For emergency responders, car crashes are part of everyday life. But even some of the most seasoned veterans in Toronto were shaken to the core by the scene that unfolded on the night of October 24. At approximately 12:15 a.m., Toronto Fire and Toronto Police Service attended a collision near Lake Shore Boulevard East and Cherry Street. A Tesla hit a concrete support and burst into flames. Four of its occupants died at the scene, while a fifth was rescued by bystanders before emergency services arrived. One seasoned professional responder told Driving.ca off the record the resulting carnage was unlike anything they’d ever seen in their career.
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A scene this horrific — and especially one influenced by several factors unique to modern cars such as EV batteries and electronic door latches — warrants serious examination. Based on what we know and can extrapolate about the incident, there are at least four unique and potentially life-saving takeaways you as a driver should be aware of for your own future safety.
Are electric cars at risk for fire?
Fires in electric vehicles tend to dominate headlines. However, research shows that EVs are statistically less likely to catch fire than vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE vehicles).
This is backed up by multiple studies. According to data covering 2010 to 2020 compiled by the Australian government and published at EVFireSafe.com, passenger EVs carry a 0.0012% chance of catching fire, while the likelihood in ICE vehicles increases to 0.1%. An American group called AutoInsuranceEZ examined 2020 U.S. data and concluded that EVs are the vehicle class least likely to catch fire at 25 incidents per 100,000 sold units, as opposed to 1,530 fires per 100,000 ICE vehicles sold and 3,475 per 100,000 hybrids.
However, EVs do have an exceptional attribute related to fires: when they do happen, they’re much more difficult to extinguish. When a battery cell is on fire, it triggers what’s known as thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes an ongoing compound increase in temperature that becomes extremely difficult to reverse. It can take up to 40 times more water to put out an EV fire according to the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, and even then it’s common for compromised batteries to re-ignite hours or days after the initial fire.
“There’s very little you can do about it except get away”
What does all this mean for the average driver? We asked Sean Shapiro, a former constable and media relations officer for the Toronto Police Service’s Traffic Services department. You may know him as the TikTok Traffic Cop, a nickname he earned for his engaging social media videos. Shapiro left the police service earlier this year and is now advocating for traffic safety through his website, trafficcop.ca.
Shapiro points out that much of the reputation EVs are gaining for being fire-prone comes from e-bikes and e-scooters. These are more likely to be unprofessionally modified or to use untested replacement batteries available through online resellers such as Amazon, which can compromise their integrity and make fires more likely. This is why we’re seeing measures such as the TTC’s proposal to ban e-bikes and e-scooters on its buses and streetcars.
Owners don’t tend to modify electric vehicles in ways that would compromise a battery’s integrity, Shapiro says. Batteries in passenger EVs are also very well-protected, which further lowers the risk.
But when an EV’s battery does become compromised — as occurred during the Tesla incident in Toronto — every reduced risk factor leading up to that moment becomes irrelevant. Once an EV fire is under way, all that matters is it’s going to stay that way, and it will only burn hotter and faster with every second that passes.
“You cannot rely on emergency services because by the time they get there it could be too late,” Shapiro says. “If the damage is severe and (the battery is) going into thermal runaway, there’s very little you can do about it except get away.”
But what if you try to get away — and find that you can’t?
Are electronic door latches a safety hazard?
Electronic door latches, which are increasingly trendy in premium vehicles, are not inherently a safety hazard on their own. However, if a vehicle’s electrical system is compromised in a crash, the electric latches stop working, and the occupants don’t know how to locate or use the manual overrides, this can present a life-threatening risk.
A point of clarity here: the Tesla crash in Toronto is an ongoing investigation. While bystanders and first responders have suggested that the door latches appear to have failed and the occupants couldn’t escape, no agency involved has officially confirmed whether this was a factor in the incident or its fatalities.
Regardless, it’s a feasible scenario worth discussing hypothetically. Several newer premium cars and SUVs on the market today — including Teslas and some Lexus and BMW vehicles, among others — use electronically operated door latches. To state it simply, this means the doors open via a button that sends a signal to the car’s computer rather than with a manual handle that pulls a physical cable.
Why are electronic door latches used in some vehicles? In some cases, it’s because they let the handle sit flusher with the door panel, which reduces aerodynamic drag. This is beneficial in EVs since reduced drag helps improve efficiency and range. However, not all electronic door latches come with a flush design, and they’re not exclusive to EVs. Sometimes, an automaker uses them simply to give their cars a trendier and more premium feel.
Every vehicle equipped with electronic door latches also comes with manual override releases. These can be used to open the doors in the event the electronic latches fail. But these manual releases are not all in the same place, and they’re not always easy to locate or operate.
If your car has electronic door latches, learn how to operate the manual overrides
One of the most important and proactive steps you can take when buying a new vehicle is to check whether the car has electronic door latches. If it does, then it also has manual releases, and the dealership staff should show you how to operate both when you take delivery.
Romaric Lartilleux, Manager of Public Relations for Toyota Canada and Lexus Canada, confirmed for Driving.ca that educational materials on electronic door latches and their manual releases are supplied to Lexus dealership staff so they can train customers during vehicle deliveries. The principal training video used by Lexus staff is available on YouTube, with the section on door latches beginning at the 1:15 mark.
Regardless of the vehicle brand, if this isn’t demonstrated to you when you pick up your new vehicle and you’re not sure how to find the manual releases after looking into it yourself, you can and should return to the dealership and ask for a demonstration. And be sure to pass on what you learn to anyone else who will ride in the vehicle with you.
What should you do if you borrow or rent a vehicle with electronic door latches?
Educating owners is one thing. But what if you pick up a rental car or borrow a vehicle from a friend, and it has electronic door latches that you’re not sure how to operate?
Shapiro suggests taking an uncommon step: crack open the owner’s manual. It’s the last thing you want to do when you’re itching to hit the road, but those couple of minutes of research could save your life.
“I’ve never owned a Tesla, but I’ve rented one, and no one said hey, by the way, if you get into a crash make sure you pull this little lever,” Shapiro says. “You need to become familiar with the vehicle when you borrow or rent a car. You’re planning for the very low chance of bad things happening, but you have to still plan.”
How to break a car’s windows when you need to escape
A vehicle’s doors may seize in a crash for many reasons, which can make them impossible to open. A simple and affordable window punching device can allow you to quickly break a window and escape a vehicle in an emergency.
The sole survivor in the Tesla crash in Toronto was a woman who was pulled from the burning vehicle by bystanders. They removed her by hitting a rear window with a metal bar and breaking it from the outside.
In a worst-case scenario, where you’re stuck inside a burning vehicle and time is of the essence, having a simple window punching device on hand can make all the difference, Shapiro says. He has personally tested several types and found them to be effective.
“There are hammers that simply have a carbide tip that you have to strike (against the glass),” he explains. “And there are (devices with) no visible tip, but when you push it against the glass, it causes a punch to strike the window, shattering it.”
These devices will fit in your glove box or centre console, and some can even hang on your keychain. The important thing is to keep one somewhere you’ll be able to access it easily if you need it.
If you need to break a car window, your instinct may be to hit it dead centre. However, the most effective place to strike a car window with intent to break it is in the corners, right beside the frame. When impacted at this point, the glass will shatter and you’ll be able to push it out to escape the vehicle.
Is laminated glass harder to break than tempered glass?
In vehicles, you’ll find two types of glass, tempered and laminated. Tempered glass receives thermal or chemical treatments that make it stronger than regular glass. However, it’s made only of glass, so once it’s been shattered it can be pushed out of a car’s window frame relatively easily. Laminated glass is made with a layer of plastic sandwiched between two layers of glass. While it’s not stronger than tempered glass, it is designed to keep its shape once it’s been shattered. Laminated glass is therefore typically more difficult to remove in an emergency.
This property of laminated glass is considered a benefit in most scenarios. Because laminated glass maintains its integrity when struck, it can help prevent external objects from entering a vehicle. It can also prevent a vehicle occupant from being ejected during a collision. This is why laminated glass has been mandatory in windshields for decades. Some manufacturers also use it for the front side windows for these same reasons, though this is not a requirement according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 226, ‘Ejection Mitigation,’ does not require advanced glazing, such as laminated glazing, for side windows,” NHTSA told Driving.ca in an emailed statement. “Manufacturers can decide how to build their vehicles to meet the requirements. While advanced glazing is one option manufacturers can use to meet the ejection mitigation standard, our compliance test experience has shown that most manufacturers rely on side curtain airbags.”
The short version is this: if you find yourself needing to break a window in an emergency, you’re unlikely to know whether it’s made from tempered or laminated glass until you’re actively trying to break it.
“(Laminated glass windows) require more labour,” Shapiro says. “They can take multiple manual strikes from a hammer to shatter. It keeps all the pieces in place, whereas the other type will simply shatter and fall out of place.”
In other words, if you try to break out a window and it doesn’t shatter right away, don’t panic. Assume it’s made from laminated glass and keep at it, striking it in multiple places if necessary. Once the glass is shattered, you’ll likely need to give it a solid shove or kick to get it out of the way.
Can you really use a headrest to break a car window?
You may have heard that you can remove a headrest from a car’s front seat and use the prongs at the bottom to break a window in an emergency. While this may be true, it’s not the most effective approach. In some vehicles, the headrests aren’t designed to be removed at all. But even if they are, a window glass punch or kicking with both feet will get the job done faster.
“I can tell you that using both feet to punch out the rear (side) window is going to work better than trying to smack it with a little headrest,” Shapiro says. “And I say that because very often police have had prisoners kick out the rear windows of their police cars. That’s why so many police cars have metal cages to protect the window.”
Shapiro points out this may not be an option if you’re injured, though, which leads him to circle back to the window punch. And, he says, add in a seatbelt cutter for good measure.
“I would make the investment of $5 to $25, buy something (and) have it with you,” he says. “Above all, aside from reading the manual or having the tools, it’s (important to have) a plan. In (emergency situations), people panic and freeze. It has to be something that you’ve at the very least thought about so you can spring into action. I’m going to do this, and if this doesn’t work I’m going to do that. Do everything you can to survive.”
The most important tip? Drive safely and avoid the incident to begin with
Little has been said officially about the factors that caused fatalities in the tragic Tesla crash in downtown Toronto. However, Toronto Police Services representatives did state during their in-person media briefing that speeding was a factor in the incident.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
“I can’t say enough how bad our drivers are, and I say it with love,” Shapiro says. “We have cars that go really, really fast, and we have people who are on their phones so distracted they don’t even know how they get to where they’re going. When you put these things all together and then you have a few people—if not the majority of people—who are speeding, you have an incredibly increased risk of collision.”
In other words, if more drivers would slow down, pay attention, and drive to the conditions, the rest of the tips in this article will be required far less often.
“All this discussion about getting out of the car is after we’ve already screwed up so bad that you’ve crashed,” Shapiro says. “I really want people to focus on their driving and paying attention to the road.”