If you have a spare 15 minutes when the whole family is at home - practice exiting a car.

With the modern autos electric door and window controls there are many combinations of the MASTER switches at the drivers door.

Depending on how you have the MASTER window and door control set, family members MAY or MAY NOT be able to get out of a sinking or burning car.

The local five kids 12-15 years old all drowned. They had plenty of time, but could not get out of the car.

Test all combinations of the ignition key, transmission in drive or park, window MASTER switch and door MASTER switch. Make sure all family members know how to get out of all four doors in all combinations.

If your two noids clank when you walk (paranoid), examine one more if applicable. If you have a trunk, examine how to get out of it in the dark. You will notice where to place a loop of 550 cord. Drill a hole in the latch. Feed a loop thru the hole. In the dark you can open the trunk. This may seem unimportant unless you are a thinker. Make sure the little boys know about the cord. They are the ones who statistically need it the most.

That is really good advice!

I have an old car, and it's easy to unlock most older car trunks from inside: find the lump that is the inside of the lock, stick your finger in the (usually square) hole, and move that little bar (less than a 1/2" long) whichever way it will go, and the trunk will pop open.

However, the locks on the new cars are covered with carpeting. Is that hole still there, under the carpeting? I would like to know, but everyone I know drives a Jeep, pickup or van.

If someone wouldn't mind, and has an actual car, could you stick a heavy needle around the inside of the lock and feel for it? If there is one there, I would cut the carpeting from over that hole and tell your family about it.

I learned this trick when I was driving limo in Las Vegas. Some of our passengers were scary, and one of the drivers said you could do this if you ever got shoved into it (lots of dead bodies are found in the desert surrounding town). Later that day, we were waiting at the airport and nothing was moving, so I asked a driver I trusted to stand outside the limo with the key to make sure I could get out. I crawled into the trunk, she closed and locked it, and I felt around in the dark for that little hole, moved the bar, and the trunk opened. So she climbed in and I was outside, and she opened it, too. Then I got a call from my dispatcher: "One-twelve, WHAT are you DOING???" (Innocent voice: "Nothing. Why do you ask?")

Sue

My F150 has a sliding rear window. I love old school.

Agreed, this is a worthwhile exercise.

I've never entirely trusted or cared for power windows and door locks. Mostly because I buy decent used cars and drive them to the very end of their lives. So, all those gewgaws are just more things to go wrong. Crank windows always work.

The other thing is, when the electrical system shorts out, there you are, contemplating an entirely different set of "options."

That said, in my car, there's usually a tire iron somewhere behind the seat. And, always a Leatherman on my belt, that would break a window easily if held (while closed) in a hammer grip.

I've noticed stores flogging a silly hammer thing with a semi-useless seat belt cutter for about $20. It's supposed to help you get out of a vehicle if you're trapped. Why not buy a real hammer (or better, a hatchet, which is my choice), drill a hole and install a lanyard, and have a really effective tool for half the price?

alot of newer cars (past 5 or 6 years) have a glow in the dark lever inside of the trunk for just such cases. at least i noticed this in my dad's 01 Chevy Impala and a friend of mines car.

Notes:

1. Most vehicles with electric locks still have manual levers to unlock the doors in case of a power problem (getting locked IN your car because of a blown fuse is a much bigger problem than not being able to get the window up or down). In most cases, power locks and windows will continue to function even if the vehicle is totally submerged.

2. ALL 4-door cars and trucks sold in the U.S. since about 1990 or so have locking mechanisms located on the (for lack of a better term) rear door jam (on the door itself), below the latch that, if set, prevents the door from being opened from the inside, to keep small children from opening the back doors while the vehicle is in motion. Something to remember.

3. All cars with separate trunks sold in the U.S. since 2001 have a "glow-in-the-dark" release handle in the trunk, so that a person locked in the trunk can get themselves out.

4. In the case of a water immersion situation, your best bet is to get the windows down or out and exit the vehicle through the window opening. The doors are almost impossible to open after the water rises only about 6 inches above the bottom of the door (and will continue to be until the vehicle is full of water). Those "little hammers" (with the pointed end) they sell for the purpose of breaking vehicle windows do a much job than conventional hammers because the side and back glass is tempered (a fact that surprised the heck out of Adam on 'Mythbusters'). Forget about breaking out the windshield, it's laminated.


JimJr

Interesting points, JimJr.

Next time I retire a vehicle, I'll have to test this. There's no substitute for field experience.

The view from my armchair only goes so far (though I hate to admit it :-).