Learning to fight in and around vehicles is a skill-set the CO’s needs to be intimately involved with. The reason being is that aside from our home or workplace, this is a place we spend a majority of our time. Now I could spend 2,000 words just on the subject of worthwhile drills pertaining to vehicles, such as counter-carjacking, vehicle ambush and counter-ambush, tactical driving, ECQ fighting in the cab and the like. But instead, we are going to focus on a skill that few CO’s think about much less drill on: Escaping out of a wrecked vehicle.
For those of you that have been involved in a vehicle accident of any type, including but not limited to a “T-Bone” “Side-Swipe” “Rear’End” “Head-On” or “Roll-Over”, you know how disorienting and frightening it all can be. A good friend of mine who has been in several terrific car crashes (none of them his fault he claims) describes a car crash as “getting blind sided by a 250lb Linebacker repeatedly”. Whatever adjectives you wish to ascribe to it, it can be said without a doubt that at on a scale of 1 to 10, vehicle crashes gets a Pucker Factor of 11!
Now before we go any further let’s address an urban myths about car wrecks. The infamous and widely held belief that all cars that roll over in accidents catch fire and explode. Now, I know Hollywood has probably convinced you otherwise on this, since every Jason Bourne movie has at least one good car explosion, but sorry, this one is FALSE. The reason most urban myths become so widespread is that some of them actually have a sprinkle of “fact” in them somewhere. That is the case with the “All cars that roll over explode” one. You see, when this myth began (in the 80’s sometime) SOME cars actually did on a regular basis, explode into flames when they rolled over in an accident due to certain vehicle design flaws (mostly to do with the gas tank). But since then the vehicle industry (due to Federal regulations mostly) has become MUCH safer, and the majority of all vehicles on the road today do not have this problem. Now, as a caveat and legal disclaimer, let me clearly say that does not mean it cannot happen, it is just the “likelihood” of it happening is MUCH LESS that it was 30 years ago.
So having said all that, does this mean you still do not need to “self-rescue” after a roll-over or other type of car accident? Absolutely Not! Common sense dictates that if there is even a 1% chance of this vehicle exploding, you should still GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE, IF POSSIBLE. The reason I use the word “possible” here is twofold:
- The injuries you have sustained may not allow you to rescue yourself
- You may be trapped
Let’s talk about traumatic injuries for a moment. Most of the time, your body will let you know if you are hurt really badly, this sensation called PAIN will flood your nervous system. Pretty self-explanatory. But there are some traumatic injuries where this is not the case. Specifically, spinal cord injuries to the back. Because of certain neuro-pathways being severed or damaged, the message to the brain that is saying “Hey, I am hurt down here” does not reach the CPU. In this case, ANY MOVEMENT without first stabilizing and/or immobilizing the neck and back can cause further traumatic injury. To play it safe, if your back, legs or arms feel in any way “weird”, “numb” or “tingly”, if it all possible, sit still and wait for paramedics. Of course, if the car is on fire or you smell smoke or gas, you will just have to take the chance, if you are not pinned in or trapped that is, and get out the best way you can.
Now I know all of this information is highly speculative and circumstantial, but there is no way for me ultimately to cover every possibility here, I am just trying to cover the generalities for you guys. Obviously, if you are trapped or pinned in the car, what can you do? I could tell you “do this” or “do that” but only you are going to be able to make that call at that particular time, right? Add to this that most everybody over the age of 10 in America owns a cell phone, and the chances of either you or a by-stander calling 911 after the accident are pretty high. Also, most vehicles now come standard equipped with GPS On-Star, which self-activates in the event of a collision, your chances of receiving medical aid fairly quickly are greatly increased.
The best you can do beforehand, as in all training, is try to be prepared the best you can. Here is the short list:
- Feel confident about the safety of your vehicle. What are its safety features? Have you had your airbags checked lately? Does your vehicle have On-star? How does it function in a crash?
- Practice Defensive Driving Skills every time you get on the road! Minimize your risk every time you get on the road. As my dad used to tell me ” You cannot control what the other idiot is doing, but you can control WHAT YOU ARE DOING!”
- If you don’t keep your cell phone on your person while driving (most people do not) mount your cell phone someplace versus placing it inside a cup holder or the center console; this will increase the odds you can find it after the crash.
- Keep a trauma kit in your vehicle. Nothing fancy, just the basics to stop severe bleeding. I keep a fully stocked med bag in the same compartment as my spare tire.
- Carry on your person or Mount or stash in your glove box or center console a “self-rescue” survival item that can both cut your seat belt and break a window if the opportunity does present itself.
This tool gives you everything you need for self-escape in one device. It is a seat belt cutter and window breaker/window scraper. You mount it to a convenient location on the inside of you vehicle cab and it even has a tritium luminescent pin to help you find it in the dark.
This is a similar device as the Life Hammer except in a smaller package that you can carry on your key-chain.
The last option (and the best IMO) is to carry a spring-assisted or automatic EDC knife on your person with a window breaker tool or tip on the end. Some even have an integrated seat belt cutter (in the event you cannot open the knife) This way you have a cutting tool and glass breaker clipped in your pocket 24/7 in the event you cannot get to the other devices or you are not in your vehicle or don’t have your key-chain with you when you may need to help rescue somebody. Of course, if worse comes to worse, and you don’t have a knife with a glass tip on the end, the nearest rock will also do the trick, just make sure you don’t do more harm than good!! But to me, carrying a EDC with a glass tip covers all the bases and increases the odds you will have “what you need when you need it.”
Since this post is already 1,000 words + BOLO for a post helping you to choose the Right knife with these types of features.
Stay Safe, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!
Reblogged this on theThumpHouse.