To many people, a window breaker is probably the last thing that comes to mind while preparing a road trip checklist. After all, no one expects the worst when planning what should be a scintillating experience.
But, like most emergency tools, you may not appreciate the significance of a window breaker until you need one. Here’s a guide to these handy implements and why they can improve your survival odds during critical emergencies.
Introducing a Window Breaker
A window breaker is a handheld tool designed to break a window during emergencies. The device is more accurately called a glass breaker, which suggests it’s most suitable for shattering glass windows.
In recent years, a window breaker tool has become an inseparable component of vehicular safety. The device is typically used to smash car windows for quick egress during accidents. Its significance is mainly evidenced during rollover accidents, where occupants may struggle with jammed door locks and seatbelts.
Besides motor vehicles, window breakers are also critical to modern building safety. The tool is commonly found in commercial complexes, helping egress through emergency glass doors during fires, terrorist threats, or other major security incidents.
Benefits of a Window Breaker
1. Minimizing Motor Vehicle Fatalities
Motor vehicle accidents are a stark reality. While some crashes cause minor bruises and short-lasting emotional trauma, others result in fatalities.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 40,990 people died in auto accidents in 2023. Although this represents a 3.6% drop from the 42,514 fatalities reported the previous year, it still signals the tragic dangers motor vehicles present to road users.
Many auto crash victims die on impact, while some succumb to their injuries later on. In the latter scenario, having a window breaker tool handy might help lower the statistics.
Note that a significant percentage of motor vehicle fatalities occur when a vehicle’s occupants are stranded in the wreckage. With glass shrapnel flying dangerously across the cabin and the weight of an overturned car pressing down on you, timely extrication is paramount.
In such circumstances, a window breaker can help smash through a window and escape a wrecked car in time before suffering additional life-threatening injuries.
2. Reducing the Economic Burden of Road Carnage
Auto accidents claim our loved ones, and that’s traumatizing enough. But the emotional trauma is just one of the numerous consequences of having close kin or friends die in car crashes.
Picture a scenario where a household’s breadwinner succumbs to road carnage!
In a blink, the family’s fortunes begin to take a nosedive. Ultimately, the deceased’s orphaned children become destitute and end up in Child Welfare Services, putting a strain on the economy.
According to multiple studies, road traffic accidents generate four primary types of economic costs. They include medical costs (in treating the injured and their traumatized families), production costs (due to employee absenteeism), administrative costs (caused by workforce interruptions), and human costs (due to fatalities).
Unknown to many motorists, having a glass breaker handy can help to mitigate these costs.
A window breaker tool lets you create an opening and egress an overturned car before suffering fatal injuries, thereby reducing the human cost. If promptly deployed, the device may also lower the other three economic burdens.
3. Suitability for Different Emergency Situations
When discussing window breakers, the first images that spring to mind are probably of a vehicle’s occupants trapped inside a wrecked car. However, these safety devices can be delivered in plenty of other emergencies.
Not all motor vehicle accidents result from rollovers. Some can be due to fires caused by electrical malfunctions or gas leaks (as is familiar with oil tankers). Besides, motorists driving along heavily flooded roads or on causeways face submersion risks.
These are just some of the numerous motor vehicle traffic emergencies where a window breaker can prove instrumental. Simply grab the tool and smash a target glass to escape the car in time before an explosion or drowning occurs.
As previously hinted, glass breakers are also an essential safety device in commercial and even residential buildings. The tool can provide a quick means to egress a burning apartment, preventing stampeding at the doorways.
How to Use a Window Breaker
Most window breakers are equipped with a sharp, pointed tungsten carbide tip designed to shatter glass with considerable force.
Some glass breakers resemble a traditional hammer in design and functionality, whereas others have their sharp tips incorporated into everyday carry (EDC) items like flashlights and wrist straps. The latter category are usually spring-loaded.
To use a glass breaker tool, identify the window that needs to be broken. Experts recommend targeting the side window farthest from your position.
Aim the tool at the target window, preferably at its lower section, and apply considerable pressure to break the glass.
Most window breakers are also equipped with a safety knife that you can use to cut off jammed seatbelts and similar barriers. Position the knife at a right angle of a seatbelt for a quick and clean cut.
The Bottom Line
A window breaker is like insurance coverage that you hope you never have to use. Regardless, the tool can distinguish between life and death when stranded in an overturned, ablaze, or submerged car.
More exciting is that glass breakers come in multiple shapes and sizes. You can pick from the traditional hammer-sized tools or the more discreet wearable options, depending on your needs.
