When a car falls into water, water rapidly floods into the vehicle since it is not totally sealed. If the automobile closes all of its doors and windows, the pressure of water from the outside will make it difficult for anyone inside to open the doors and escape. As a result, many drivers have developed the practice of opening their windows when crossing a bridge in the event of an accident.
This was also the experience of the driving community in the United States following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. Some Americans said that their families had trained them since infancy to roll down the car door when traveling on risky routes. bridge, to provide an escape path if the bridge fails.
Why should you not close your car when it falls into water?
Some people believe that if the windows are tightly closed, the car will float like a ball due to the tightly sealed cockpit, thereby increasing the survival rate for passengers in the car. However, in reality, cars are not completely watertight and still have gaps from the air conditioning system and pressure balancing gaps located at the back of the car. Therefore, when falling into the river, water will still creep into small cracks and penetrate inside the cabin, causing the car to sink quickly.
Depending on the vehicle and the water environment it falls into, water can completely fill the vehicle even if it is closed in just a few minutes. The test in the video above shows that water flooded the cockpit after 1 minute.
Thus, if the car is closed, the person in the car will not be able to open the door due to water pressure from the outside. Only when the cabin is flooded, the car is completely submerged, the internal and external pressures are balanced, can the car door open. If you open the window from the beginning, your chances of escaping will be much higher.
Of course, opening windows is only applicable when the weather conditions are sunny. In conditions of heavy rain and thunderstorms, closure is still a priority. At that time, if there is an accident that falls into the water, the driver needs to remember to open the window immediately.
