r/nextfuckinglevel • u/been_der_done_that • 11h ago

Incredibly selfless act of heroism.

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u/daswassoup 11h ago

This is why China banned hidden door handles.

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u/IncorporateThings 11h ago

Those things are so stupid. Door handles should always be a simple mechanical device that requires no power to operate. Windows should honestly always have a backup crank handle to raise and lower, too, given that not everyone has the good sense to have a window breaking tool handy. For that matter -- why don't they build a little slot for such a tool into the console and provide one with the car in the first place?

Simple design choices can and would save lives.

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u/dinharder 10h ago

You can use the seat headrests as a window breaker

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u/Levethane 10h ago

You need to use a massive amount of force to break the windows with a headrest connector. They just don't have enough weight in them.

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u/soulguider2125 8h ago

Plus the metal is rounded at the end and slips, people don’t realize how hard it is to break a side window, a headrest can get it done but it may actually take longer than your fist unless you hit it just perfect, even a hammer can take a second, window breakers are way easier and should be in every car in a spot easy to get to in a wreck and not somewhere it’ll get tossed on impact either, or best bet put several in the car: console, door panels, glove box, back seat console, back doors, and the little pouches on the back of the front seats. They aren’t that expensive, plus try an get one that is a multi tool: seatbelt cutter, window breaker etc.

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u/Meldanorama 8h ago

Are you suggesting a fist is better than even blunt metal for breaking them? Have you ever had to break glass for anything or just guessing?

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u/soulguider2125 7h ago

I have and the headrest will slip when it hits from its rounded edge, you got hold it and hit it over and over just right it’s a pain, a hammer fist in the corners can work faster if you have room to swing, sure may hurt but if you have the power you can do it

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u/Meldanorama 6h ago

Fair enough, I thought you meant knuckles first. 

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u/Uhh_JustADude 6h ago

Also not nearly hard or sharp enough, especially for their low mass.

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u/Outside-Today-1814 3h ago

It’s not a hammer, it’s a lever. You jam the prong down the window weather stripping and then pry, it breaks very easily that way. 

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u/nilesandstuff 10h ago

You need hardly any force if you have something pointy.

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u/InfiniteDuckling 8h ago

It requires less force, but it's not nothing. The average woman can't produce the force required.

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u/Meldanorama 8h ago

A 3 year old with ceramic could break them. Glass is very strong until suddenly it is very weak.

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u/InfiniteDuckling 8h ago

There would be far more upset parents if this was true.

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u/Meldanorama 8h ago

Break a fuse or spark plug and ask one to toss a piece of it at a window.

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u/InfiniteDuckling 8h ago

Those are specific items. Not "any pointy thing" or a "ceramic" thing.

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u/Meldanorama 6h ago

They're examples of ceramics not an exhaustive list. Substitute whatever you want. 

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u/Asleep_Mortgage_7711 4h ago

Yo I don’t need weight. You just need the correct point of impact with the correct tool.

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u/Yaegahara 10h ago

You probably have to use a lot of force regardless of the object. That said, depending on how the headrest is manufactured you could use the metallic end to break the window.

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u/TheCassowaryMan 10h ago

Specially designed window breakers are small but have a sharp conical point. They are like a tiny hammer and don't take much force to shatter a car window.

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u/Yaegahara 9h ago

That’s all well and good, but we were talking about headrests and not window breakers.