Maybe you’ve seen news stories about people who are trapped in their vehicle and perhaps get rescued by a helpful bystander? These aren’t always situations involving severe vehicle damage, requiring the “jaws of life” to pry open the vehicle. Sometimes it’s just a car door that seems to be jammed shut or a seatbelt that’s so snug you can’t possibly unfasten it because of the tension on it. With the latest technology in some vehicles, the car might have “decided” to not let you open the doors or roll down the windows. We’ve all seen stories about technology having a mind of its own.
Staying securely belted in with doors and windows closed is usually a good thing, at least until you want or need to get out. When doors and windows won’t open, “getting out” through the windshield of a car is usually the most difficult way out in emergency situations. That’s because windshields are made of two layers of glass, laminated to a heavy, tough sheet of vinyl so that even if you break the glass, the vinyl holds everything together, preventing things and people from going through the opening.
Side windows on most vehicles are made of a single pane of tempered glass. Tempering makes the glass very resistant to breaking, even if beating it with your fist or kicking it with your shoe. Its biggest weakness though is that a hard, pointed object can shatter the glass, making it break instantly into thousands of tiny pieces with somewhat rounded edges, making it safer and easier to exit the vehicle.
Some newer vehicles may have laminated glass on the sides as well but those are usually only in the front driver or front passenger windows, making the rear door glass or rear, back glass the next best option to break the tempered glass and escape.
As for the seatbelt that won’t let go, cutting the seat belt in an emergency situation may be your best bet.
In many instances if “getting out” isn’t a matter of life or death after an accident, it may be best to stay put until first responders arrive and can assess and assist you with a safe exit from the vehicle. When there is an immediate danger (fire, smoke, rising water, etc.) and you need to exit now, every vehicle owner should have an escape tool kept someplace accessible for anyone in the vehicle. The center console may be a good place, as an example.
For about $10, these simple tools have a pointed, metal hammer head on one end, sure to break tempered glass and a safety cutter on the other end, designed to slice through a seatbelt without cutting yourself in the process. Big box discount stores, automotive accessory stores and online vendors make it easy to buy one of these and keep it within reach in event you need to make an emergency escape from your vehicle.
