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My speculation is that the girl either died in her sleep or was too weak to attempt to get out by breaking a window or crawling into the trunk (if they did have those safety releases back then).
My family only buys used cars. If the manual is not included we always purchase it from the company and actually read the manual and keep it in the car. We keep those special hammers to break out windows and slice through jammed seat belts in all of our cars.
But she did. Through the fold down rear seat and emergency release inside the trunk.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markg91359
But did she know that? Is it reasonable to expect a young person to figure that out?
I'm tired of those who make excuses for this car company.
Designing a car with no means for a passenger to exit the vehicle when it is locked from the inside is plain and simple manufacturing a dangerous and defective product.
I hope it costs them a lot of money.
+1. I had no idea about a passenger being able to exit from the trunk myself. Besides, LRP is making several assumptions:
1. The girl would know about this escape route, which she probably did not.
2. The girl would be strong enough to utilize this escape route. I have tried folding down seats myself. Some of them are quite stiff and difficult to operate. I read in another article that she weighed less than 100 pounds. Also, if she were overcome with heat stroke/heat exhaustion, she would barely be able to breathe, much less move at all.
3. The fold down seat mechanism and/or truck release were operating properly. A 1997 vehicle will likely have a lot of things that don't work on it.
But did she know that? Is it reasonable to expect a young person to figure that out?
I'm tired of those who make excuses for this car company.
Designing a car with no means for a passenger to exit the vehicle when it is locked from the inside is plain and simple manufacturing a dangerous and defective product.
I hope it costs them a lot of money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
+1. I had no idea about a passenger being able to exit from the trunk myself. Besides, LRP is making several assumptions:
1. The girl would know about this escape route, which she probably did not.
2. The girl would be strong enough to utilize this escape route. I have tried folding down seats myself. Some of them are quite stiff and difficult to operate. I read in another article that she weighed less than 100 pounds. Also, if she were overcome with heat stroke/heat exhaustion, she would barely be able to breathe, much less move at all.
3. The fold down seat mechanism and/or truck release were operating properly. A 1997 vehicle will likely have a lot of things that don't work on it.
She was a high school student, not a toddler. The cruelty of darwinism wins out it seems then.
Never heard of car that you had to have a key in the ignition to unlock the doors.
The lawsuit alleges that the design of the “double-locking mechanism†was faulty and presented a “substantial danger†to passengers because it did not allow them to unlock the vehicle from inside. Furthermore, it said, the car’s horn could not be operated without the key being inserted in the ignition and that the vehicle was not equipped with an emergency release lever.
On older BMWs if you use the key to lock the door it does a deadbolt type move so even if someone was to break the window they couldn't open the door.
Not sure if this is a lawsuit, a 14 year old should have been able to break out a window (mule kick the glass with two feet) but to be fair the kid may not have thought to do it.
My German car (an older one) has a horn that requires a key, too, and it's a "feature" I hate. Do other cars require keys nowadays?
As for getting out of a car in a hurry (e.g. submerged), I purchased a tool that breaks the side windows, and also cuts the seatbelt.
It's like the two below (I store one on the floor of the front seatwell, under a pillow so it doesn't fly around):
I hate to break it to you......those stupid hammers don't break glass. I gave one to a kid trying to break into his own car, full swings and the glass didn't break!
+1. I had no idea about a passenger being able to exit from the trunk myself. Besides, LRP is making several assumptions:
1. The girl would know about this escape route, which she probably did not.
2. The girl would be strong enough to utilize this escape route. I have tried folding down seats myself. Some of them are quite stiff and difficult to operate. I read in another article that she weighed less than 100 pounds. Also, if she were overcome with heat stroke/heat exhaustion, she would barely be able to breathe, much less move at all.
3. The fold down seat mechanism and/or truck release were operating properly. A 1997 vehicle will likely have a lot of things that don't work on it.
I hate to break it to you......those stupid hammers don't break glass. I gave one to a kid trying to break into his own car, full swings and the glass didn't break!
Look at the youtube link in my previous post.
Tempered glass is enormously strong against impact. Beat it with the flat end of a hammer all day long, nothing.
However: it has NO strength against a focused point. One light tap with the hammer, turned so the EDGE of the flat end hits, and the glass dissolves into tiny pieces.
It's all about focusing the impact point to a tiny area.
A metal punch works as it comes to a sharp point. So it takes only a moderate amount of force
If you have a piece of ceramic with a broken edge, that edge actually comes to a very very very sharp (small) edge. It requires almost no force at all to break tempered glass.
I suspect you could use any cut gemstone (like in a ring or bracelet) and just lean against the glass, and it should break.
Also, let me repeat. The original news story had no indication that the poor girl every woke up. I'd think that if she had that there would be unmistakeable evidence, (to the car, and to bruising on her hands, feet, elbows, etc), and such would be mentioned in the report.
What I love is that everyone says BMW should be at fault.. How about the brother?? If he is driving the car to school he should know how the locking system works.. Also if she is riding in the car to school and it is a family auto she should know about the folddown seat and pass thru.. How about there really is more to thsi story than we know.....
What I love is that everyone says BMW should be at fault.. How about the brother?? If he is driving the car to school he should know how the locking system works.. Also if she is riding in the car to school and it is a family auto she should know about the folddown seat and pass thru.. How about there really is more to thsi story than we know.....
I could not agree more, SoCalCpl . . . LOTS MORE.
Sounds like there's a sleazy Ambulance Chaser behind all of this.
As I posted earlier . . . why is it always SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT?
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