A motor car with a fire escape was a novelty introduced by a British inventor in 1933. The top of the car was cut away to provide a large rectangular aperture, which was normally closed by a fitted panel that excludes rain and snow.
If an accident should turn the car on its side, however, the panel automatically falls out, thus allowing the occupants to escape or be helped out quickly. In case of fire following a collision, the inventor declared, his innovation would be an invaluable aid to life-saving and would probably greatly reduce the number of serious injuries that occur when driver is trapped in car.
Some of the stock cars that raced at my local speedway in the 1950's had a hole in the roof without a cover to make it easier for the driver to exit the vehicle after a crash.
ReplyDelete