Good Samaritan risks life to rescue possible victims of car fire Ya, no -- I drive a white pick-up and I also have a Maglite for emergencies, but no way would I cross night time I-805 traffic on foot, that's just crazy. Got to admit though, breaking a window with a D-cell Maglite is much easier than with a Fenix or other small cell light.

Yep. Looking at that video again, our good Samaritan is wearing a nylon windbreaker/jacket. Now what are you going to do if you find someone who needs to be pulled?
Cotton, maybe okay:
Wool is good;
Nomex is not cheap but I have one as a flight jacket and it's on the front seat.
Nylon? Polyester? No way would I go near an open flame while wearing one.

I was told to hit a car window on the lower corner, away from the A post, to break it out.

On the driver's side it would be lower right, on the passengers side, lower left.

Anyone else ever heard this??

I've seen various YouTube videos of guys tiring their arms out trying to break a car window using Maglites, a hammer, even cops with batons, so that side glass can be tough to smash with something blunt.

That said, as pre-tensioned safety glass, if you can apply force in a concentrated spot, a side window should shatter and crumble fairly easily. That's why those automotive "escape" tools have things like a spring loaded center punch or a Lifehammer with that small but pointed cone to whack a side window to escape a car.

If it's pointed enough, you apparently don't even need to really whack the glass. Even pressing the point against the glass with some force should be enough to shatter it. I saw that on a TV segment about escaping a car that plunges into water. They just used a hardware store center punch tool and pushed it against the side window while submerged and out they went!

I'm told that the trick is to keep the window from bowing from the strike instead of shattering. The corners are better than the center for that reason. The lower corners are better because the window is held more firmly there. Why away from the A pillar I have no idea.

chaosmagnet "never broke a window...on purpose"

Makes sense, hitting the glass where it can't flex.

I hadn't thought of that. That makes sense. I have heard the "lower is better" advice, too. I had assumed that it's safer for the occupant because you're (theoretically) a bit less likely to spray glass fragments into the person's face by breaking the window lower down. Well, that was my brilliant theorizing, at least.

You'll spray the occupants with glass fragments no matter what. The good news is that auto window glass is tempered, so it breaks into tiny dull pebbles instead of various-sized razor-sharp shards.

I keep a Houdini escape tool in my truck. It's hanging around the steering column by a piece of 550 cord. The loop is way too small to come off over the steering wheel so the only way to remove it is to tug smartly on it to separate it from the cap. This reveals a spring loaded glass punch and a seat belt cutter. I did try this tool out on an old junker car I was sending to the scrapyard. It instantly & completely destroys all side windows. In spectacular fashion, I might add. If I ever need it to effect an emergency egress it will be in easy reach, and if I ever come upon a traffic accident it will be close at hand so long as I'm driving my own truck.

Keep a res-q-me in your car, no more problem if you want to break glass, might even save your own butt one day.