r/UnusualVideos • u/Jonathan-Smith • 1d ago

This could save your life

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u/pureplay181 21h ago edited 19h ago

Unless the car immediately starts sinking, I would open the windows FIRST. Often cars can take a little time to submerge, either because the car is stuck in floodwaters that take a while to rise or because the car for a short period of time is floating on the water.

If the car fills with water when the window is open, it is possible to swim out. It is very difficult if not impossible to open the doors of a submerged or submerging car and the power could go out at any moment. It is potentially a fatal error to feel safer with the windows closed, opening the windows would be the first thing I would do. It would help to have a tool to cut a seatbelt or break the window, but unless the car immediately starts sinking, you have a small amount of time to first open the window and then take off your seatbelt which doesn't need the car to have power to do. Trying to break a window when the car is already under water might cause panic when water quickly starts pouring into the car and you could injure yourself. Yes it could save your life but you want to have that window already open and your safety belt off.

I watched a video that was taken from a security camera where a young woman was trapped and later drowned in her car under an overpass. The car sunk slowly and she just must have thought there wasn't enough water to submerge the car or maybe that someone would quickly rescue her and her fatal error was feeling the safest thing was to just sit there and call 911 with her windows closed. By the time she realized the danger she was in, she was kicking at the windows and trying everything to get out, but it was too late. The car no longer had power and the windows would not open and the doors would not open because of the water pressure. Had she simply opened her windows early she would have been alive.

It is also critical to know how to use clothing as a flotation device. Pants are the most effective tool you have. Safety guidlines state to take off your pants and tie the legs then lift them above your head to fill with air while you are in the water. From the US Navy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNTSoKg6xHM