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Comment by jmiserez | Hacker News Reader

Regardless of model it's a good idea to put a emergency hammer / glass breaker in your car. (addendum: also to rescue someone else, not blaming the driver)

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If your headrests can be removed, the metal poles in them work well for this too. You jab one of the poles into the window seal, then pry like a crowbar. If done in the corner of the window it will break easily.

I looked it up on YouTube since I wasn't sure how that would work. Here is a video I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZTa8Nh0VlE

That was helpful - thanks. Hopefully will never have to use it.

Be careful with those. Plenty of cheap ones have metal hammers that will simply bounce off the window like the window was rubber (I assume the cause is wrong metal used, or point not sharp enough). And this is assuming tempered glass.

When AAA tested 3 different hammers, only 1 of the three successfully broke tempered glass. All three punch style tools broke the tempered glass.

But a lot of car windows now have laminated glass. While the tools may be able to shatter the glass for those, they still stay in one sheet, (just like shattered windshields in most car, since those are laminated glass too). And it is really hard to break through that shattered but still intact sheet, with neither style of escape tool really being much help.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rescue+hammer

A quality rolling ballpoint pen would also work (given enough force) because it contains a small ball of tungsten carbide.

My knife also has a tungsten carbide window breaker on the base of it.

I have the one with the seat belt cutting blade in the handle hanging on a loop on my truck dashboard. Separately I think all cars should be required to have manual door locks (as well as electric locks if it's a luxury car). I also think all BEVS should have a manual battery ungang lever for trapped energy emergencies.

Can also come in handy when road raging.

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