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Comment by yumraj | Hacker News Reader

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.

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For some reason, the law requires the latch to be removed if the car is in a movie ;)

The only person in the movies I'm aware of that went to jail for breaking the laws for removing tags was Pee-wee Herman.

However, I'm truly shocked that someone asked "how come in a movie...".

> However, I'm truly shocked that someone asked "how come in a movie...".

I know it sounds stupid to even ask that, but my question/concern came from that for someone who is not aware of such a thing, after watching movies I would have never even thought to look for it had I ever been in such a situation. Referring to also the story above about the women who was stuck in the car.

So, if all is true, then the movies in this case are doing a serious disservice. I know sounds naive and stupid to even ask that but most things function mostly as they do in real life, this to me seemed an odd exception.

>So, if all is true, then the movies in this case are doing a serious disservice.

Yes, modern cars have these pull tags in them. I don't know how new, but the first car that I bought new with a trunk was a 2007 model. It had them. They are even glow in the dark for easier locating in a closed/dark environment.

However, if you are ever in a real life situation trying to decide that the "movies" didn't do it this way is just a really bad way to be. Maybe the illusion/magic of Hollywood still holds for those not working in and around it, but nothing on a screen is real. Every thing presented on screen to you is there for a reason (even if what is on screen is omitting things). I've been in/around/through it for 30 years, so I could be jaded too.

I understand and not disagreeing with any of that.

Since I don’t make the point of putting myself in a trunk normally nor do I RTFM :(, my point, put in another way, was that if I had seen it in a movie I would have known that something like that exists. That is all.

Honestly, the only reason I knew about mine was the salesperson at the dealership pointed them out to me. Maybe I had an exceptional sales rep?

I've seen cars flip and roll over and continue driving in a movie, yet I wouldn't expect my car to do that. I've seen modern cars get hot wired in a movie, yet I wouldn't be able to do to a modern car. I'm just saying you're putting way too much faith in movies my friend ;-)

> I'm just saying you're putting way too much faith in movies my friend ;-)

Wait you’re telling me I can’t dodge bullets like they did in the Matrix… ;D

Thanks for the chuckle .. have a good one ..

While we're on the subject, silencers don't turn handguns silent, gas tanks don't explode when shot, and you can die from being buried chest-deep in sand

It's too dark to search for it, so you'd have to already know where the latch is at. I didn't know about keyless trunks until my ex-wife needed a jump and the battery was in the trunk, which could only be opened electronically or with the 'latch.' Google to the rescue!

All of the inner latches I’ve seen are made of glow in the dark material.

Most of the vehicles I've seen used for this purpose in movies are Oldsmobiles and such from the 70s-- long before the latches were a requirement. Modern car trunks are also way smaller than older sedans, which don't lend themselves to human transport.

If you're ever in the trunk of a moving vehicle, do what you can to sabotage the brake lights-- the wires are usually accessible and it increases the chances of attracting police attention.

I don't know about US, but in my country many cars (most?) are equipped with child safety switches for back doors. It's accessible when door is open (it's on door's inner edge) and if it's locked, you can't open door inside. It's needed to prevent children from accidentally opening doors, but you can use this feature for kidnapping purposes.

Of course you can always open front doors.

because their hands are tied.

Not in all cases..

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