What Our Kids Need to Know Series: How To Get Out Of A Car Trunk
When I was about 4-years-old, I was playing hide-and-seek with the kids on my street. I was the youngest in the group, so I followed Matthew, the boy who lived across the street. He was two years older than I and he was the only one who didn't seem to mind when I tagged along.
He found the perfect place to hide, or so I thought. In the trunk of his dad's car. Apparently his dad had left it open earlier in the day when he was removing groceries.
Matthew helped me into the trunk and then climbed in, too. He closed the trunk and I heard it click shut. We giggled thinking that none of the other kids would be able to find us. And we were right.
I don't know how long we were in the trunk before we started to get worried. Matthew didn't know how to unlock the trunk. Back then (early 1960s?) I'm not sure if there was an inside latch. Either way, we didn't know how to get out. We were stuck.
It is frightening to think about it now, how badly this could have turned out for Matthew and I.
Once we realized that we were stuck, we began to scream and bang on the inside of the trunk lid. Matthew's mom heard us and came to unlock the trunk.
My car is always locked and it is unlikely that children would get locked in the trunk. Teaching children how to get out of a car's trunk while also teaching them the dangers of playing in a car, can be wise. Of course, on the very off chance that they are kidnapped and thrown into the trunk, they will also know how to escape.
The following video shows a young child learning how to get out of a locked car trunk.