The terrible accident on the A59 in which a family with two children died on Friday evening makes a deep impression. Their car caught fire and they couldn’t get out. According to bystanders, the doors did not open. How is that possible and what can you do if the door release no longer works? Traffic expert Ruud Hornman from Lage Mierde explains.
Hornman begins with reassuring words: “Most car doors unlock automatically after a major crash or if your airbag deploys.”
But if your car is on fire, like that of the family from Raamsdonksveer who died on the A59 on Friday evening, the safety system that should unlock the doors may no longer work.
Hornman explains: “In a modern car, the doors are unlocked electronically. Due to fire or water, it could just be that those systems no longer work and that you no longer unlock your door. Fire, or end up in the water , therefore seem to me the worst nightmare that can happen to you.”
“Sometimes you see in action movies that people kick their windscreen out, but in practice that doesn’t work.”
According to Hornman, there is only one way out. “That is using a lifehammer. With that you can shatter your side window with a big blow, because it is made of special safety glass. Sometimes you see in action films that people kick their windshield out, but in practice that does not work.”
Of course, bystanders don’t have a lifehammer. But they too can do something. “They can look for something that has the same effect as a lifehammer. For example, a stone with sharp points. And there are now key chains that you can use as a lifehammer.”
Still, according to Hornman, even with a lifehammer or a stone, it remains difficult to escape from a burning car. “Breaking out the window is one thing. But first you have to find your lifehammer. Then you have to loosen or cut your seat belt. And the door is also very high to climb out. You have to do all that while you are in blind panic. That makes it very difficult.”
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