Escaping A Submerged Vehicle
|  Video
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| Amanda Tetlak |
| 11/5/2009 |
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| There`s no way to speculate what was actually happening inside the students` vehicle as it was flooding. The tragedy has many people wondering what they would do in the same situation. Dive team experts say, in such an intense situation, it`s easy to panic, and unfortunately that`s what causes drowning. Experts say, if you know what`s coming, brace yourself for impact and mentally prepare yourself for the cold water. Troy Fleck with the Burleigh County Sheriff`s Department says the vehicle will float for a short amount of time and the electrical system will work as long as the key is in the ignition until the vehicle floods and shorts out the system. "When the vehicle is floating, you want to remember to remove your seat belt. If the vehicle is sinking slowly, remove the seat belt and roll down the windows," Fleck says. "As soon as the initial rush of water comes in, hold on to the door so you don`t get washed away with the water coming in and as soon as that initial current of water comes through, escape from your window." If you can`t roll down your windows, you have to wait until the car completely floods before you can open the doors. "Take a deep breath and then you can open the doors once it fills because it will equalize the pressure from the outside to inside and the doors should open rather easily," Fleck says. You can also use a window punch that you can attach to your window and shatter it, a hammer, or any sharp object. "The heels on your shoes, anything that may be sharp enough to break the window because the side windows should break relatively easily," he says. The problem is, finding those objects while under water could be difficult, experts say remaining calm, though probably easier said than done, will help. You can find window punches at some gas stations and online for less than $15. |
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