Man and dog die after being trapped in Corvette

[Ferzerp]

They call it heatstroke for a reason. Older (and younger) people can die of it way faster than probably yourself, if you are in fit condition, that is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_stroke

Blaming the car is just asinine though. There are plenty of ways out that don't involve feats of strength (breaking car glass is not trivial). The guy wasn't fit to be driving alone if he didn't have the mental faculties to remember that he is driving a targa top car, even if he forgot the handles on the floor. The only fixed roof c6s are z06s and zr-1s. The picture is neither of those.

 

[twinrider1]

Don't all cars made in the last 20 years or so unlock the drivers door if you simply pull on the inside door handle?

I used to think so. My '98 Durango does. But I bought a 2012 Nissan Cube and it doesn't. I'm not big on government mandates, but it does seem like a safety issue.

It looks pretty much like this. The latch to unlock the door is the gray part in the middle of the handle latch. And on mine everything is chrome. I can see how an elderly person wouldn't be able to figure out how to unlock my door.

 

[SlickSnake]

Blaming the car is just asinine though. There are plenty of ways out that don't involve feats of strength (breaking car glass is not trivial). The guy wasn't fit to be driving alone if he didn't have the mental faculties to remember that he is driving a targa top car, even if he forgot the handles on the floor. The only fixed roof c6s are z06s and zr-1s. The picture is neither of those.

Would you blame the car if it isn't printed on the first page of the manual, not buried on page 39? That isn't too much to ask, is it? As a first responder I don't have time to hunt down a manual in a possibly wrecked car for a lengthy read to figure out something like where is the door handle at? Then if you find the manual, some indexes are in the front, some are in the back, opps you got the wrong manual, you get the idea.

I'm mostly curious how long he had the car. If it was new and he still wasn't completely familiar I can completely understand how confused he must have been just before he passed out. Obviously at 72 he probably had a few health issues. Which don't mean he was unfit to drive, he was just more susceptible to heatstroke.

And the Targa top question is curious, because if he bought it used, it could have already had the top sealed shut to stop leaks when the seals rot. I assume that is still a problem on those seals if the cars are left outside in the sun all day.

 

[SsupernovaE]

FWIW, my car is worse. I've got a B8.5 Audi A4. When locked from the outside, the inside handles deadlock. They don't function at all, and the ONLY way out is a lifehammer or similar. So if I run in to a store leaving my fiance in the car, and out of habit lock the door as I run in...she's stuck. (I mean, you can drop the back seat, make it into the trunk assuming it's empty and pull the release there...)

I get wanting security, but wtf? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

How can this be legal? I don't understand the trend lately in luxury/higher-end sports cars of making everything electronic. Placing critical emergency release latches in ridiculous places just screams of managers making design decisions. Hopefully this man's death will bring about proper regulations--at least in the United States.

 

[Paratus]

How can this be legal? I don't understand the trend lately in luxury/higher-end sports cars of making everything electronic. Placing critical emergency release latches in ridiculous places just screams of managers making design decisions. Hopefully this man's death will bring about proper regulations--at least in the United States.

It's dumb.

Here's a case of a 14 year old girl dieing in a BMW. Couldn't get out.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...amily-sues-bmw-after-teen-dies-locked-n100881

 

[purbeast0]

that is really sad.

reminds me of the movie christine though.

 

[Brainonska511]

It's dumb.

Here's a case of a 14 year old girl dieing in a BMW. Couldn't get out.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...amily-sues-bmw-after-teen-dies-locked-n100881

I don't understand why they would implement this locking mechanism. I see no upside to it and huge downsides, like the one in the link.

 

[SP33Demon]

urrrr.... good job at cherry picking your sample size.

now go find a normal 70 years old.

A normal 70 yr old that competes in powerlifting will still have the strength to kick out a window. That's the problem with you useless couch potatoes who have never lifted a barbell in your pathetic lives, you think it's "not normal" but there are thousands of people over 70 who still lift at the gym. Get off your computer chair and stop being weaker than your grandparents.

 

[gorcorps]

Hmmm...

I would have thought 2006/7 Corvettes weren't that complex.

If you have a modern high tech vehicle, maybe you had better research what might happen in certain scenarios? If the car battery is dead, for example, can you get out of the car?

I'd keep one of those center punch window breaker things in any of these cars that are too complicated to figure out when something doesn't work.

You will be in serious trouble quickly on a hot day if you can't get out or roll the windows down or start the car.

http://www.khou.com/story/news/loca...die-after-being-trapped-in-corvette/70999112/

That's no joke. There's so many things that are electronically controlled on newer vehicles that you really do need to read the manual to make sure you know how to handle everything. My 2014 Jeep GC has an electronic shifter, and when I had a bunch of power problems I couldn't figure out how to get it into neutral to back out of the garage and give it a jump. Turns out there's a manual release lever hidden under the hinge of the center console that mechanically shifts to neutral, but I needed the book to find it.

It's things like this you don't even realize until something breaks.

 

[NoTine42]

Would you blame the car if it isn't printed on the first page of the manual, not buried on page 39? That isn't too much to ask, is it? As a first responder I don't have time to hunt down a manual in a possibly wrecked car for a lengthy read to figure out something like where is the door handle at? Then if you find the manual, some indexes are in the front, some are in the back, opps you got the wrong manual, you get the idea.

I'm mostly curious how long he had the car. If it was new and he still wasn't completely familiar I can completely understand how confused he must have been just before he passed out. Obviously at 72 he probably had a few health issues. Which don't mean he was unfit to drive, he was just more susceptible to heatstroke.

And the Targa top question is curious, because if he bought it used, it could have already had the top sealed shut to stop leaks when the seals rot. I assume that is still a problem on those seals if the cars are left outside in the sun all day.

GM user manuals....
Have you ever read one? They were written by lawyers for lawyers. (They do include lots of pictures in a failed attempt at dumbing down the info)
They start out with, literally 100 pages of how to wear your seatbelt and watch out for airbags and other stuff GM's lawyers thought should be told.
I guess now GM's lawyers will have to start adding another 20 pages of drawings of old guys baking in their cars.

 

[SP33Demon]

...
Breaking a car window is also harder than it sounds like, even a younger fit adult would have trouble without a good tool.
...

You have no idea what you're talking about. Car windows are easy to kick out from the inside.

All videos of women kicking out cop car windows:
https://youtu.be/hixfQLk8S9s

https://youtu.be/dDa9miMIrhQ

https://youtu.be/frYUc_-O9DE

https://youtu.be/Ni2WKAErOSY

Any 70 yr old who consistently trains his legs will be able to kick out a car window from the inside if desperate enough.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What the fuck kind of car doesn't open when you pull on the door handle from the inside? Why on earth would you need to read the manual to do something as simple as this?

 

[Brainonska511]

What the fuck kind of car doesn't open when you pull on the door handle from the inside? Why on earth would you need to read the manual to do something as simple as this?

Because there is an insane desire among a certain set of marketers and designers that everything is better when it's electronically controlled.

 

[Mark R]

What the fuck kind of car doesn't open when you pull on the door handle from the inside? Why on earth would you need to read the manual to do something as simple as this?

It's increasingly common for cars to lock the inside door handle for security reasons (so that you can't force the door part way, and then put a wire loop or gripper tool in to open the door.

On some cars, this is the default method of locking. On others it is a secondary method (requiring a different locking technique - e.g. double turn of the key, or double click of the lock button).

The other cause is a desire to do away with mechanical functions and replace them with electronically actuated mechanisms. The idea is to provide programability and ease of use - e.g. so you can trigger the door to open from the key fob in case you have your hands full. The problem then comes that the manual features get moved to silly places.

The problem is that this complexity of the UI is potentially hazardous. The toyota uninteded acceleration investigation turned up a large number of events where drivers claimed to be unable to turn the car off, or shift into neutral. These complaints were traced to the fact that shutting off the car ignition is inhibited while the car is in motion, unless you hold the button for 5 seconds. Similarly, if you have the transmission selector in the "sport shift" position - the normal "push forward" motion to shift into neutral doesn't shift into neutral, it shifts up - to move to neutral requires moving the transmission lever around an obstruction in the labyrinthine gaiter.

 

[Iron Woode]

after reading the article and thread, this is what popped into my head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dIJvWIz3s

 

[Ferzerp]

I can't believe it has to be stated again.

Corvettes don't have handles on the doors. They have a button (this requires power to operate). They have a handle tucked on the floor though to exit the car if power is lost. It has nothing to do with a "locked inside door handle" or anything of the like. The button takes power. The handle is there to use if power is unavailable for whatever reason.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

HAL please open the door

I'm sorry Dave I can't do that powering down in 3...2...1

 

[BUTCH1]

It's dumb.

Here's a case of a 14 year old girl dieing in a BMW. Couldn't get out.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...amily-sues-bmw-after-teen-dies-locked-n100881

Now that's a different story, that car had NO means of unlocking the doors, it became a prison if one was locked in there by someone locking the car from the outside, insane..

 

[HN]

Now that's a different story, that car had NO means of unlocking the doors, it became a prison if one was locked in there by someone locking the car from the outside, insane..

holy fcking shit, how does that make it past the first meeting?!

"There's nothing you can do electronically in any way to escape that car," he said. "I found the 1997 handbook, it clearly states that if you lock the car from the outside, the occupants cannot get out....

[David Buchko, a spokesman for BMW North America] confirmed that 1997 model BMW vehicles were equipped with a power lock system that enabled persons inside the car to unlock the doors if they had been locked from inside as well, but not if they were locked externally. He said the design was intended to address "a theft-prevention issue."

i mean, what is the rationale behind that fucking idea? Was someone like, "hey guys, i've got a brilliant idea -- what if someone was trying to steal your car and you caught them in the act? what if we let the owner lock it from the outside and the would-be thief will be caught red handed with no way out!"

ugh.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I guess if they bury him now you can say he was smothered and covered.

 

[edro]

holy fcking shit, how does that make it past the first meeting?!
i mean, what is the rationale behind that fucking idea? Was someone like, "hey guys, i've got a brilliant idea -- what if someone was trying to steal your car and you caught them in the act? what if we let the owner lock it from the outside and the would-be thief will be caught red handed with no way out!"
ugh.

Coat hanger in window.

 

[norseamd]

At the sake of getting burned at the internet stake for this... the dog is inconsequential.

No he is not you fucking douchebag. Would serve you right for you to get stuck in a life threatening situation and not have a dog around to protect you.

 

[norseamd]

They need to take that POS vette and execute it by crushing it in a scrap yard, then burn it until it turns to slag in a blast furnace, then ship it to GM headquarters along with a giant lawsuit.

Anyone who buys a buggy GM product deserves the broken down crap they get, but this is going too far with poor design like hiding the damn door handle and not placing it in an obvious place in an emergency so a first responder can't even find it.

GM should be sued for designing an unintuitive manual door handle like that.

This.

 

[Rustler]

Now if he had a firearm he could have shot the winder out...................fact is stranger than fiction I have learned.

 

[norseamd]

The problem is that this complexity of the UI is potentially hazardous. The toyota uninteded acceleration investigation turned up a large number of events where drivers claimed to be unable to turn the car off, or shift into neutral. These complaints were traced to the fact that shutting off the car ignition is inhibited while the car is in motion, unless you hold the button for 5 seconds. Similarly, if you have the transmission selector in the "sport shift" position - the normal "push forward" motion to shift into neutral doesn't shift into neutral, it shifts up - to move to neutral requires moving the transmission lever around an obstruction in the labyrinthine gaiter.

And guess what the regular response from local LEA, prosecutors, and judges was when this type of incident occurred to those poor souls who were driving toyota vehicles? They never cared and threw full criminal charges at them for criminal driving when everything was started by defective vehicles which was no fault of their own.