emergency vehicle escape keychain

Car accidents. Yikes!
The best way to avoid being in an accident is to use safe driving techniques and always pay attention to where you are going and to other cars around you. However, despite your best efforts you are not in control of other drivers and sometimes accidents happen. Bummer.
There are options available on the market for vehicle escape devices which will help you out in case of an emergency, however a few of the models I have seen are designed to be placed under your seat or in the glove compartment. What these products do not address is that the location of these devices are often inaccessible after an accident or are thrown around the vehicle during impact.

This project will outline a design for a post-accident escape device which will never be further than your steering column. In the case of an emergency, use your good judgement to get yourself to safety.
Be smart and ensure your vehicle is equipped with all necessary safety gear such as tire repair, cones, and road flares. This project is part of a complete car survival kit.
Construct at your own risk.

_{statement of design:
The design consists of has a small blade located in a narrow channel designed to cut your seat belt should it become jammed, there is also a shard of ceramic which can be used to break your driver's side window allowing you to escape your vehicle if the door has become compromised. An LED can also be fitted allowing you some light if it's dark. The entire device has a non-slip grip made from a waterproof material and can be attached to your car key ring.}
This instructable is entered in the Pocket-Sized Contest.
Remember to vote for your favourites!

Enough talk, lets make something!

Step 1: Materials

Materials:

• spark plug
• plastic (credit) card
• 2-part epoxy (or other strong adhesive, must be able to bind metal to plastic)
• permanent marker
• hobby knife with 'snapable' blade
• masking tape
• sandpaper (I used 3 types: 120 grit for wood, 120 grit waterproof emery cloth, and a stiff hobby board sander)
• hammer
• vice grips (grips or clamps)
• drill (with metal bit)

Knives are serious business. Be safe, and use responsibly.
Spark plug shards are also serious business, use goggles and gloves.

Comments

[yokozuna]

Mine still needs the spark plug ceramic, but the idea was to make it transparent by using a hard plastic baseball card cover. It would have been better if I hadn't superglued it to myself several times. :)

[mikeasaurus]

thanks for posting your build! I like your material selection for stiffness though maybe incorporating a bright colour as an alternative to my design, as suggested by an earlier comment. Your key placement might also help in belt cutting as there is more to hang on to. nice patched!

[yokozuna]

Gracias, sir. The card cover was perfect for placing the blade part, as well as the perfect width for it to fit between. I filled the rest of the inside with super glue to make it stiffer for cutting. The LED is on the same end as the blade, although the button cell still sticks out quite a ways on one side. Also, there is no good way to keep the LED from making contact without bending it quite a ways out. I put a couple of non-car keys on it, and it's small enough I plan to keep it in my car ashtray. I know that goes a little against the "no further than your steering wheel" part, but it's at least close to the same distance. Excellent instructable, I previously voted for it in the contest, and thanks again for the patch!

[frenzy]

This posting has won today's "I Made It" Challenge. For winning you will receive a 3 month pro membership!

Thanks for using instructables!

http://www.instructables.com/community/I-Made-It-Challenge-Is-Back-Win-A-Pro-Membership/

[shaynes2]

After having undergone my police department's Citizen Patrol training a couple of years ago, it is not advisable to have any kind of ceramic pieces on your person. The PD considers it a burglary tool and will arrest you for possession of burglary tools.

[pdub77]

I find it difficult to believe that any judge would convict a citizen, much less a cop arrest one, for merely having possession of a shard of ceramic, even if that ceramic was clearly intended to break a window. If you had a bunch of stolen goods on you at the time this could possibly be a bad situation, but law abiding persons need not fear. I had a similar conversation with a policeman friend of mine the other day about lock picking tools. This is really just common sense stuff. No cop is going to waste his time arresting you if you are not doing anything wrong. They sell similar tools to keep in your glove box, for crying out loud. =)

[slima2]

Seems like a lot of work for a piece of porceline. Wouldn't a Grolsh bottle top do the trick? Can't imagine being arrested for a cute bottle top.

[pfatz]

If the top metal end screws off as they used to, you would have an instant small point with weight behind it. Should do the job.

Otherwise buy an automatic center punch at the Pawn, FleaMarket, Hardware store or Auto Parts House. Press hard against Tempered Glass Side Window and let the spring do the work with its tempered point. Results almost guranted. Pocket size & cheap.

[Mrballeng]

"you are putting your juicy eyeballs in peril" I love it!

[gearskin]

Perhaps if you made the ceramic piece detachable, so It could be thrown separately if needed, increasing the likely-hood that the ceramic hits the window (unless you are a terrible throw). I mean, you would have a ton of chards left at home to replace the chard and it's very unlikely you would need to break more than one car window a day. :P

[Skyriam]

I've read that the ceramic needs to "impact" the glass, like throwing it, but what about doing some sort of "hammer" movement, holding the keychain and just smash it in the glass. Would that work? Thanks!

[GnomeMaster]

does  elmors glue work?

[GnomeMaster]

never mind i tried it and it didnt work

[mikeasaurus]

You'll need an epoxy glue to form the bond. Many epoxies are stronger than the materials they are bonding.

For the example shown here I used a 2-part epoxy, some strong stuff. Post a picture here when you're finished!

[kambalax]

Hi,
Maybe a late comment, but for those who ask how ceramic works: For glass to be shattered, you make a scratch on the glass with the ceramic part. Then all you need to do is appliying an impact, as your first scratch serves as a starting point for a complete shattering. Hope it's clear enough.

[hardlec]

I am curious:  Can the ceramic break a car window while both are under water? 

The idea of usung credid card plastic and a piece of a snap off blade as a seat belt cutter is great.  It will also function as a way to open plastic packages and letters. 

[theRIAA]

i recommend using binder clips to hold it together while drying! And dont use too much glue around the blade, if it squishes out and covers the very edge of the blade, it's useless. (i made 6 seat belt cutters)

[mikeasaurus]

Some good tips, thanks for sharing.

Any pictures of the belt cutters you mention?

[wakojako]

use this it's cheap and iv tested it the black bit smashes windows all you do is push it against glass.

[TR!5T4N]

where can you get it from?

[wakojako]

internet or somewere

[ljuwaidah]

I'm not being skeptic, I just don't see how you can use this to break glass easily; it doesn't have a grip you can use to hold it by. What do you do? Just throw it at the window like in the video? What if it doesn't hit the glass with the ceramic part?

Great idea :)

[goldenbacon]

I just made mine last night, its a pretty awesome rope cutter too.

[mikeasaurus]

That's great, I'm glad you tried it! If you've completed a project based on this instructable and post a picture here in the comments section you'll get yourself a patch!

[goldenbacon]

 Heres Mine, sorry if its a little late in responding to your comment, I ope i still get the patch, haha

[mikeasaurus]

shazam, you're patched!

[starwing123]

I used a part from a filament light bulb, it seems to crack normal glass fine, would it work with car windows?

[mikeasaurus]

Step 9 of this instructable covers the limitations of breaking car windows. It really comes down what you use, how and where you strike the glass, and the conditions of the glass itself (lamination, thickness, etc.).

Incandescent bulbs use a tungsten filament (with a Moh of 7.5-8) which is harder than glass. How did you apply the filament to break glass with it being so fragile? I'm interested, do you have pictures to share?

[starwing123]

I don't think I used the filament. I used these old light bulbs that were burned out. I shattered the inside and besides the filament, there was this core that was pretty solid. I'm not sure what it is. The photo of the device alongside with the type of light bulb I used

[mikeasaurus]

Since porcelain is used as an electrical insulator it's very clever to think of finding it in a light bulb like the one you have shown, considering many modern bulbs are made with a glass fuse fastened to a metal base.

Thanks for posting your version , it looks good. Have you cut any belts yet for practice?

[spylock]

This is a good idea,what I do is keep a assisted open pocket knife with a pocket clip,clipped to my pocket,the point of the knife will easily break a side widow with a little bump,and the blade will go through seetbelt like hot butter and you can open the knife with a push of the putton on the spine of the knife requiring only one hand.

[Draxis]

Instead of a spark plug, could I just go with a nail and use metal, or would this not shatter a window?

[jujubeetuna1]

Anyone who knows how glass is to work would know that the ceramic from a spark plug does not always work. It is the concept of all side glass that the middle is the strongest part. I'm 230 lbs and i can jump on a door glass on 8 inch thick concrete and it won't shatter. However if you put pressure to the edges then the glass will break. Should someone try the ceramic they may be burning energy slapping the middle

[kicker109]

i did it too...i was wicked!
the clear stuff is the vitreus humour or aquious humour...and eyeballs are surprisingly hard to slice open with a scalpel
looks cool though

[mikeasaurus]

your beginning of your comment suggests that the cermaic portion will not work, while the remainder explains that it works when hit in a certain location.

To be clear, the methods described in this instructable do work, but the glass may require to be struck in a certain location. However I had success (as seen in the video included in this instructable) hitting the glass right in the middle with almost no resistance.

While I agree that the corners of the glass may be the best location, there is a large difference between using a 230lb man and a shard of ceramic. If you require further reading as to why this works you can reread step 9 or follow one of the links I've provided.

[kicker109]

when you said
"you are putting your juicy eyeballs in peril."
it sounds like you want to eat/have aready eaten them before.

also what part are you refering to when you said juicy?

[mikeasaurus]

Having never eaten eyeballs I can only imagine the sensation. However, I had the opportunity to dissect an eyeball once in a highschool science class, it was gross. I remember it gooping out some clear stuff, some things are etched into your mind forever. Weird.

Eyeballs are soft, juicy, goopy and they don't grow back. wear goggles!

[DataByne]

Forgive me if this subject has already been covered (I'm too lazy to read every comment, but I did do a search of the page), but you should probably make a disclaimer stating that you are not responsible for any damages incurred to property or one's person through the use of this Instructable. Just a liability thing. Otherwise, since you are touting this a safety-tool (a DIY safety tool, yes, but the understood distinction between DIY and commercial is one that is generally overlooked in legal scenarios. You're making a claim to a specific effect, should that effect fail to be as claimed, you could be held liable), you could be held accountable for damages. I'd recommend a nice bold faced disclaimer. On a second note, I don't believe that a ceramic insulator will be sufficient to break even a driver's side window should the car become submerged. Commercial products use a hardened, pointed-mallet like device to overcome the pressure differential that is caused by submersion. I'm not sure exactly how much force needs to be exerted upon a single point of the glass for it to break in these conditions, but it does help if the point of contact is smaller. Perhaps a sharpened ceramic? Mythbusters covered this topic, so the information is probably available somewhere on the interweb. At the very least I'd add another disclaimer mentioning the possibility that this device might not perform the desired effect underwater, until someone can verify whether or not it can or can provide an alternate solution. Otherwise, a well thought out and potentially lifesaving Instructable.

[keikothemeowmeow]

rofl. Anyone who sues an online instructables author for a tutorial gone bad is a jackass. If only I were a judge; I would have more laughs.

[eardowel]

O.K., I'm confused. In an emergency, how do you use that? Surely you don't throw it and hope the ceramic hits the window. Do you flick it or something?