than think again. I was diving in this lake in PA where many different vehicles are sunk so divers can have fun. Most of them have operational parts such as doors, stering wheels, seats but no glass. I was practicing my skills and screwing around (those two go sometimes hand in hand) and tried entry into vehicles closing the door and trying to get out. It was hard. The water was preventing me from opening the door easily and that's with interior being flooded. I can only imagine how much harder would that be with a window rolled up and/or air space in the interior. Now add to it a fear/panic factor which casues you to use up air more and you are one step away from drowning. I also tried to make a dent in a sheet metal underwater simulating window breaking but again it would be so freaking hard due to water density. It would probably be easier to do it from the inside when there is still the air pocket left or using your legs which are much stronger if vehicle is flooded.

Just my 2 cents.

Dress me in a wet suit wearing a snorkel and fins, and strap a large tank on my back, and I'd having trouble getting out of my fullsize truck ... on land!

<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Great pictures!!

Diving at Dutch Springs ? <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> You need to head east a little and do some wreck dives. Think it's hard getting out of a car how about getting out of a 400' long WWI crusier sunk in a 110' of water. Ah, what fun. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Adam

Several years ago I watched a segment on one of the junk news shows about this very problem. They said to roll down the windows as soon as possible (to equalize inside / outside water pressure), then go out the door - or window if you couldn't get it open. Their advice was to keep a center punch in your car so you could break out your window, the thinking being that electric windows were likely to fail in the water.

Since then, I've kept a spring-loaded punch clipped to my visor. The Authorities in my area, however, do not take kindly to people going around banging out windows for practice, so my punch remains untested.

P.S. - Not the most flattering picture of you in the mask and mouthpiece.

I've been diving along the coast of LI this summer but everytime I go out of Lido Beach freaking weather is killing me man.

Hahahahhahahahha. Try testing your punch in a junk yard when noones looking. Thanks for the comment on the pic. It was my impression of blowfish that I'm still working on...

Keep in mind that if you hit something, or are stuck from behind, anything in the cabin that's not bolted down is going to go flying. The visor may not be the best place for a pointy chunk of metal.

Yeah I know the feeling. Somtimes it just best to call the dive at the dock. The ocean will still there and the wrecks will still be around for quite some time.

Adam

I think maybe we saw the same TV segment. Dateline or some similar show. They had some "expert" tell the viewers how to get out. Maybe I'm getting the order mixed up, but I recall that the first action to take wasn't to roll down the windows or bust them out with the center punch. I think the first action suggested was to unbuckle your seat belt because once the water starts rushing in, people panic, forget that they have their seat belt on, and drown because they get tangled and trapped.

I remember hearing a long time ago that the Dutch often drive with their seatbelts off when driving on the levees for this very reason. Perhaps some of our Dutch members can correct me if I'm wrong about that. Not that I would necessarily recommend it. If you're knocked unconcious or seriously injured before you even hit the water, you're in even more serious trouble than if you were wearing your belt in the first place.

Matt, nice photos. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You must according to law always where your seatbelt, also if you have to drive along one of the many waterways.

I'm not sure, but there are a few exceptions, like pregnant women and taxi drivers and drivers of oldtimers, where seatbelts were not standard.

But as everywhere, not everybody obay's the law. But I gues it's a minority who doesn't where their seatbelts overhere.

Yes, its hard. Will it ever happen -- not likely. You have to plan for the most likely situations, not the most fun or the scariest.

Damn, that is one ugggggly looking fish eyeballing the camera..... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
What we have here is essentially a ditching scenario. I think that anyone who drives around/over water on a regular basis should think very seriously about stowing a pony (escape) bottle and a mask under the seat. Practicing opening the door before you hit the water/go through the barriers might be worthwhile as well. And yes, your going to have to be bloody quick about assessing the situation and deciding that you cannot avoid the water.

Storing compressed air tanks in vehicles is very problematic. First heat build up in cars can lead to o-ring failures. And in freezing weather regulators can ice over, most likly just causing free flow. I could really list a whole host of problems but I take 2 ferries to get to work every day and have about a dozen or so scuba cylinders and I wouldn't even consider storing a tank under my seat for very unlikey "what if scernario".

Adam

they did a segment on Top Gear too. It's been a while since I saw it but I thought the electrical system still worked for a little bit after being submerged.

> I think the first action suggested was to unbuckle your seat belt

As long as you are oriented. This may apply more to bigger vehicles that have turned upside down or are sinking nose-first or whatever. It can all become unfamiliar. You may need to actively figure out where you are and what route you are going to take out.

For example, I have a 3-door car. Someone in the back seat might need to escape through the front passenger windows. I think the STOP acronym applies. To get out fastest you need to be efficient, and to be efficient you need a plan. Especially if there are other passengers in the front seats.

Anyway, the point is, if you are strapped in your seat you know where you are. You can remember where other things are in relation to you, even if up is no longer up.

Easier than you might think.

Someone said that good judgment comes from experience -- which in turn comes from bad judgment.



Scenerio:
16 yrs. old, license <6 months, roadway 4ft. above a pond, 1962 Pontiac station wagon (with rusty (holed) floorboards).

I was able to unbuckle my seat belt, roll down my window& exit the vehicle. As I swam past the rear of the car, I realized it was still running, I was able to return to the front, reach in, turn off the car &retreive my keys. I then swam to shore (~ 100 ft.) & watch it sink. It takes longer for a car to sink than you would think.:o <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Prolouge:
We retrieved the car after ~4 hrs. We drained the crankcase & tranny & replaced the fluids. We salvaged 1/2 a tank of gas. The car ran for years ( a little musty on humid days).

"What does not kill me, makes me stronger!"

From Central Florida News 13:

http://cfn13.com/StoryHeadline.aspx?id=18686

Women Trapped In Car

Two elderly women are recovering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion after locking themselves in a hot car in Daytona Beach.

Police say their battery apparently died, the automatic locks failed, and they didn't know they could unlock the doors manually.

The women were trapped for nearly two hours before a passerby spotted their plea for help, which they wrote on the back of a tissue box.

Rescue workers smashed a window to get the ladies out.

I thought that getting trapped in cars like that was a curse of Polaks (me) and blondes (me). <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I drive a fair bit on frozen lakes during the winter months. Sometimes on ice bridges, sometimes to go ice fishing. I don't care how cold it is outside, I always keep my window completely open. If the truck goes though the ice, I want to be out ASAP to not get trapped under the ice wondering which side is up ! And I hate cold water ... <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> brrrrr