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NTEB LIFE HACKS: How To Escape A Rapidly Sinking Car In Under Thirty Seconds
If you’re in a vehicle that’s sinking, how you react in the first 20 seconds can mean the difference between life and death
It’s summertime, and that means fun at all the various rivers, lakes and beaches across America. Sadly, it also means that hundreds of accidents will occur this year involving people in automobiles getting stuck in rapidly-rising water. Most people react by rolling up their windows and hoping for a rescue. As you will see in this video, that is exactly the wrong thing to do.
You need to lower your windows, and rush out the closest one as fast as you can. 30 seconds is good, but 20 seconds will save more lives. Please share this short but very informative video with as many people as you can.
This just may save your life this summer.
Rule 1. Don’t Call 911 until you’re out of the car. You’re going to need every second to get out of that vehicle. Worry about calling 911 once you’ve made it out alive, or, as in the case of the I-5 collapse, if your vehicle isn’t submerged. “Time is critical,” says Geisbrecht. “If you touch your cell phone you’re probably going to die.”
Rule 2. Unbuckle.
Rule 3. Don’t open the door! Roll down the windows instead. Opening the door is very difficult against the water pressure and it also allows so much water into the vehicle that it will speed up the sinking process.
You’ll have 30 seconds to a minute until the water rises to the bottom of the passenger windows. This is what Geisbrecht calls the floating period. After that, the water pressure will force the window against the doorframe, making it essentially impossible to roll down.
Caveat to Rule 3: Break that window. Since most vehicles these days have electronically controlled windows, the circuits probably will short before you have a chance to roll them down. In that case, you’ll need a tool to break the window open.
Two of the most popular are the LifeHammer ($14.95), which has a hardened-steel point to help crack open the window, and the ResQMe keychain ($9.95), which uses a spring-loaded mechanism to shatter glass. If you plan on practicing with either one of these, take it from personal experience and wear work gloves. Otherwise you will cut your hands. “Make sure these tools are within reach at all times, otherwise you’ll never get to them in time,” says Giebeck. “And they won’t work underwater. Again, you’ve got act quickly.”
Rule 4. Children first. Everybody should go out their own window if possible, but the kids are going to have a harder time fighting through the rush of water, so push them out if you have to. Greisbeck suggests starting with the oldest kids and taking the youngest out in your arms.
Rule 5. Get out. Swim through the broken window as fast as possible.
If you’ve failed to get that window rolled down or broken, you’ll still have the slightest of chances to escape. Once water fills the car, the pressure will be equalized and you will be able to open the door. But to do this, you will also have to be expert at holding your breath in an extremely stressful situation. Geisbrecht says that unless you’re a modern-day Houdini, the odds are pretty slim. source
The post NTEB LIFE HACKS: How To Escape A Rapidly Sinking Car In Under Thirty Seconds appeared first on Now The End Begins.
Source: http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/nteb-life-hacks-escape-rapidly-sinking-car-thirty-seconds/
