. You're talking about the windshield which is a completely different type of glass than other windows.

1 more reply

boppo14y ago

I have heard keeping a shattered sparkplug inyour car can help. Something about them auto-shatters glass.

Aloha4y ago

I've carried a hatchet in my car for years for this reason.

nyolfen4y ago

breaking the windshield is the cheapest option to replace

notJim4y ago

Also in the "too late" vein, at least in the US, I believe cars are still required to have a latch to open the trunk from the inside. Not sure if other countries have these.

yumraj4y ago

Serious question: So why are all the people who are trapped/kidnapped in the cars in the movies not able to come out and have to yell to have someone come and rescue them?

That implies that there is no way to open the latch from inside and people, including me, may take that as the truth and not even try to find the latch. I for sure didn't know that there was a way.

5 more replies

elzbardico4y ago

As far as I know this is widely disseminated across the world.

holoduke4y ago

Front windshield is easy to brake from the inside. A gentle push with your feet will crack it. Some harder kicks will remove it for sure.

zerocount4y ago

Yep, not much more than moulding holding it in.

cabalamat4y ago

Have you actually tried this?

forgotmyoldname4y ago

Some cars (including mine) have a seat that’s just one unified unit. No way to remove it.

elzbardico4y ago

if you can get inside the boot you can open it, no need to break the windows. It is a shame this is not more widely know.

hansthehorse4y ago

That happens here in Florida. Older person drives into a canal and the window motors short out they are trapped.

sizzle4y ago

Don’t all cars have the trunk pull release by law?

selimthegrim4y ago

The horn depending on the battery is frightening

quesera4y ago

I'm having trouble envisioning an alternative power source for the horn.

Compressed air maybe, recharged by electric motor when available. Sounds like a reliability problem to me though.

zerocount4y ago

Why? I've only used my horn for telling people to get off their phone and go because the light turned green. I can't remember it ever being a necessity.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

brokenmachine4y ago

It's too late now for her of course, but you can take the headrest off the seat and use the metal prongs to smash the windows to get out.

mauvehaus4y ago

Having watched a burly firefighter take three good swings with an axe to bust out a window (to get to the hood release of an unattended car fire), I am extremely skeptical of this claim.

aaaaaaaaaaab4y ago

You’re supposed to do it like this: https://youtu.be/tZTa8Nh0VlE

1 more reply

jes4y ago

Right. As a firefighter, I carried a spring-loaded center-punch in the pocket of my bunker coat. No muss, no fuss. Just put the tip on a side window and press until it fires.

kingcharles4y ago

Watch this... this made me realize how tough car windows really are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L91_K-s4pMM

2 more replies

fdjsafdsjl4y ago

1 more reply

mlindner4y ago

> Having watched a burly firefighter take three good swings with an axe to bust out a window (to get to the hood release of an unattended car fire), I am extremely skeptical of this claim.

Wrong window. You're talking about the windshield which is a completely different type of glass than other windows.

1 more reply

boppo14y ago

I have heard keeping a shattered sparkplug inyour car can help. Something about them auto-shatters glass.

Aloha4y ago

I've carried a hatchet in my car for years for this reason.

nyolfen4y ago

breaking the windshield is the cheapest option to replace

notJim4y ago

Also in the "too late" vein, at least in the US, I believe cars are still required to have a latch to open the trunk from the inside. Not sure if other countries have these.

yumraj4y ago

Serious question: So why are all the people who are trapped/kidnapped in the cars in the movies not able to come out and have to yell to have someone come and rescue them?

That implies that there is no way to open the latch from inside and people, including me, may take that as the truth and not even try to find the latch. I for sure didn't know that there was a way.

5 more replies

elzbardico4y ago

As far as I know this is widely disseminated across the world.

holoduke4y ago

Front windshield is easy to brake from the inside. A gentle push with your feet will crack it. Some harder kicks will remove it for sure.

zerocount4y ago

Yep, not much more than moulding holding it in.

cabalamat4y ago

Have you actually tried this?

forgotmyoldname4y ago

Some cars (including mine) have a seat that’s just one unified unit. No way to remove it.

elzbardico4y ago

if you can get inside the boot you can open it, no need to break the windows. It is a shame this is not more widely know.

hansthehorse4y ago

That happens here in Florida. Older person drives into a canal and the window motors short out they are trapped.

sizzle4y ago

Don’t all cars have the trunk pull release by law?

selimthegrim4y ago

The horn depending on the battery is frightening

quesera4y ago

I'm having trouble envisioning an alternative power source for the horn.

Compressed air maybe, recharged by electric motor when available. Sounds like a reliability problem to me though.

zerocount4y ago

Why? I've only used my horn for telling people to get off their phone and go because the light turned green. I can't remember it ever being a necessity.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse