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What to do if your car is submerged in water

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61–67 of 67 posts

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

#61

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

Also at that point some all doors are stuck in mud

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

#62

The whole thing about laminated glass is interesting. Historically speaking, side and rear windows were made from tempered glass that would explode into many small, not-so-sharp fragments when damaged. Laminated glass does not do this; it breaks, but the inner layer(s) between the glass layers holds the window together. If you want to get through a car windshield, this is why you end up needing a saw rather than a ha…

The laminated glass is a structural component of the car?

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

#63

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…

Only the windshield is laminated. The rest is tempered but not laminated.

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

#64

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…

Only the windshield is laminated. The rest is tempered but not laminated.

https://www.cars.com/articles/tough-break-laminated-windows-...

> A third of 2018 model-year vehicles have laminated glass in their side windows, AAA says

I'd guess it's increased more now.

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

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or not. My country has a lot of water, so cars end up in canals somewhat regularly. Very often passengers are able to escape.

What the hell are you people doing :-) I live in Minnesota, the so-called "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (it's actually closer to 12,000). The only time I hear of cars going into a lake is when someone drives onto thin ice.

The canals are literally next to many roads.
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