[Anchor]

Windshield glass on cars is designed as "laminated glass" that does not shatter easily to protect drivers in the event of an accident. Recently, however, car manufacturers have also been applying this type of glass to side windows. The problem is that it makes emergency escape and rescue difficult.

Reporter Kim Taewon puts this to the test.

[Reporter]

A police officer waves his hands urgently while calling for his colleagues.

A man in his 70s has plunged into a reservoir inside his truck.

[Yoon Jin-won / Police Officer Dispatched at the Time: The car doors were locked, and the windows were rolled up, so it was impossible to check the driver's condition. You know how cars have emergency hammers? I broke the passenger-side window and carried out the rescue operation.]

The successful rescue was thanks to the passenger-side window, which was made of tempered glass that breaks easily.

Tempered glass shatters easily even when a 2-kilogram steel ball is dropped on it from a height of 5 meters, or when struck with an emergency escape hammer.

Recently, however, an increasing number of vehicles have been using "laminated glass," which has a film inserted between the glass panes, for their side windows.

The reporting team directly acquired a vehicle and conducted an experiment.

Even when struck repeatedly with a hammer, only minor cracks appear.

It cracks after a few hits, but unlike regular glass, it doesn't give the feeling of shattering.

It only broke after being struck with a headrest and kicked dozens of times, taking more than three minutes.

In an emergency situation, that is enough time to mean the difference between life and death.

An investigation by the Korea Consumer Agency of 47 models across 6 domestic brands found that 12 models used unbreakable laminated glass for both the front and rear rows.

While this has the advantage of making the interior quieter, almost no one knows that it makes escape or rescue difficult instead.

[Goo Bon-tak / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: It was included as a basic feature. I had no idea it was like this, and I'm finding out for the first time today.]

There is a way to check in advance.

These are vehicles with laminated glass used on the side.

Looking at the edge of the glass, the word "Laminated" is written in English.

Even when you roll down the window, unlike regular glass, the cross-section is concave.

On the other hand, easily breakable tempered glass is marked with "Tempered" and has a convex cross-section.

[Kim Sung-yu / Investigator, Consumer Safety Bureau, Korea Consumer Agency: Most rear windows use tempered glass, so they can be broken by striking them with an emergency escape hammer.]

The Korea Consumer Agency has recommended that car manufacturers allow consumers to choose the type of glass when purchasing a vehicle.

(Camera: Kim Hak-mo | Video Editing: Park Ji-in)