When the car falls into the water, the airbag may be activated due to the collision, so keep your hands on the steering wheel in the correct position as shown in the picture to avoid collision and injury. For passengers, bowing your head or raising your hands can increase the risk of injury in an accident.
You only have about 30-60 seconds to act before your car sinks completely into the water.
When the car has just fallen into the water, experts advise passengers not to panic and not to call for help because calling will waste precious seconds and reduce your chance of escape. What you need to do is to unbuckle the seat belt, press the electric window down button if it is still working.
If there are children in the car, after unbuckling your seat belt, you need to prioritize unbuckling the child and get them out first.
In case the car cannot lower the window, you can use a sharp object such as a key, a glass breaker, or pull out the neck support on the driver's seat and hit the metal part hard on the window, creating a large hole and escaping.
According to experts, the golden time to open the car door to escape is when the water level outside is still lower than the window. If the water has exceeded this level, you should not try to open the car door in the usual way (pull the lock and push the door open) because at this time the water pressure will make the door heavy and difficult to open.
In addition, if the door is opened, more water will flood into the cabin, causing the car to sink quickly. If you choose to break the glass, you should only break the side window, absolutely do not break the front or rear windshield because this layer of glass is thicker and more difficult to break.
If there are children in the car, you should push the child out through the open window first because it will be easier to get the child out and then follow behind the child than having to go back to save them.
After breaking the glass, take a deep breath and escape. You can swim to the surface of the water in the direction of the light or follow the shadow when the water is murky and you cannot distinguish the light.
To be prepared for an emergency situation where the car falls into water, drivers should keep in their cars escape tools such as a glass breaker, a seat belt cutter, and teach children and the elderly how to unbuckle their seat belts.