How My Wife's “Irrational” Fear Of Long Bridges Made Me Look Like An Idiot For 17 Years
This is one of the more humbling stories in my marriage. For seventeen years I made fun of my wife, gently, for something she was right about the whole time.
I live in Maryland with my wife Jen and our two kids. We both work normal jobs. We live in a quiet neighborhood about twenty minutes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
I am a pretty practical guy. I like facts. I fix things around the house. I read the owner's manual before I touch a lawnmower. So when I married Jen and found out she had a fear of driving over long bridges, I did what I thought a reasonable husband does. I tried to talk her out of it.
That is the generous version.
Oh I tried the usual things. I told her how rare bridge accidents are. I showed her the traffic counts for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. She still woke up forty minutes earlier every day to drive around it. Every single trip. We canceled two family vacations because of that bridge.
Now I'll admit, I had never actually looked into what scares her. I just assumed there was nothing to look into.
Then last year, on a long drive, I asked her. Not to argue. To listen. She told me, in plain English, that the window would not go down. The door would not open. That once you are in the water, you have about two minutes. She had looked it all up years ago and never forgotten it.
That night I looked it up too. My heart sank.
The NHTSA figure is about 400 vehicle-submersion drownings a year in the United States. Most are not reckless drivers or freak weather. Most are regular commutes. A guardrail that gives way. A flash flood. A truck that drifts into your lane.
Here is what I did not know.
At three feet of water, the force pressing the door shut from outside is heavier than a small car. You can pull that handle with both hands and it will not move.
Seconds after water reaches the wiring, the power windows can stop working. The advice every driving instructor teaches (roll the window down the second you hit water) is the right answer, but it only works if you’re quick enough.
I read that and thought of Jen. She had known this for seventeen years. I had been explaining odds to her for seventeen years.
I had been wrong for seventeen years.
Finally Taking My Wife Seriously
I knew I had to do something. Not just for her. For the whole family.
Every article told me the same thing. Roll down your window the second you hit the water. Every driving instructor teaches it. It is the right answer. When you have time to do it. I saw the hole in the plan the moment I read it.
That is when I found a product called the Safety Hammer that promised to solve exactly the problem I had just found.
What Is The Safety Hammer And How Does It Work?
The Safety Hammer is a small car escape tool you keep within reach. It uses a spring-loaded design instead of the old swing-hammer style. You press it once against your window. A spring inside fires a hardened-steel tip into the glass at high speed. One press and the glass falls in a single sheet.
The part that sold me was what comes in the box. A testing kit. A piece of tempered glass the same thickness as your car window. You break it on your kitchen counter before you ever need the tool in a real emergency.
The Safety Hammer Is Popping Up In Cars Everywhere
50,000 happy customers across the country now keep a Safety Hammer in every car in the house.
Rave Reviews
More Praise From Real Customers
Loved this product!!! Got one for my daughters and granddaughters cars.
I haven't had to use it yet, and I hope I never have to! Shipped quickly and very convenient the way you can stick it to a convenient place in your car.
My Wife's Reaction
I bought two Safety Hammers. I put one on the kitchen counter with the testing kit. I told Jen what I was doing and I handed her the tool.
She looked at me for a long second. I think she was waiting for me to make a joke. I did not make a joke.
She pressed the hammer against the piece of glass. Less than a second. A thousand pieces.
She put the second hammer in her car.
Last October she drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for the first time in our marriage. Our oldest was in the back seat. We are driving to the Outer Banks this summer.
My Safety Hammer Experience
My verdict is that I spent seventeen years being the confident one and I was wrong for seventeen years. Jen was right about every piece of it.
The tool costs less than a tank of gas. It comes with the one thing no other safety product in my house came with, which is the exact piece of glass you break before the day you need it.
How Much Does The Safety Hammer Cost?
When I ordered, the best deal was $39.95 per unit, down from $79.95. I bought four. One for each car in the family. I would gladly pay three times that much to never again tell my wife her instincts were wrong.
The company refunds the full order within 30 days, testing glass included. No questions asked.
Final Verdict
The Safety Hammer is the one tool in my car I have actually tested with my own hands. I broke the practice glass on a Saturday at the kitchen counter. My wife stood in the doorway and watched. For the first time in seventeen years, I had something to hand her that was not an argument about numbers. That is what changed.
ADVERTISING DISCLOSURE: This is a sponsored editorial. The Commuter's Review earns a commission when readers purchase through the links in this article. Our reviews are independent; our revenue is not.
RESULTS DISCLAIMER: Product performance depends on the specific vehicle, the glass type (tempered side windows only (the tool is not rated for laminated windshields)), the strike angle, and the state of the electrical and mechanical systems in the vehicle. Results vary by situation.
SAFETY NOTICE: Safety Hammer is an escape tool, not a substitute for seat belts, child seats, safe driving practices, or compliance with traffic law. Never operate the tool in a moving vehicle.