What Is The Glow-In-The-Dark Handle In The Trunk Of Your Car Actually For?

One of the most fascinating things about safety features in cars is that they also have to consider situations that are very unlikely, but not impossible. Research done by Carsurance.net claims that there's a 1 in 366 chance that you'll have an accident for every 1,000 miles driven, but modern safety features are prepared for a much higher frequency than that.

There are other regulation safety features in cars that are prepared for even less likely scenarios, like being kidnapped. As movies and television shows have frequently demonstrated, when someone gets kidnapped, they are often tossed into the vehicle's trunk or cargo area, a place that's usually used to store other important things. Another reason is down to tragic cases of children climbing into trunks while playing and becoming trapped inside. Trunks can heat up rapidly, even on relatively mild days, and lack adequate ventilation, making them extremely dangerous in a short amount of time.

If it's a sedan, it's more than likely a trunk, meaning that it's separated from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. That means it's very difficult to escape through the passenger compartment. That's where the regulation glow-in-the-dark handle comes into play; it's designed to help you or your children escape these unlikely predicaments.

Cars with trunks, like sedans or two-door sports coupes, have a small handle on the inside that glows in the dark. Some fancier cars have green illuminated buttons, but they work the same way. This device is designed to release the trunk from the inside, giving you a bigger chance of escaping, should you find yourself in a pickle. The handle is attached via a cord, and you have to pull hard on it to release it. Interestingly, frunks in mid-engine sports cars and EVs are also required to have these glow-in-the-dark handles, as long as they have enough room for a person inside.

Standard 401 of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in the United States mandated that all vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2002, include the emergency release handle, though the standard was amended a few months prior, on April 22 that same year. It was all because of a young couple's terrifying, real kidnapping story in 1995 that involved both of them being trapped in their car's trunk, believing that their infant son was still strapped into the car seat in the back. By pulling back the carpeting, mother Janette Fennell successfully managed to find the trunk release, allowing both her and her husband Greig to escape and alert the authorities. Their son was alive and well. Fennell went on to campaign for emergency trunk releases, and other vehicle safety standards, like holding the brake to change gears on a car with an automatic transmission.