Random info that could save your life (how to escape from a car boot)

[billionzAndTrillionz]

Just a random bit of useful info from one of my son's PHCE lessons (teacher is ex-police 🙂) ...

If you're ever stuck in the boot of a car in a kidnap situation, there is usually a very visible quick-release handle inside. If not, or if the kidnapper has disabled it, you may be able to pull up the flooring of the boot and find a wire that connects the dashboard to the boot's quick release mechanism - pull it towards the driver and the boot should release.

Otherwise, find the wiring for the brake lights and pull them out, or smash them from the inside using whatever tools you can find - the car is then more likely to be stopped by police.

But usually (well according to every crime movie I've ever watched) they will have tied you up with cable ties so you can't move

Yep if I was kidnapping somebody I wouldn’t just push them into a car boot untied because presumably they’d just jump out again while I was reaching up to close the boot lid. Or push past me when I opened it.

Also haven’t you seen the Man with the Golden Gun? Open the boot and you may discover the car has turned into a plane and you are 8000ft up in the air…

Thanks for the tip. Thankfully I'm too fat to be kidnapped and put in a boot. So my top tip is eat cake every day and you won't be able to be carried anywhere let alone squished into a boot.

Hopefully that aspect of escapology will be covered next term. 😁

My kind of tip 😂

In the unlikely event that you are stuck in a minefield and it is too dangerous to sit tight and wait for help…

Take a stem of grass, insert it into the ground at 45 degrees (so you hit the side of the mine, not the top and set it off) and feel for buried land mines. Slowly edge your way forward mapping out and avoiding the mines.

TBH, it would take so long that whatever is so dangerous that you can’t wait to be rescued is going to get you anyway, if you don’t actually accidentally set off a mine. I guess it reduces the odds from “definitely going to die” to “probably going to die” and takes your mind off your inevitable fate 😂

Source: I have a BTEC in operating in hostile environments (or some such euphemism) 😂

Car boots are often overrated and I always get tempted by the butty van serving unhealthy baps. IMO if some mentions a car boot politely decline the invite. :)

I reckon you could still kick out the tail lights if you were cable tied. Depends on how you were tied though so talk to them a lot while they're tying you to distract them and stop them thinking it through properly.

Surely someone is more likely to drive into the back of the car (and you) if they can't see the car is braking?

If your car is shining, you can use the headrest to break the windows. (The pointy metal bits)

For some reason I thought this thread was going to be about how to escape from an overcrowded car boot sale.

Me too

Me three!

If it's shining I've just cleaned it and do not want to destroy the aesthetic

If you're alone and you're choking on something (i.e. you need the Heimlich manoeuvre, but there's nobody there to do it), then you can try to do it on yourself. It's quite difficult, but you may be able to use furniture or similar to help you: put your fists into position and kind of drop yourself onto a chair back, or the edge of a table or whatever. I'm explaining it badly, but if you image search "heimlich alone" then you can see what I mean.

I've just gone down a rabbit hole of 'how to escape from a car boot' 🤣

There are some excellent videos - who knew?! 😍

Love this one!

Brilliant

I am so useless at picking up typos. Obviously SINKING.

Tattoo stops you being trafficked as you would be easily identified - unsure if true though.

being too fat to kidnap is actually a really big advantage.

Always strike the corners of any window…car or house…if you want to break the glass for escape. The center is stronger than the corners

There’s a brilliant little book called Worst Case Scenario, with advice about how to escape from unfortunate situation eg being buried alive, being squeezed by a python. My favourite is that if you come across a bear, it’ll mall you if it senses fear. You can’t win a physical fight so speak to the bear in friendly reassuring tones and hope it leaves you alone!

More practically, if involved in an emergency landing, always count how many rows to the emergency exit. You may well not be able to see if there’s smoke in the cabin and you will not have very long to get off, so you need to count your way to the exit.

Exactly and use the metal on a seatbelt to break the window in a car. If in water break the back window as the front of the car will sink first

I would have LOVED a teacher like that when I was at school!

If your being robbed on the street whatever they are trying to take, bag, money , phone or whatever throw it and run the opposite direction

Of your being raped shout ' fire fire fire' over and over. People are more likely to come investigate if there is a fire than a dangerous rapist

If you think a car is following you do not walk close to the wall as they will likely pull in and use their car door to block you between their door and the wall. P.s probably best to run like hell to be honest

If your in a fire stay as close to the ground as possible and have a wet blanket on top of you. Remember door handles will be boiling hot so do not directly touch them and opening a window can cause the fire to be come worse

If someone enters your home at night do not turn the lights on as you know your way around your house better than they do so better chance for you to hide or escape

If you live in a block of flats when you get into your flat do not immediately turn your lights on because if someone is watching you they will know which flat is yours if you turn the lights on so give it a fair few minutes before you do so the person watching can't be sure

If you have lost your child don't just shout their name. Shout at a description ' brown hair, blue , eyes, red top etc so people know who you are looking for. Take a picture if your child on your phone so you have the exact outfit they are wearing on that day. Also just have your mobile phone number written inside their labels so you can be called

So not have your child's name on their clothes or bags or anything as strangers could befriend them