That $10 Car Escape Hammer Won’t Save You in a Modern Car

That 10 buck escape hammer in your center console won't work anymore. AAA tested six popular car escape tools on modern vehicle glass, and not one could break through laminated windows. Terrifyingly, two of the six couldn't even crack standard tempered glass! The spring-loaded punches and hammer-style breakers sitting in gloveboxes across America are obsolete for one in three cars built since 2018.

Modern vehicles increasingly use laminated side windows—the same nearly unbreakable glass in your windshield.