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    Four dead in fire as Tesla doors fail to open after crash

    (myelectricsparks.com)
    210 points json_bourne_ | 16 comments | 16 Nov 24 19:03 UTC | HN request time: 0.409s | source | bottom
    1. kylehotchkiss ◴[16 Nov 24 19:51 UTC] No.42158740[source]▶
    I’ll leave a thought that isn’t a Tesla criticism (because the others are good): everybody should carry a lifehammer in their car. If not for saving your own life, it might come in handy for saving somebody else’s.

    https://www.amazon.com/Lifehammer-Brand-Safety-Hammer-Nether...

    Don’t buy the cheap Chinese knockoffs.

    replies(8): >>42158796 #>>42158806 #>>42158832 #>>42158873 #>>42158874 #>>42158895 #>>42160135 #>>42160549 #
    2. snapetom ◴[16 Nov 24 19:58 UTC] No.42158796[source]▶
    I'd add that for anything your life depends on, my general rule is don't buy from Amazon. Buy from the manufacturer. Way too many counterfeits on Amazon.
    3. ◴[16 Nov 24 20:00 UTC] No.42158806[source]▶
    4. pyrophane ◴[16 Nov 24 20:03 UTC] No.42158832[source]▶
    Note that these tools don't work if you have laminated side windows, which many cars now do!
    replies(3): >>42158942 #>>42158968 #>>42161041 #
    5. ch1234 ◴[16 Nov 24 20:10 UTC] No.42158873[source]▶
    I don't buy safety/medical products from Amazon. There was a time (maybe even today still) where those products go into a big bin with no verification of who the actual supplier was (1st vs 3rd party). I don't know how to verify if the issue has been resolved today, but life-critical items such as tourniquets, meds, etc. are expected to be 100% made by the supplier. Unfortunately, the money in the industry is so big that "cheap Chinese knockoffs" are being sold as high-quality replicas, even though they may not meet all the required specs.

    There were many cases a few years ago of people buying branded tourniquets, only to be sold fake ones. The item looked genuine, but the integrity of the plastic could not maintain the pressures needed and broke. An emergency is not the time to realize that mistake.

    6. OptionOfT ◴[16 Nov 24 20:10 UTC] No.42158874[source]▶
    https://www.lifehammerproducts.com/app/uploads/2024/06/20240...

    Lifehammers don't work on laminated glass, like your front windshield (that would be bad, as it would mean a rock chip would shatter your window).

    But more and more manufactures are putting in laminated side windows in their cars both for comfort (noise) and rollover protection, so Lifehammers don't work there either.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptaIBTyiKkc

    I believe in the USA lots of tests are actually done without seatbelts, and this makes the requirements harder to meet.

    replies(2): >>42160415 #>>42166493 #
    7. Upvoter33 ◴[16 Nov 24 20:12 UTC] No.42158895[source]▶
    This isn't a solution though; the driver of an uber may have a lifehammer somewhere, but the passengers don't know about it. It is simply criminal not to have an obvious way to open the door.
    8. BuyMyBitcoins ◴[16 Nov 24 20:17 UTC] No.42158942[source]▶
    I don’t know much about laminated windows, but would a $5 hammer from a hardware store work?
    replies(1): >>42159015 #
    9. kylehotchkiss ◴[16 Nov 24 20:19 UTC] No.42158968[source]▶
    Ouhh didn’t realize that cars switched up windows so much. Is there a modern alternative tool that a common person could use?
    10. jabroni_salad ◴[16 Nov 24 20:26 UTC] No.42159015{3}[source]▶
    laminated windows have a layer of plastic in them. You need a cutting tool.

    https://youtu.be/DyZrQ3Q0ZR0?t=75

    Also I know this video has a firefighter in it but I will tell you that FFs are more likely to use a sawzall than a hand tool.

    replies(1): >>42161016 #
    11. remram ◴[16 Nov 24 22:49 UTC] No.42160135[source]▶
    This is way too big for everyday carry, just in case my Lyft happens to be a model S. They should forbid those as cabs or take them off the road entirely.
    12. redwall_hp ◴[16 Nov 24 23:17 UTC] No.42160415[source]▶
    Tesla is one of those companies. The side glass on their deathtrap shitboxes is fairly resistant to glass hammers.
    13. pvaldes ◴[16 Nov 24 23:36 UTC] No.42160549[source]▶
    Maybe cars should be designed with a small button and a system to do that when airbag is deployed.

    If you carry a fireweapon, don't lose time finding the lifehammer (But then we need to choose between bulletproof glasses for external threats or breakable glasses for internal danger. Both options are exclusive).

    14. FireBeyond ◴[17 Nov 24 00:56 UTC] No.42161016{4}[source]▶
    100% - hand tools are far too slow. Sawzall is really the quickest method these days, although I have seen some new tooling being experimented with.
    15. thomassmith65 ◴[17 Nov 24 01:00 UTC] No.42161041[source]▶
    Going by the last time Elon Musk publicly demonstrated Tesla's 'bulletproof' glass, an emergency steel ball bearing should work.
    16. unshavedyak ◴[17 Nov 24 19:41 UTC] No.42166493[source]▶
    What’s the recommended product then? .. does anything even work?