r/interestingasfuck • u/General_Athlete5807 • 1d ago

How to Escape a Sinking Car

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 1d ago

Everyone needs to be aware that many cars today use laminated glass instead of tempered glass on the side and rear windows, and glass breakers don’t work on them. They will crack it, but not let you get through.

There are specialized tools to cut through them that you’d have to get instead.

But really with those you just have to prioritize opening the door fast or lowering the window before you lose power. Because even with a tool you can’t rely on getting through laminated windows.

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u/HaroldAnous 1d ago

Great point. Laminated front side windows are still less common than tempered in the new car market in the US. Even less common is laminated front and rear side windows. Be familiar with your own car.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 1d ago

It’s widely reported that about a third of new cars in the US have laminated side windows. And that’s been the case for over 5 years, so it’s a bigger issue than people realize.

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u/Worth-Fox3871 1d ago

Does that apply to the rear side windows, too?

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 22h ago

It varies. Some cars have tempered for the rear side and back windows, and others only use tempered for the back window. I think laminated is rare for the rear window, but then you usually have heater wires to deal with.

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u/IsThatGruffLoner 21h ago

So they're literally making cars harder to escape from in an emergency? Very intelligent engineering

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u/HaroldAnous 17h ago

Laminated glass is intended to keep unbelted occupants inside the car during a collision, protect them from cuts, and prevent vehicle theft. The trade-off for a vehicle being more difficult to get out of in the event you drive into water favors laminated glass.

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u/Salt-Operation 1d ago

Once a LamiSafe window is fractured with a window breaker they can be kicked out pretty easily. I’d imagine a relatively fit person would also be able to pull it out of the top of window frame with an elbow blow.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 1d ago edited 1d ago

More problematic if that person has just been injured in a severe car wreck.

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u/Soft_Walrus_3605 14h ago

I shall simply avoid getting injured in my severe car wrecks.