That is amazing! I really like the idea. Seems like I could do that.

It's a good tip. I'm sure some people that were driving across bridges that collapsed from underneath their cars due to no fault of their own, could have used that tip. Not everyone who ends up in the water is there because they are stupid.

And that person went around a barricade to get in that underpass! The police guard there ran after her but it was too deep he could not rescue her. I don't get why people with a brain cell would do such stupid things. Now one of the rescues was a guy in an 18 wheeler he was driving down the road and the levee gave way and suddenly he was under water up into the cab. He could not swim, was a large man. People who were there made a makeshift rope from a hose and a man tied it to himself, put on a life jacket and jumped into the rushing water to rescue the driver. It was frightening and amazing to watch. They both went under a few times. I have a device in the door pocket of my vehicle that cuts the seat belt and on the end has a sharp point that shatters glass. I think they should be in all vehicles. Not just for floods but accidents and fires where you can't get out of the seat belts or window.

That should be a caution mantra for everyone to remember--if you feel that you need to open a window before trying to cross a water covered road, then you shouldn't attempt it.

As the young drivers in our family have rec'd a driver's license, we've
given each of them one of the pointed hammers that also has a small blade
for cutting a seat belt. I don't know if they work--thank God no one has
had to use one.

I found this MythBusters video interesting:

mama goose, I've seen that episode no less than three times. It's great info, but I think that Adam having a problem staying calm under very controlled conditions makes me think I might not be able to do that. I can't say for certain. Even though, this information truly saved two lives!

This is the one I have but you can get small cheap ones that hook to the Keychain Carbar
Car cane

Keychain version Escape tool

rob, what I inferred from that video is that had Adam waited for the pressure to equalize, he wouldn't have survived--he had to use the standby air mask. In another similar video, he drew the same conclusion--he had to use the canned air before he was able to open the car door. It's great that the advice saved the woman and her baby, but I wouldn't wait for the car to fill up.

I know he was going for worst-case scenario here, but in the first 60 seconds, he could have crawled to the back and opened a back door, since the back doors were above the water level:

In the Japanese video, the torque of the metal bar is what broke the glass, so maybe a cheap clawbar nail puller would be just as effective as one of the escape tools.

I have seen on TV you can break the windows with a bic pen, it's all in the point impacting the glass.

It's not that people are so stupid, it's that they have no idea the water is deep, especially at night. Snidely, do you remember a few years ago a well-known reporter for KCBS--Doug Sovern-- nearly died in his car in just such a situation? he was able to find a jack in the back of his car and used it to break the window.

car in flooded road

Thanks for sharing the videos. Great information to know.

I keep a tire air-gauge in my driver's side car door that is also a tool for CUTTING a seatbelt (see the second video) and a sharp pointed hammer head designed for breaking car windows. Not long ago I came upon an accident out in the county and the early responders were trying to break the window and not able to get it done, because none of the doors could be opened. I ran up with my tire gauge/hammer and gave the window a whack and broke it. A 6-foot plus big-old farm boy was whaling on the window with a tire iron, and little old 5' 3-3/4" me got it done with my little emergency gadget. I looked at his shocked face and told him he must have loosened it, and then we helped remove the glass (luckily I was wearing leather gloves) and get the family out of the car. No one was injured - except maybe the pride of the farm boy....

I also keep a pair of scissors in the glove box because of seat belts sticking in an accident.

I keep an automatic center-punch in my center console. Also keep one in my desk at work. We went through active shooter training and they recommended them, especially for those of us with offices on the first floor.

About the truck driver that was rescued by a good samaritan... I would never in a million years have agreed to get out of the cab of that truck to be hauled onto dry land by a regular ole citizen with no rescue experience and no harness on me. I watched the whole thing unfold over the course of an hour or so. The water never got any higher. As it turned out, the rescue was successful. But I was expecting to see him being swept away. It was terribly frightening!

Now, about breaking a car window... I have seen the Mythbuster videos, and others, and people try to break the windows in the wrong spot. Hope I am never in a position to have to break one!

Unless the vehicle is on fire, victims of a car crash should only be removed by trained emergency responders because of the possibility of irreparable head/neck/spinal cord damage.

To each his/her own but to me neither planning nor a handful of tools is necessary for dealing with contingencies that are extremely unlikely to be encountered. That's needless worrying.

sjerin, I wasn't aware of that incident but I have to wonder if he was paying close enough attention to the road in front of him.

Aa62579, What is an automatic center punch?

Just looked it up. Good idea, but I like the idea of a hammer type tool personally.

I don't know if anyone remembers the barge that took out the I-10 bridge near Webber Falls, Oklahoma in 2002. People were happily driving down the interstate and then they weren't. Some people fishing in boats were able to save some people, but 14 people died. Some people died, presumably, because they couldn't get out the windows rolled down. We were switching from the hand rolled windows to the electric windows. I'm not sure about carrying a bunch of extra junk in your car, but it's nice to be able to save yourself or someone else if the need ever arises.

These tools that people are using in case of emergency can also be used by thieves. I just recently had my rear passenger window broken out, very close to my bedroom window. The can break windows now almost silently. Why is a good question. There was nothing in the car, and I have the "club" locked on the steering wheel so they can't steal the car.

If you in a roll-over and the vehicle ends on its top, the doors may not open and the only way out is through a window. (I was in a slow roll over last fall. The car did a half roll and came to rest on its top. Luckily, I was able to open the door. No one came to help me. All were concentrating on the other car that had 5 passengers.

Helpers on the scene of newer cars often find their efforts impeded because of locked doors. Many newer cars automatically lock all doors after the vehicle passes through a certain speed. Our Hondas lock at 5 mph. I had an older Chrysler product that locked doors after passing through 15 mph.

Be prepared to break glass from inside or outside a vehicle. Rear windows are usually not safety glass, but are tempered glass (breaks into small pieces rather long shards). Side windows may be tempered as well. The safety glass windshield has two layers with a membrane in between.

I keep one of those hammer/cutter tools in my car plus one shake flashlights and one wind type. The one is a siren...radio..blinker..and can charge a cell phone if need be. Just have to crank it when it loses power and it works great. Best part is no batteries to keep replaced!!

It freaks me out to have car doors automatically lock, so I disable that feature when I buy a new car or if the system is rebooted, for any reason. I only lock my doors if I'm driving through a sketchier part of town--I want people to get me out if I'm in a wreck!

On a dark road on a still night, it is very possible not to realize there's a deep puddle ahead of you.

Sjerin, I'm with you. The first time I saw the doors lock, I disabled that feature on our car. When I'm in a car that does it, I unlock the door.

I read on face book where you can break the widow with the pull out head rests. I never would have thought of that.

I used to have to drive over a bridge that was not only very old, but very dangerous About every 6 months or so, an accident would send a car over the bridge into the water. And that usually ended up with with people drowning in their car. I always opened BOTH of my front windows before I'd cross. Even if it was raining.

This happens often enough that 911 Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMD) have protocol instructions for callers to help them escape from a sinking vehicle.

A car hammer(window breaker) with a seat belt cutter on the handle can be purchased on Amazon. It is small enough to fit in your center console.

I went with the automatic center punch instead of a hammer because I was worried if I would be able to use the hammer if I was injured. Unfortunately, not really something that you get to test out to see what kind of strength is required to use one. I've tried out the center punch several times in blocks of wood. All you do is push on it. Might still have to get something for the seatbelt cutter though.