My neighbor was showing me his new car, a Suzuki, he bought during the “Cash for Clunkers” period. As he showed me the trunk, I noticed a yellow-greenish handle on it. He said it was the trunk release in case someone got stuck in it. OK, so, outside of the Lifetime and mob movies, how common is it for people to end up in a car trunks? Is this up there with kids in refrigerators? Is there a law requiring these trunk release handles?
People do get thrown in trunks by people committing crimes. Sometimes they decide to try out the trunk. It happens enough that installing a couple dollar release handle is worth it.
I came in here expecting a topic about an item of clothing. 
Anyway, I’d say it make sense for any enclosed space which could fit a person in it to have some sort of failsafe to help them get out. A few extra pounds on the cost of the car is probably worth it to avoid injuries after all.
Yes, 2002 and later models are required to come equipped with a trunk release.
There was an incident a few years ago in Utah about some kids playing hide and seek. Five kids decided to hide in a trunk. In July. None of them made it because they couldn’t get out. So yes, there’s a VERY good reason why there’s a trunk release.
interesting fact.
The auto companies were all set to put big bright red handles in the trunks. Fortunately child psychologists (and probably some smart moms) told them not to. Kids are taught early on to never touch anything colored red-it is a sign it is dangerous. Hence the greenish color.
Is that a true fact? My thought was that the color was a consequence of the phosphorescent additive to the polymer. It’s that yellow-green color most of the glow-in-the-dark stuff has.
Beware of the Yakuza!
I do recall that they did testing (by actually putting kids in trunks…) to see if they would get out on their own. One of the ideas that seemed good, but failed, was a yellowish glow-in-the-dark cord. Apparently, the kids noticed it, but were afraid to touch it because it might be “electric”. I’ll try to track down a cite. But they’re there for kids, and designed so the kids will intuitively use them.
This is the best link I could find, although it doesn’t mention the “electric” cord anecdote. It does talk about testing with kids, and gives details on the glow-in-the-dark afterglow properties.
There was a letter to Dear Abby a number of years ago about this.
This lady wrote that her husband climbed into the trunk of their car to change the gas struts that held the trunk open. He removed one of the struts and the trunk slammed shut trapping him. He was able finally use the lug wrench and get out, but almost did not make it.
I came this / / close to writing Abby a letter saying that if you climb into a trunk and remove the thing that holds it open without putting a prop in place to keep it open then you were to stupid to live and deserved to die, but I held off.
but yes new cars are required to have a handle to get out of the trunk.
Last summer, the Guardia Civil (the branch of the Spanish police which is most likely to handle traffic) stopped a car because the driver didn’t have his seatbelt on and the guy’s wife had a large dog on her lap. She didn’t have her belt on either, nor did any of the four people in the back seat.
They asked for papers and to open the trunk.
Where they found three of the couple’s kids… :smack: They didn’t know whether to call their Lieutenant or CPS; in the end, they called both.
Well once I knew a girl who was really into bondage, and she told me about a fantasy she had of being tied up and thrown in a trunk. I said I didn’t think I could even do it because I would be afraid of suffocating her. Kind of weak since in retrospect it probably would have been fine, but at the time something about potentially facing murder/manslaughter charges was a turn-off for me. Or even just having neighbors witness it and start asking questions that would require some embarrassing explaining.
Oh, the things you miss out on in life by being cautious…
I was unable to find a cite. I remember reading this story in an article written around 2000 when the design was being developed. But it may be an urban legend. It was definitely in the article though!
That’s great if it saves some kids’ lives, but I’d think most mobsters would disable it if they were in the habit of tossing prisoners in there.
It’s not illegal to carry people in the trunk here, if you have more people than seats. People will especially do this travelling between, or coming home from parties. Seems like a good idea to have a release in the trunk in case people fall asleep and get forgotten about, but I don’t know if it’s mandatory or not.
The United States is a very big country, and even if you talk about 1/10 of 1% of the population, you are still talking about 300,000 people.
Almost every city in the country has a rule that if you toss out a refrigerator, you have to remove the door. Apparently, enough kids get trapped inside abandoned refrigerators to make this a necessary ordinance in almost every city.
I can imagine that there is a number of kids get locked in trunks of cars when playing around. It might not be high percentage of the population, but it could be a couple of hundred people each year. I suspect that a cost benefit study was done and it was decided that the few dollars needed for this type of device was worth the possible lives saved.
It would be interesting to see if there are actually any incidences where this mechanism actually saved a life.
I can imagine it now: The testers pull up to a playground and open the trunk. “Pssst, kid! You want some candy? I’ve got some in the trunk. Why don’t you climb in and take a piece?”
So, he traded a clunker for a clunker? Suzuki is the worst car currently sold in the US! My neighbor has two, both new, and they are always in the shop. His son in law works for Suzuki, so he gets them for half sticker (they are scratch and dents that cannot be lawfully sold as new) and even then he is barely breaking even. Most of the repairs have been in warranty, but when the warranty runs out, he is going to be in a world of hurt. Already the older one has passed out of warranty on everything but the drivetrain and the latest issue with that one is the DRIVERS SEAT MOUNTS HAVE CRACKED OFF THE BODY, leaving the seat to wobble around. Could be a safety issue there…