The NOLA stations periodically show people how to get out of a submerged vehicle. They have divers and a tow truck at the ready. Usually it is a male who gets that assignment. The woman who drowneThe death of a 50-year-old chief executive highlights a little-discussed reality of motor-vehicle safety: Approximately 400 people die annually in North America in a submerged vehicle.

Angela Chao’s death resulted from a mistake she made with the gearshift in her Tesla SUV, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The error caused the vehicle to tip over an embankment and into a pond located on her Texas ranch’s 900 acres.

There are no federal regulations in the U.S. that require automakers to protect people inside the car during these dangerous scenarios. Here’s what you need to know if you are ever in this situation.

How much time do I have to act?
Drivers have about one minute to get out of the car before it fills with water. In those 60 seconds, it is necessary to have the clarity of mind to act decisively, said Gordon Giesbrecht, a senior scholar at the University of Manitoba who studies vehicle-submersion safety.

“Sixty seconds is a long time,” Giesbrecht said. “You can do a lot in 60 seconds.”

Still, it is important for drivers to know what to do in advance because decisions have to be made quickly.

“No one is reading an owner’s manual while submerged,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

What should I do?
Try to stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt and lower your window down. Exiting through the open window is preferred above anything else. If there are children in the car, get them out first.

It is important to act swiftly before the water level rises too high and the window can no longer be opened because the pressure on it becomes too great.


Angela Chao died after she accidentally backed her car into a pond on her Texas ranch. PHOTO: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES
“Until the water gets halfway up the window, you can open it,” Giesbrecht said.

One misunderstanding of cars in water is that a vehicle will short out and lose its electricity instantaneously. Giesbrecht said some vehicles he has tested had their electronics remain on well after landing in water—enough time to give the occupant time to exit within that 60-second window.

If the car has a sunroof, that could also be a way out because it should remain operable if the power is still working, experts say.

What if I can’t open the window?
The situation gets much more complicated.

In this case, a window-breaking tool could be useful for drivers to have—as long as the windows are made of tempered glass, said Greg Brannon, American Automobile Association’s director of automotive research. Laminated glass used for cars is almost impossible to break.

Generally, the type of glass is indicated on a window label or can be found by contacting the manufacturer. Knowing what kind it is and how to possibly break it is critical. These tools can also be used on the sunroof if one is available.

“You better be ready whenever you break that glass, because you will be flooded with water,” Brannon said.

What about opening the door?
It is risky. Escaping through the door is possible once the car’s interior fills up with water and the pressure is equalized inside and out.

“Technically, that’s true,” Giesbrecht said. “But by that time, you’ll drown.”

If you can manage to open the door, water could then rush inside the vehicle, causing it to sink more quickly and leaving others inside more at risk.

For that reason, the best way out the door is through the vehicle’s windows. “Anything to do with the door is a red herring,” he said.

Should I buy a window-breaking tool?
Vendors sell numerous car window-breaking tools on Amazon.com and elsewhere, and the instruments often come with razors to cut the seat belt in the event it becomes tense from the collision.

But their ability to bust through glass underwater isn’t clear, according to researchers who have studied these incidents.

Laminated glass, which has specific safety qualities to protect people from being ejected during a crash, is nearly impossible to break underwater, AAA found after testing various tools.

Such window-breaking devices can be used on tempered glass, but still, it would be difficult to get through. A spring-loaded tool that drives a metal cone into the glass is preferable to a hammer-style mallet, according to AAA.

“It’s got to be used as soon as possible,” said Gerry Dworkin, an expert and consultant on vehicle-submergence incidents.

Does it make a difference if it is an EV or gas-powered car?
No, the occupant response should be the same for both types of vehicles.

A vehicle in water will normally sink first based on where the engine is located, as it is the heftier part of the vehicle. While an electric car lacks an internal combustion engine, it will sink in whatever direction the car is the heaviest.

“The bottom line is it’s going to sink, water is going to come in through the vents, and until the water gets up to the windows, you can open the windows and get out,” Giesbrecht said.

Electric vehicles are also designed to protect against the risk of a shock once they hit the water. That is because the high-voltage battery is isolated from the frame, according to the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit organization that develops fire-safety codes and standards.

“The water isn’t being energized,” said Andrew Klock, lead manager of emerging issues at the NFPA.

In some instances, small bubbles might appear from the battery in water, but this doesn’t indicate a shock hazard nor does it energize the surrounding water, the organization said.

What are the industry and regulators doing?
In short, not much.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What questions do you have about car safety in emergencies? Join the conversation below.

In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration denied a petition from an individual to require every vehicle be equipped with an “emergency window breaker.” The individual cited a vehicle-submersion death in urging the federal regulatory agency to take action.

Part of NHTSA’s rationale for the denial was that the effectiveness of such a tool during a submersion isn’t known, and that consumers can buy one if they feel it is necessary. Plus, the auto-safety agency said, in some submersion accidents, the driver might not be able to act based on what preceded the car going into the water.

In Europe, a widely regarded nonprofit group that tests and rates cars for crash safety updated its program in 2020 to better address the dangers of people stuck in vehicle submersions. It introduced new requirements to ensure that, in the event of a submergence, side windows could still be operated long enough for an occupant to exit from the vehicle, according to the website for the voluntary program.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many automakers have started to incorporate technology to meet such a standard.

Write to Ryan Felton at ryan.felton@wsj.com

LINk https://www.wsj.com/business/a...c?mod=hp_featst_pos5

Drive old cars that still have mechanically rolled down windows. Seriously, I wish they still make them. Do not care for all these modern electronics.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Drive old cars that still have mechanically rolled down windows. Seriously, I wish they still make them. Do not care for all these modern electronics.

My aunt bought a 1986 Corolla GT-S, new. The salesman tried to talk her out of power windows "in case she drove into a lake"
38 years & 6 other cars later & she's still never put her car into a lake.

My only manual window car also has a no roof option, so I should be good there.

What ever happened to the good old "kick out the windshield" scenario?

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
What ever happened to the good old "kick out the windshield" scenario?

It works in the movies, you know.

I've done HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) for offshore oil & gas work. Helicopter fuselage simulator on a crane at a pool dunks students in the water 5 different ways (right side up window style 1, right side up window style 2, upside down window style 1, upside down window style 2, and I can't remember the 5th). It's kind of freaky to hold your breath while the fuselage fills up, knockout the window, unbuckle your seatbelt, swim out the window, and then open the flotation device. I can definitely see why they say keep buckled when knocking out the window as the in rush will move you away from the window. I also see why they say don't deploy flotation device inside as it'll pin you against the ceiling.

I have a Resqme attached to the sun visor in my truck so that I can break the glass and cut my seatbelt. I imagine the inrush of water after breaking the glass will be pretty similar to the HUET simulator so in the unlikely event it happens I'm planning to unbuckle after inrush.

.
Automobile Emergency Knife

Or drive a Volkswagen Schwimmwagen or a Ford Seep (Sea Jeep).

So, with all these electronic equipped cars, when yours starts flying, the immediate drill is pushing on the window down button. Does that sound reasonable?

Exiting the window is probably the best option, although the ability to think about it in the first minute you end up in the water is kinda key….you'll have to battle through the shear terror/anxiety and remember to put the window down. Some people don’t operate very well under pressure and become completely self destructive in their lack of decision making.
Kicking out a windshield like mentioned is NOT going to work….way too much effort needed to defeat the average windshield in a panic/time sensitive situation.
In my career, almost 29 years fire service, I’ve been to a couple dozen submerged vehicles….some fatal….most of the time occupants were swimming safe and sound to shore and most of those had exited out a window, some before the vehicle sunk, some during the dive! I can see where one of those hammers would be a welcome tool in case the electronics short out…..but I also noted most of the submerged vehicles still had lights on completely submerged even after our arrival.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
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Automobile Emergency Knife

I took your advice a year or so ago when you posted that. Bought a used version on eBay and it is between my drivers seat and the tunnel in it’s sheath.

You're going to need a shit load of rice.

This should work unless it's laminated glass.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
You're going to need a shit load of rice.

That made me lol!

The windshield is a no-go...no way you're kicking one of those out. They're laminated glass and it's secured in there. Combined with external pressure from the water, even if you're Hulk Hogan you'd just be wasting your time. The side windows are usually safety glass, and should shatter if you hit them with a pointed object...but that's not universal anymore, either.

Kicking one may not work...I had this tested one time by a suspect who vigorously tried to kick out the back window of a squad car. He didn't break it, but he kicked it so hard he bent the door frame and the whole door had to be replaced. You could see him landing his kicks on the video, and could clearly see his shoe prints on the glass, too, so he was landing good hits. It's stout stuff.

I've tried unsuccessfully to break car windows from the outside with a Streamlight Stinger and seen it tried with an expandable baton and Maglite, and they just bounced off. Those pointed rescue hammers or a center punch typically yield instant results, though. If I didn't have one of those available and my car was sinking, if the windows won't roll down I'd probably shoot the side window out. Getting trapped in a burning or sinking car is not the way I want to go out.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
.
Automobile Emergency Knife

I took your advice a year or so ago when you posted that. Bought a used version on eBay and it is between my drivers seat and the tunnel in it’s sheath.

I did the same.

Not intending to be a smartass but since we’re on a gun forum why not just shoot the glass? I understand it will be very loud but in that situation that would be the last of my concerns…

quote:

Originally posted by cgode:
Some people don’t operate very well under pressure and become completely self destructive in their lack of decision making.

Chao (Mitch McConnell's sister in law) reportedly was frantically calling people with her cell phone trying to get help while the car was filling up with water.

I have a spring punch in the door pocket of my truck.

https://www.amazon.com/ALLY-To...mFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I've done HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) for offshore oil & gas work. Helicopter fuselage simulator on a crane at a pool dunks students in the water 5 different ways (right side up window style 1, right side up window style 2, upside down window style 1, upside down window style 2, and I can't remember the 5th). It's kind of freaky to hold your breath while the fuselage fills up, knockout the window, unbuckle your seatbelt, swim out the window, and then open the flotation device. I can definitely see why they say keep buckled when knocking out the window as the in rush will move you away from the window. I also see why they say don't deploy flotation device inside as it'll pin you against the ceiling.

I have a Resqme attached to the sun visor in my truck so that I can break the glass and cut my seatbelt. I imagine the inrush of water after breaking the glass will be pretty similar to the HUET simulator so in the unlikely event it happens I'm planning to unbuckle after inrush.

I like that tool, small, clips on the visor or anywhere you can clip it, going to order a couple of them.

Link Resqme

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Not intending to be a smartass but since we’re on a gun forum why not just shoot the glass? I understand it will be very loud but in that situation that would be the last of my concerns…

I've had a similar thought when this has come up in discussion.

The above headrest video, also an option, if you know how to remove the headrest & it doesn't require repositioning the seat to remove. I've had a car in the past that the seat had to be reclined a bit to have enough clearance to fully remove the headrest.