Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What to do if your car is submerged in water

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 67 posts

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#51

Post by tomcam »

rdl wrote: post #45
tomcam wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m dying to find out the circumstances that found you shooting out of a car

In a class "Bullets and Vehicles" at Sig Sauer Academy. ( https://sigsaueracademy.com/courses/bullets-and-vehicles ). Truly amazing. Also some classes at Thunder Ranch ( https://thunderranchinc.com/handgun-vehicle-trauma ) but those were using own own rental cars (lol, I had an Infinity QX80 with full coverage) and the goal was to avoid putting any damage on the car, so it was just firing from seat/getting out/etc. d…

Fantastic writeup, thanks. I’ve got to check those places out. Also very appropriate use of Audis. And yes, agree about the trauma ed.

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#52

Post by HaZeust »

tempaway621751 wrote: post #16

What should I do? Try to stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt and roll your window down. Exiting through the open window is preferred above anything else. If there are children in the car, get them out first. What if I can’t open the window? The situation gets much more complicated. Laminated glass, which has specific safety qualities to protect people from being ejected during a crash, is nearly impossible to break un…

LOL that's pretty much what I was thinking when I read it. "Welp, guess I'll die."

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#53

Post by causi »

rwmj wrote: post #20
causi wrote: post #13

It probably wouldn't be too expensive to put a moisture detector somewhere appropriate that triggers the computer to lower all the windows.

Driving into water is incredibly rare compared to having rain enter the sensor and unintentionally open all the windows.

I don't think it's a monumental task for a vehicle full of sensors to tell the difference between rain and submersion. You don't even need new sensors. For example, if all the suspension height sensors all max out and stay there for more than three seconds while the car is in Drive, the car is sinking.

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#54

Post by wbc »

consp wrote: post #30
wbc wrote: post #22

Anyone know how feasible enough to require modern (powered-everything) cars have at least 1 window that has backup manual rolling for this scenario? or is it just too rare for the increased complexity?

Manuals are actually less easy to open, if at all, once you get to the point where you are mostly under water. The electrics will function for quite a while and when you get to the point where they don't the manual is not going to do much anyway.

o wow TIL, thanks for explaining that. Scary stuff to think about

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#56

Post by badcppdev »

throw0101d wrote: post #7
badcppdev wrote: post #3

It's obviously a sad story but does anyone else feel that the Wall Street Journal running this story is a just a sad sign of a website losing its focus.

> […] running this story is a just a sad sign of a website losing its focus. Why? Tabs at the top of their page: * Latest World Business U.S. Politics Economy Tech Finance Opinion Arts & Culture Lifestyle Real Estate Personal Finance Health Style Sports Under "Business" they have: * Airlines Autos C-Suite Deals Earnings Energy & Oil Entrepreneurship Telecom Retail Hospitality Logistics Media Per the URL, this is Busi…

I stand enlightened. Focus was broadened ages ago. I had the wrong idea about the WSJ

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#57

Post by arcfour »

pasttense01 wrote: post #36
rdl wrote: post #24

My current plan (obviously open windows if possible, don't drive into lakes, etc.) is to use the resqme spring-loaded glass breaker (my work gives them out as branded swag at conferences, but I gave away hundreds in Iraq/Afghanistan when I worked there too) or glowrhino carbide tip I keep with me. That doesn't work very well on laminated glass (but I'm often in a rental, so I don't know which cars have/don't have it)…

What kind of gun do you carry in your car? Is this the same one you carry on your person?

Leaving a gun in your car is irresponsible; that's a very common way for them to get stolen.

The modern thinking on this is that you should carry it on your person at all times or leave it at home (e.g. if you're going to a place you can't carry it). Additionally, frequent "administrative handling" of your gun (like unholstering it in your car and re-holstering it when you get out) needlessly increases your chances of a negligent discharge, so moving it off of your body when you get in your car is also discouraged.

Of course this doesn't mean that everyone knows/thinks this way (and many don't), but from my discussions with other firearm advocates, this is the modern school of thought.

So—to answer your question—a Glock 19, and yes, as it's on me already ;-)

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#58

Post by ljsprague »

wbc wrote: post #54
consp wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manuals are actually less easy to open, if at all, once you get to the point where you are mostly under water. The electrics will function for quite a while and when you get to the point where they don't the manual is not going to do much anyway.

o wow TIL, thanks for explaining that. Scary stuff to think about

He didn't really explain why though.

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#59

Post by fargle »

rwmj wrote: post #20
causi wrote: post #13

It probably wouldn't be too expensive to put a moisture detector somewhere appropriate that triggers the computer to lower all the windows.

Driving into water is incredibly rare compared to having rain enter the sensor and unintentionally open all the windows.

or a car wash. that'd be a hell of a "feature"

Re: What to do if your car is submerged in water

#60

Post by kllrnohj »

tempaway621751 wrote: post #16

What should I do? Try to stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt and roll your window down. Exiting through the open window is preferred above anything else. If there are children in the car, get them out first. What if I can’t open the window? The situation gets much more complicated. Laminated glass, which has specific safety qualities to protect people from being ejected during a crash, is nearly impossible to break un…

That seems like mostly bad advice. What you should do is open the door as fast as possible, before the car has begun to sink. There's not enough water pressure at that point to prevent it.

If you freeze and hesitate then you're past the point of being able to just open the door unless you calmly wait until the interior has filled with water and then you can again. But at that point you're likely panicking

Post reply on HN