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Most modern cars have a latch release handle in the trunk, in
case
you get locked in against your will. My old (as in, a 2003 model)
Ford Escort ZX2 even had a fuel shutoff switch in the trunk,
presumably to keep a hijacker from making off in your car to do
God only knows what to you at a secluded
location.
Well these are great security measures, being able to stop the
vehicle and let yourself out. But let's suppose the carjacker
becomes angry that the vehicle has stopped unexpectedly and
gets
out to try and fix it. He sees you open the trunk and before you
climb out he either slams it shut again or decides to harm/kill you
to
ensure you stay put while he figures out how to get the car
running
again.
Now, let's assume you have a cellphone on you (who doesn't
these
days?) and you've managed to call the police. You need to stay
alive long enough for them to get to you, but you're locked in the
trunk and the bad guy has the keys. Well, my idea is for a
security
latch inside the trunk with which you can lock yourself in and the
key won't unlock it so the bad guy can't get you out.
(Note: I recommend bulletproofing the trunk and keeping a
compressed air bottle inside with a scuba mask in case he
decides
to sink the car in a lake or shoot you before ditching it)
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Remind us again, just where is the fuel tank on most passenger cars ... ?
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So, your hijacker is now quite tetchy, has the keys to the fuel filler cap, and you're lying in a closed metal box on top of quite a large amount of volatile hydrocarbons. Let's assume also that the bad guy has a projectile weapon, or some other source of ignition such as a spark from the vehicle's battery.
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Now, what's wrong with this picture ? |
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I never said it addresses ALL scenarios... you just gotta have
SOME luck on your side, I guess. |
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Not at all like real life, then ? |
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Maybe he didn't get the keys to the filler cap. I said this is for
the justifiably paranoid, you should keep that key hidden
anyway. The truly paranoid know better than to put all their keys
on the same ring. I keep mine somewhere under the vehicle.
And fuel tanks can be bulletproofed, I know I said I recommend
bulletproofing. |
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Do you have any recommendations for bulletproofing
methods that won't destroy the vehicle's fuel economy or
add thousands to the sticker price?
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The least expensive method of armoring a vehicle is with
steel. 1/4" of steel will stop any handgun round and all but
the largest calibers (.40+) of rifle.
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Let us assume a gas tank 32"W x 18"D x 8"H, roughly 20
gal. To armor that against small arms would add, including
welds and heavy-duty mounts, about 160 lbs. That's just
for the gas tank. Wrapping the entire trunk of a mid-sized
sedan in 1/4" steel could easily add 500-600 lbs. to the
weight of the vehicle, most of it behind the rear axle
(that's a bad thing).
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So let's explore alternatives. We could go with
impregnated Kevlar, which is roughly 1/3 the weight of
steel for equivalent protection, about five times as
expensive, and will only stand up to a handful of shots
before it crumbles. Then there's Chobham, a composite
ceramic armor, which is roughly half the weight of steel,
about fifty times the cost, and is restricted military
technology... |
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Russian-style ERA. Doesn't have to be very heavy at all.
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Admittedly, the vehicle won't be able to do any miles *at all* after the dust settles, but then again, it won't consume any more fuel either. |
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And, as a bonus, our theoretical assailant likely won't be
putting on much more mileage either. |
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Nobody has addressed the fact that a justifiably paranoid person will have weapons in both the cab and trunk of their vehicle. At the least, armoring the trunk prevents them from firing out.
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Arrow slot adaptations, anyone? |
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Baked by the DC Sniper... |
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That guy was not a sniper, he was a muderer. I can't stand
it when the press refer to anyone who shoots people with a
scoped rifle as a sniper.
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A sniper is a highly-trained soldier who uses superior
stealth and tracking skills and a precision firearm to kill
from afar. I'm very quiet in the woods and a good shot, but
I don't go calling myself a sniper.
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Yeah yeah, the point is he practically Baked the
arrowslit idea. |
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Actually, I think Archimedes may have beat him to it. |
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Really? Archimedes designed a car with a hole in the trunk to be
shot through? |
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Yep, the Archimedes Benz. |
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