Can You Survive a Submerged Vehicle?

In recent months, a major bridge that crosses over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed sending dozens of cars falling 60-feet below into the Mississippi. I must admit, bridges are my ultimate phobia, leaving myself open to laughs and ridicule by others that think I'm over exagerating. I've often found myself sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, my hands tight on the wheel, breaking out in a sweat trying to contain my fear of bridges. Wednesday's incident of the bridge collapse in Minnesota made me really think even more what I would do if I were to find myself in a tragic situation like this.

Some tips to help increase your chance for survival if you are trapped in a car that is submerging I will list here. First, I'll go over a few things about a vehicle that is submerged. A car with all windows up will float longer than a car with windows down obviously. So when the car is above the water for a longer period of time, your survival rate increases making your chances of escape more likely. The weight of the engine will cause the vehicle to sink front first, generally leaving the back end of the car still above water. This could give you air pockets toward the back of the vehicle. The doors of the car submerged in water cannot open under the water until the water outside of the vehicle's pressure equalizes. The car is completely full, this is when the vehicle can be open.

Wearing a seatbelt will help an individual survive the initial impact with the water. The best escape time is best when the car is floating and before the water level reaches the window, this is the best time to haul out of there. If the vehicle is sinking too quickly, all occupants need to move to the back of the vehicle where the air pockets are and get themselves in a calm state of mind and quickly begin planning an escape route. As said before, escape can be accomplished by opening a window once the water pressure has equalized. Another option is to push out the rear window. You can use your feet to kick it out or a hammer or a blunt tool. The back window is made of tempered glass so it will break fairly easily. If you need to roll down or break a window to get out, the water will begin rushing in and can make you very disorriented momentarily. Just sit and wait for the rush to end, which will happen in a matter of seconds. Once the water has settled, make your ascend through the window to the surface.

Now, in an incident as tragic as the recent bridge collapse, there were litterally hundreds of people on that bridge and in this event, there were regualr citizens trying to help others that were trapped. This can be very dangerous for an untrained person. Of course none of us want to stand by and do nothing while many are drowing, so I have compiled a few tips that may be helpful if you are ever put in the situation that you need to help someone.

If the car is floating, the best route for the rescuer to get into the car would be through a back window, the rescuer needs to be very cautious when entering from the outside of a sinking vehicle when entering through an open window due to the suction of the water rushing in. I certainly hope nobody reading this has to go through something this tragic, but things like this do unfortunately happen and it's always good to have basic knowledge, because just like those people coming home from work that day, most weren't prepared for the things they we're about to face.

Chances are, you would probably never find yourself driving across a collapsing bridge. However, it is not uncommon for motorists to be trapped in a flash flood situation during seasons with heavy rain falls. These tips may come in hand in a situation as this as well, the battle most likely would be a fierce current to be reckoned with. If you do find yourself in a flash flood situation, chances are the car will float for some time giving you a chance to escape to the top of the car until help can arrive. One last thought to keep in mind, never attempt to drive through water during floods, it may be deeper than you think and the current could take control.....be safe rather than sorry!