Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Road Safety (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/)

-   -   Man found dead, buckled up in driver's seat - What to do if you see a flooded road? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/212032-man-found-dead-buckled-up-drivers-seat-what-do-if-you-see-flooded-road-2.html)

Absolutely. Most, if not all of us, underestimate how paralyzing panic can really be, and it's no use pointing to common sense survival measures at that point, when you only have less than a minute to make a life or death decision.

Precisely why, it's critical to leave oneself a way out before entering the situation, so one only has to react by instinct, not think.

It must have been very heart breaking for the family. Such an unfortunate and sad ending for a person with a young family.
I read about a similar incident in paper yesterday, am afraid the person in discussion here may be the same person cited in news article:
https://www.eenadu.net/archivespage/.../11-08-2019/ap

When I saw this sad news on TV, I was thinking about whether a 4X4 can provide false sense of invincibility in some cases and people get carried away. I am not concluding that that was the case here but it is certainly a possibility and other 4X4 drivers should be more careful.

I think there are 2 classes of problems being discussed here.

• Where you run off the road and crash land in a water body of sizable depth. This is an unfortunate case and as well explained the 911 video posted in earlier thread, one needs to get out immediately. Carrying a safety hammer to cut the seat belts and shatter the glass is a life saver in this case. And I would say, always help yourself first before you start helping others.
• Driving on to a flooded road without thinking about the consequence. One might think who would do something that is so avoidable, but you would be surprised. I used to think same until I was a live witness to one such incident 4 years ago near Chitradurga. The 4 lane road used to narrow down to 2 to go under a railway bridge (there is a bypass now to avoid this underpass). On the way back from Goa it was raining heavily and as I approached the underpass, I saw a huge line of trucks parked on either side of the road leaving just the middle lane open. Its not until I got close to the underpass I realized the reason. It was completely flooded. So I pulled up to a safe high spot near the underpass waiting for the water to recede. A BMW X1 which came soon after ignored the calls of the truck driver and decided it was a wise choice to take the underpass. Of course the car just conked and died right in the middle of underpass. Fortunately with so many folks around, the family was saved, but the car was stuck. A short while later the container lorries started moving and the waves resulted in the X1 which was floating dead on the deeper side of the water kept banging on the side walls of the underpass. This went on for 30 minutes as everyone watched . The water did recede soon after and I was able to drive off to, but not before being witness to a completely destroyed X1. There are 2 thing one should learn from here.
  1. Never ever try to wade through a water body, you never know how deep it is or how bad the undercurrents are
  2. If you do and get stuck, do not bother about the car or try to steer it away. You will never win against the current with a flooded car. Just get out. In such cases the chances of escaping early on is much easier and much better, before a current sweeps away the vehicle into deeper waters. One can always buy a new car, but life is far more precious.

This is very sad to read.
As denizens of this Earth we ought never to disrespect or underestimate the power of natural forces, be they water or fire or any other. Man is truly puny in comparison.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the AA Book of the Car, which may help in knowledge dissemination.

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice...-a-sinking-car


https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice...gh-flood-water

No expert on how to escape from a vehicle (being) submerged in water, but for that precise reason I would avoid going into the water in the first place.

Unless it's a city road that I am sure of, that I travel day in and out, and that I know I can safely pass through without getting stuck - I am not taking chances. Stay put where you are and don't venture out into the danger.

Be it any situation on roads, TBHP always has the right advice for road users. Reading through this thread, one can certainly learn life-saving messages.

Collective wisdom, experience & willingness to help each other on TBHP is phenomenal.

Hats off!!

Another mistake or myth is about the use of removable headrests to break open car windows. I would be happy to see someone demonstrate it, strapped in one of the seats.

On the other hand, this tiny device will work far better to break open a window:
OZAR APC-0035 Automatic Center Punch https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07TV6DXLT/..._wHNuDb3KXKQ2M

It just needs a little pressure on the back that even a kid could do after a bit of practice. It has a sharp point on the other end. It's used to mark the drilling point in wood or even metal, so glass just cannot withstand it.

There are YouTube videos showing how it can be used to break the car window. One needs to use it in a corner of the glass.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with either Amazon or the seller above. I have added the link just to illustrate the product. There are many of them, online or offline.

Condolences, may the departed soul RIP

In my opinion,

a) Most Ideal will be to avoid any kind of adventure if water levels is high, same can be judged if any other vehicles are moving through water & if no-one else is moving then even we should avoid.

b) If a flooding situation does arise, do try to keep moving through the water and don’t stop. Do not accelerate or brake too hard, just keep a steady speed. If the car stops in standing water, there is a chance that water may creep into exhaust / silencer.

c) While driving through water, try to drive in centre lane on the road. The depth of water is genrally higher on the sides.

d) In any case, if the vehicle does stall amidst the water dont try to restart the engine. This may lead to hydrostatic lock causing the engine to seize. Cranking the engine will lead to more water seep in and cause damage to the engine.

Lastly would re-iterate my 1st opinion, if possible AVOID getting into flood situation.

Better to be LATE then NEVER.

Really unfortunate incident. I keep a plier in my dash and it should be enough to break the glass and even cut seat belt.

These are toughened glasses and not easy to break. Hammer will be more handy.

This is a myth? I thought that was their purpose, which is why they have a pointed end. I've heard that one needs to put the sharp end of the headrest into the window pane and leverage it, kind of like a see-saw. But I've only heard of that, and now that you mention it, I'm not really sure if it's a myth or a fact. I searched on you tube, but found only this one video. But this was the only video in which the headrest was used like it was supposed to be.
https://youtu.be/tZTa8Nh0VlE

Here's a video with the automatic centre punch:

https://youtu.be/AdjAKTIYKtA

Scroll forward to about 2.20 to directly see the breaking of the glass.

Here's another, in a different context but again showing the use of the punch:

https://youtu.be/txh0lOVjN-E

Very sad to hear, may the departed soul RIP.

I do not know how effective/practical it is but I have a seat belt cutter that can smash windows also within reach at all times. I have been thinking about buying one more the rear seat occupants, the only thing I'm worried about is my 2 year old son fiddling with it unnecessarily. Having it out of his reach in the boot kind of defeats the purpose.

Toughened glasses are designed to shatter into pieces on impact - not like normal glass which will break into long pieces. If hammer was the right tool, then the other tools mentioned on this page itself wouldnt have been required.