Testing shows automotive glassbreakers can't break modern automotive glass
core77.com
core77.com
I've never broke / pulled a fire alarm, I'm sure I can, but let me.
ALSO EVERY AIRPORT SHOULD HAVE MOCK EMERGENCY AIRPLANE DOORS FOR PEOPLE TO TRY OUT.
If only we had cheap, multi-use inflatable exit ramps that deflate, fold and stow themselves after use. Which is not a thing, apparently.
There must be something in the water here, because kids here do it over and over again, usually ending up they getting hurt/nearly hurt or told to stop.
But if you give them the boyscout/camping treatment of having them light a fire so many times it becomes boring, let them play with matches, move burning logs with thick gloves and practice putting out controlled campfires safely it becomes boring, normal, and the excitement goes away.
I guess the point is to teach how to use these mechanisms - so that there is no confusion in case an actual emergency happens.
-How to put out a cooker fire with a fire blanket.
-How to use a fire extinguisher.
-How to cut a seat belt.
-How to break a window.
etc
Could be quite a fun day out. I would definitely pay for something like that for me and my family.
A 5lb dry extinguisher in the right hands can put out one of those oval stock tanks full of burning diesel, twice.
Miss working with you!
I would pay money for this in the safety amusement park, but in real life way more people would get hurt operating the fake one at the airport than we'd help in real emergencies. Plane crashes where the emergency exit gets operated are so rare they effectively don't happen.
Of course just opening an exit door replica you could do for ~free
https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/dishing-out-anti-s...
Also, if you fail to extinguish a fire with the first fire extinguisher, it's usually game over. It'll be much worse by the time you get back with another one.
A regular extinguisher will put out a bit of burning paper or your cats tail on fire, but when a set of curtains is on fire you should probably just evacuate.
My brother put out a wall of gun powder and solvents using two cheap 2.5lb ABC extinguishers.
Still cheaper than going to the movies and more fun for the kids =)
The purpose of the slide is to 1) empty the plane _very_ quickly 2) without causing a life threatening injury. Most people are not going to be injured using it, but some will and it's not really worth the small chance your leg gets fucked up forever from being ejected the wrong way.
Man. I did as a kid in school. I did some stupid "I am not touching it" games on the glass front and that button sucked itself in like I was opening a hatch on ISS. "Push hard" my ass. Firefighters popped up, I was so embarrassed to apologize to teachers, firefighters, school principal and even colleagues who complained for some reason about the unscheduled break. It wasn't even cold outside then!
My dad knew the right people and somehow bailed me out, but I still feel awkward passing by their main station where I also had to show up to explain myself. That was effing 35y ago, roughly!
I mean, I am mostly over it. But I wouldn't call it a win :)
There is also the issue of fleet turnover. With the average age of US vehicles pushing 13 years, the install base is still overwhelmingly tempered glass. Writing off the tool entirely because new luxury cars have moved on ignores the reality of what people are actually driving. You are statistically much more likely to be trapped in a 2012 Civic than a 2025 S-Class.
Nope. The article states the following just after the table:
> It's true that not all automakers have switched over to laminated glass for the side windows; the FMVSS 226 law stipulates that you can get around it if you install elaborate side airbags that also prevent ejection.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.226
> Ejection mitigation countermeasure means a device or devices, except seat belts, integrated into the vehicle that reduce the likelihood of occupant ejection through a side window opening, and that requires no action by the occupant for activation.
Lamination and side airbags seem to be the way it’s usually done today, but nothing prevents a better way.
Another might be the bars or steel mesh that they weld over the windows in prisoner transport vehicles
This is probably also very much true on a per mile basis.
There's all sorts of stuff that's just a proxy for generalized correlation with wealth and wealthy lifestyles.
If you want to be prepared for automotive incidents:
1. Check your mood and intoxication level before and while driving. Mood is more important than everything besides drugs and alcohol.
2. Left turns (or across traffic as applicable) are dangerous. Take extra care while turning left (or across traffic).
3. Using screens at night is bad for everyone, but especially above the age of 40, both focus and iris (light balance) response take longer. Using a screen changes your focus and blows out your night vision.
4. If your car has pushbutton electronic door openers, PRACTICE opening the door without battery power.
On that note, if anyone with Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, et al. would like to revisit the way their apps handle ride assignment - specifically, the way platforms generally refuse to assign orders when the car is stationary, but then inundate contractors with notifications that must be responded to immediately when the car is in motion - it'd be much appreciated.
But you're right and it's the reason most german cars had red illuminated gauge clusters until a few years ago.
https://i0.wp.com/saabblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ni...
Not saying the car is great, just that I found the door lever easily. I'd still rather have real controls (and a real sensor) for the wipers and the reliance on software and software updates makes me very nervous. You can't even open the glove box without a voice command or touch screen (as far as I can tell).
https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/2020_2024_modely/en_us/GU...
This is almost certainly what killed those kids in piedmont
> Not all Model Y vehicles are equipped with a manual release for the rear doors.
How is that even allowed?
Once you multiply the safety problem by the this factor it all makes sense.
A small non-problem that every screeching jerk will be exposed to is a bigger actual problem more likely to get addressed than a potential real problem that will mostly go unnoticed.
Also rear doors are kinda optional. They still make 2door 2-row cars. Heck, they made 2-door 2-row SUVs pretty recently. And child safety locks are a thing. So there is an argument to be made there (not that I think it holds up on modern stuff).
> Use caution when using the manual door release; the window will not automatically lower when the door is opened and damage to the window or vehicle trim may occur.
Manually opening the rear doors is a destructive operation!
Please stop building cars with this "feature." We honestly should make them illegal.
I’m confident that if consumer sentiment starts to skew one way regarding electronic door handles, we will also see a reversal. What is unfortunate now is that other automakers are following the lead that Tesla set. Tesla essentially proved one type of electronic door and it is engineered in such a way to be cheap and reliable enough. I’m confident that if engineers are given the space to really innovate and explore ideas, they can find something that is both better mechanically while remaining highly aerodynamic.
And, I swear I heard about another one for cyber trucks, but with the vitriol surrounding them I'm not even going to try and find it.
Looks like some models might have the manual door release switch easily accessible in the front but not in the back, about what you’d expect from Tesla.
At least the fact that they have a decent solution shows that there’s no reason this has to be a problem for electric doors.
ID.BUZZ with physical controls would be my dream car, no joke.
Currently the main issues for me are the shitty touch buttons and underpowered heater (it's the same as in the ID.4, which has like 30% of the interior volume of the BUZZ...)
And on mine, the same handle that you push to open with electricity will also open manually if you pull it twice. Which is handy, because the 12v battery failed in the first year. Feels like 12v batteries are a lot less reliable lately.
Getting in from the outside with the manual handle isn't so obvious, it's kind of hidden at the back of the handle.
Any mood intense enough is extremely distracting and dangerous for driving, whether anger, infatuation, mourning, etc.
Because of this some countries have psychological testing to check your emotional stability when you get your license renewed, but realistically your emotions will be compromised for short durations much more often than that.
The test is a long term ( 15-30 minutes ) strict focus test. You don't have time to fully check everything you do on it, so you do your best and the psychologist verifies both that you have a sufficient ability to focus as a % of tasks reasonably responded to, and that you don't have large "emotional gaps" in your responses where your mind wandered to your bonnie for 45 seconds and you didn't interact with the tasks much or at all.
Unfortunately, afaik, porclean/cermaic glass breakers are illegal in most states. They are "Burglary Tools".
Nothing wrong with keeping a box of spark plugs in your center console though
>Nothing wrong with keeping a box of spark plugs in your center console though
But then you've got to keep a tool to break the spark plug to give you a sharp ceramic shard to get through the glass.
...unless you're demonstrating unbreakable cybertruck glass to the world.
[1] https://fireextinguisherdepot.com/carbon-dioxide-fire-exting...
Really though, it mostly is just pull pin -> aim low (at the base and source of the fire) -> squeeze until extinguished. Sweep the nozzle from side to side to get proper coverage.
They're intended to be used by anyone with no training, so there's not much to go wrong (assuming you haven't bought the wrong type and use it on an oil fire, although most of the ones I see for sale for consumers are the powder kind, which work on anything. The water ones are the worst, and I've never seen one).
nozzle gets veeery cold as gas expands, so you can get frost burns
Also, we never used a seatbelt ripper -- they don't work. All first responders carrier trauma shears. Those do work and have multiple purposes.
If you find yourself with a fire and an extinguisher, do not hesitate to pull the pin, and go to it. You'll figure it out. In the end, you can't really make the situation worse.
I mean, still doesn’t hurt to get more familiar, but…
Fire extinguishers are for small fires! If a little oil in your frying pan catches on fire and you don't have a lid readily available to smother it, use a fire extinguisher. But if your smoke alarm wakes you up and you discover your whole kitchen on fire, get out. The fire extinguisher will not help in that situation, and it may cause you to waste time. (Tip: If and only if the fire extinguisher is easily available, carry it with you as you exit. You might need it to use it clear a path to get out.)
We were told to just toss a large cloth on the fire in such cases.
——-
The proper method to deal with an oil fire: turn off the heat and smother the fire with a metal lid, metal baking sheet, or wool/cotton cloth. Do not use a fire blanket made of polyester or nylon; it will melt and burn producing toxic smoke. Do not use flour or any other flammable/explosive powder. Do not use water, as the liquid water will get into the oil and expand 1600 times its original size as it turns to steam; this rapid expansion will fling burning oil everywhere. If you do use an extinguisher, be careful not to spread the burning oil.
For small NON-OIL, non-electrical fires, smothering with a wet non-synthetic cloth is the best way to stop the fire.
they can also be used on small fires but only if there is a safe escape route. (This is probably the most common use but not the primary use)
It'll give you a chance to practice putting out an actual fire, refresh first aid skills, learn the incident command system, learn basic search and rescue, and other preparedness skills to help yourself, your family, and neighbors in an emergency (in that order).
[0]: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/individuals-communit...
I once had a go at putting out a fire in a waste paper bin with a water extinguisher, as part of a fire safety course. The burning paper just floated on the water as the bin filled up.
CO2 extinguishers are more effective. But I believe you have to be careful where you hold it or your skin may freeze onto it.
Get a fire blanket for your kitchen.
The water soaks in and prevents the fire re-igniting. 30 years ago, workplaces contained a lot more filing cabinets and bookshelves, and smoking was more common.
CO2 is non-conductive, and less messy. It's also great at flowing around things, making it good for spraying through vents into electrical cabinets and car engines. Downside is the CO2 dissipates within a few seconds, so if the material is prone to re-igniting it's not such a good choice.
Dry powder is in between - the powder stays around, but doesn't soak in. It's a good choice if you're only going to get one extinguisher.
Nobody is whipping out a dry-chem extinguisher because the leaves under the workbench caught on fire from welding sparks.
https://www.lifelinerescuetools.com/products/lifeline-escape...
https://www.ajaxrescuetools.com/prod-20-1-127-28/extrication...
3 of them are mine, my 2002 car has taken huge rocks like a champ…
Its big glass im telling you, esp because the recalibration stuff for Assistive Steering is like 7-800 bucks.
Yeesh at that point I'd just be buying a Comma.
I’ll probably be doing my own windshield on my Tesla to avoid this. Safelight has decent prices but whacks you with a huge fee for pressing “calibrate” in the service menu, which is user accessible.
Then we got a 2022 Passport and I swear every single trip has a new crack or chip. I was surprisingly fortunate to be talked into the windshield warranty as the sales guy has been through this exact thing and replacing these windshields with assistive tech is expensive. That warranty has already paid for itself and more including once full windshield replacement.
I did end up getting a windshield replacement shortly after purchase (like 6 months into ownership a rock came out of a truck and hit my windshield). I got it replaced for the normal $100-$200 not from the dealership and the vision system has had no issues.
That was my experience earlier in the year: I was driving alongside a large fuel tanker on a city road when a tiny stone chip, probably thrown up from under the tanker’s tyres, struck the front windscreen. It took about an 1 ½ hour for the initially invisible crack to spread into an irreparable 30 cm one – effectively right in front of my eyes – and the windscreen had to be replaced. Lesson learned: do not drive anywhere near large trucks or fuel tankers or maintain a larger distance.
But the laminated glass will prevent the structural collapse of the windshield and will also prevent the occupants from being showered with glass shards. It is also more likely that the windshield will withstand an impact from a large stone, leaving a localised and static crack that can be repaired with resin.
Hasn't it been the case for a long time now that glass in automobiles is coated so that it breaks into small, generally-square fragments, rather than shards?
I've never smashed a window myself, but every couple of months, I see the remains of a window smashing on the sidewalk... it's always a pile of small, generally-square fragments.
My memory tells me that this design was mandated long ago because folks would get shards embedded in them effectively forever. One of my parents related a story that one of the parents up the tree would irregularly have to extract migrating glass shards breaking through the skin of his face that had been embedded during an automobile accident many years prior. But, perhaps that story is bullshit and completely fabricated, IDK.
Rescue tool?
https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/Products/Swiss-Army-Knife%E...
https://www.victorinox.com/en-DE/Products/Swiss-Army-Knife%E...
It's a shame AAA's testing wasn't more extensive. They should have determined the best tool for a quick exit... Crowbar, wood saw, large serrated knife, or can opener for example.
Multitools with glass breakers seem likely to be more durable and not fall apart like the cheap plastic hammers. e.g. Leatherman SIGNAL and $35 clones like B0BRRXVW9T. They also have knife blades, saw blades, pliers, and can openers for a good selection of alternative options to test out.
Was drone-proofing civilian cars a mistake?
Plus not all headrests can be removed anyway.
Safety design very often involves trade offs. The chances you get partially ejected and killed during a rollover are meaningfully higher than the chances you die because you can’t break the glass to get out. Do you even keep a glass breaker in your car or do you imagine after surviving a wreck that’s trapped you inside your car that you will have the strength to just punch through a glass window?
Then it logically follows that either the only defensible approach is to not have any safety solutions, or that there simply isn’t a defensible approach.
The tradeoffs are unavoidable, a seatbelt or airbag might very well kill someone despite saving countless lives. Even tech like lane departure warnings will almost inevitably distract and kill someone.
> fewer than 300 airbag-related deaths
So, they do kill people.
They kill people at a low enough rate that make them both worth installing, and mandating, compared to the alternatives.
I think likely much better would be to mandate solution that forces doors to fully unlock in case of a crash or large water ingress.
Am I the only one who doesn’t know what EDC is?
Uh huh... Now consider this scenario; you lose control and crash into a tree. You are out and your car catches fire. Who gets to the scene first? Firefighters, or probably just whichever randos happened to be right there when it happened? Probably the later. Probably for the best if one of them is able to break your window and pull you out.
It’s another Half-Life reference
It is a fun feather in your cap, but definitely not suitable for a first run through of the game.
In some states it is the law that if you are from out of state and get a speeding ticket, you either have to pay the officer in cash while you are stopped or they can take you to jail until money is posted or it is your court date.
This happened to a friend of mine from Wisconsin, visiting me in Michigan about ten years ago. I was shocked to learn this was actual Mochigan law, and could hardly believe it even after verifying it. He felt very “lucky” to have had several hundred dollars in cash to simply hand over to the officer. Michigan only just rescinded those laws in 2019: https://landline.media/michigan-laws-end-roadside-cash-payme...
It's actually great. Their tickets are (or were) cheap and not reported to insurance if paid on the spot.
Far superior to the "pretend it's more than 1% about safety and peddle it to the worst kind of people" approach that most other states take with speeding enforcement IMO.
The glass breaking happens after multiple offices have arrived for backup as the person usually gets dragged from the car screaming. The videos are extremely entertaining to watch.
The combination of unregistered vehicle, failure to prove the driver has a license, and the drivers insisting they should be allowed to drive away is absolutely a combination where arrest is legal.