I actually have a multi-tool for just such a scenario in all of our vehicles . I have a phobia of being trapped in a vehicle in water. We just drove over this bridge a few weeks ago with our travel trailer and I remember opening the glovebox to confirm it was there.
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All of our vehicles have one of these spring loaded Life Hammers.
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I’m praying for everyone involved, including the pilots who must also be devastated.
I live near the I-5 bridge between OR and WA. Built in 1917, it has had a critical rating for years and we have earthquakes. When my kids were younger and we would have to drive over it, my husband would ask them “what do we say to the bridge?” And the kids would yell “not today, bridge!”
Cute, but the truth is that there are thousands of bridges in the US that need replacing. I know that the Key bridge was in pretty good shape, but I hope governments will pay attention. What if this had been 1pm instead of 1am?
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Gonna be a run on these tools on Amazon this week… 
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I think I’m going to try to remember to open all car windows prior to crossing any bridge from now on.
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Yep, I just bought two. And I also bought fire suppression blankets for me, my mother and sister while I was at it, for our kitchens. Meant to get these a long time ago.
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I received a fire blanket for Christmas.
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They seem potentially very useful. Bought four of the highly rated “Prepared Hero” ones for $79.99.
Those closed windows might buy you some time in the water.
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This bridge could have been built yesterday and it wouldn’t have survived an impact like that.
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Yes as I said, I understand that the Key bridge was in decent shape, but there are thousands of bridges in the US that are not and this kind of tragedy could happen in many places.
This kind of tragedy could happen ANYWHERE. It has nothing to do with the condition of the bridge. It’s apples and oranges. And yes, I agree that we have many, many bridges that are deficient.
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Years ago, an engineer offered to sell me his bridge engineering company (a woman-owned company would have an advantage in getting government work). I said no thanks. It seems like hard work.
That is horrible. Hope they find all the people… probably good it happened in the middle of the night, not rush hour.
Methinks there will be many Baltimore workers who will (where possible) work from home today and in future months.
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I have this one . It’s in my armrest compartment b/c my glove box opens by touching the car screen and if the electronics get wet then glove box won’t open.
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I drove over that bridge once, going to Bethlehem Steel, and remember it well. Bridges don’t usually bother me, but that one seemed high and narrow. We were worried about our niece, who worked until 1am last night in the Inner Haebor. But we found out she takes the bridge just north of Francis Scott Key.
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According to a AAA study, those tools may no longer work because of newer laminated windows in vehicles. Your best defence is to open your windows.
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We have relatives and friends in that area…and we have driven over that bridge numerous times.
We also took a cruise out of Baltimore, and IIRC, the ship sailed under that bridge to get to and from the docking area.
That whole port area is going to be closed for a while…
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AAA did a test of six car escape tools. All failed on laminated glass, while four of six succeeded on non laminated glass. They did not name the brand and model of the escape tools.
Laminated glass is typical on windshields, but has recently become more common on side windows for sound insulation. Windows with two layers of glass are laminated.
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If the car is a recent Tesla (based on the glove box open method), it may have laminated front window glass on which these escape tools will be ineffective.