Clouds are mirrored on a flooded avenue with submerged vehicles within the Orlovista neighborhood following Hurricane Ian on October 1, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

Bryan R. Smith/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Bryan R. Smith/AFP by way of Getty Images

Clouds are mirrored on a flooded avenue with submerged vehicles within the Orlovista neighborhood following Hurricane Ian on October 1, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

Bryan R. Smith/AFP by way of Getty Images

What do you do in the event you’re in a automobile that all of a sudden turns into submerged in water?

You could not have given the query a lot thought, however the reply may enable you to safely escape a sinking automobile.

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed Tuesday morning, video footage confirmed autos tumbling into the Patapsco River under. Perhaps extra generally, flash floods can catch drivers without warning, trapping them of their vehicles as floodwaters rush previous.

Accidents may also end in autos being submerged. In February, transport government Angela Chao, the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, died after she accidentally drove right into a lake at a Texas ranch.

An estimated 400 folks die annually in submerged autos throughout North America, making up roughly 10% of all drownings.

Safety consultants have studied such accidents for years and coalesced round a couple of easy steps that folks ought to take within the uncommon case that they find yourself in a sinking automobile. Here’s what you want to know.

Get out as shortly as doable

When your automobile enters the water, you do not have a lot time to behave. Experts say you need to attempt to get out instantly, when the water stage continues to be under the home windows. You’ve bought a few minute.

“The vehicle’s only going to float on the surface of the water for seconds to several minutes,” mentioned Gerry Dworkin, a technical marketing consultant for the security coaching firm Lifesaving Resources.

Once a automobile is extra absolutely submerged, the stress from the water towards the home windows and doorways could make it troublesome to open them, even when the automobile’s electronics nonetheless work.

Vehicle occupants shouldn’t name 911, watch for the automobile to replenish with water or do the rest that will delay them from attending to security as shortly as they will, consultants say.

“There are no good scenarios where waiting increases your chance of survival,” mentioned Gordon Giesbrecht, a retired professor who studied automobile submersion on the University of Manitoba. “It only decreases it to virtually zero.”

Remember the acronym SWOC

The finest solution to survive a automobile submersion is to flee via the home windows earlier than the automobile is absolutely underwater, consultants agree.

“It’s absolutely critical that when the vehicle enters the water, the very first thing you need to do is to disengage your seat belt, open your windows, and then get out as soon as you can,” Dworkin mentioned.

Giesbrecht suggests folks keep in mind a easy acronym, SWOC:

S — Seat belts off

W — Windows open

O — Out instantly

C — Children first

“When you first end up in the water, you’re in a boat with a big leak, and the windows are above the level of the water,” Giesbrecht mentioned. “If you do this quickly — just get your seat belt off and open the window — you’re actually getting out of the vehicle and getting down into the water.”

Giesbrecht recommends that adults assist youngsters out of the automobile first, as a result of as soon as an individual exits a sinking automobile, it’s extremely onerous for them to get again in.

Children ought to be faraway from the automobile so as from oldest to youngest, he added, as a result of the oldest youngsters would be the most definitely to have the ability to wait by themselves whereas the remainder of the youngsters are delivered to security.

Just a few warnings

According to Dworkin, one widespread false impression is that you need to wait to flee till the automobile fills up with water, in order that the stress between the within and outdoors of the automobile can equalize.

“That’s nonsense,” he mentioned. “The escape needs to occur immediately.”

Giesbrecht additionally warns folks to watch out counting on spring-loaded instruments which are bought as a solution to break automobile home windows in an emergency. While these will work on tempered glass, many new autos use a lot stronger laminated glass that does not break as simply, he mentioned.

Lastly, Giesbrecht urged drivers and passengers to take their security ideas from consultants, fairly than the films and TV reveals which have gotten automobile submersion — in his view — flawed.

“I’ve never seen a movie that portrays this correctly,” he mentioned. “It always makes for better TV, but it’s never, ever accurate.”