# Is there any way to exit a car underwater? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753 "2014-07-10T11:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/1 "2014-07-10T11:19:36Z")
When I was growing up, you learned that if your car somehow went underwater, you first opened a window and then the door to get out. AFAIK, there is no way of opening a window once the electrical system is out. There was a recent news report of a couple of teenagers who died under these circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/2 "2014-07-10T11:22:37Z")
This was an episode of Mythbusters. The pressure of the water will keep the door shut. So either you have to open it before the water level outside the door is high enough to keep it closed or you have to wait until the water level inside the car is high enough to counter the pressure of the water outside the car. You can speed the process by breaking the window with an emergency window-smashing hammer. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/3 "2014-07-10T11:44:18Z")
The electrical system doesn’t fail the instant the car is submerged. Water conducts, but not nearly as good as copper cables, so things like electrical windows will continue to work for quite some time. In the event that they don’t, **Ascenray** has the answers: shatter the window with a hard pointy object and swim out through the window hole, or simply wait for the car’s interior to fill with water so that the pressure equalizes and then you can open the door. FWIW, I saw a demonstration on the news a couple of years ago in which a car with a reporter in it coasted nose-first into a lake on a fairly steep grade. This resulted in the windshield being fairly deeply submerged at some point, and it ended up shattering because of the water pressure against its outer surface, resulting in the car filling up fairly quickly. The windshield’s construction sort of held itself together and limited the rate of ingress of water, but the same would not be true if you shattered a side window after total submersion: it breaks into tiny pieces that do not hold together, so you’d suddenly have a very big hole letting in a shitload of water; expect to get hit in the side of the head with a tsunami. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/4 "2014-07-10T11:51:35Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > AFAIK, there is no way of opening a window once the electrical system is out. Some of us still have vehicles with hand-crank windows completely independent of electric motors. That said - as noted upthread water pressure will keep the door closed and will likely make rolling down the window difficult to impossible. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/5 "2014-07-10T11:57:00Z")
How difficult is it to open the door _after_ the pressure equalises? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/6 "2014-07-10T12:00:26Z")
Not difficult. The problem is that you might be out of air by then. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/7 "2014-07-10T12:08:15Z")
I read somewhere (i.e. no cite) that the biggest problem is _forgetting to take off your seatbelt_ - so the car goes under, you do all the right things, let the panic subside, let the water in, let the pressure equalise, then open the door, only to find yourself still strapped in the seat, panicking again, with only one breath of air left to resolve that problem. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/8 "2014-07-10T12:18:22Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > How difficult is it to open the door _after_ the pressure equalises? Not difficult, but it opens much more slowly obviously. If you’re not prepared for that, it may cause you to panic even more than you probably already are. We did a story for _Car and Driver_ years ago about a school in the Netherlands where they put you into a stripped down car with an instructor and dump the whole bit in a pool of water. Lemme see if I can find it online. ETA: Ah, yes, [url="[http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-drowning-pool](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-drowning-pool)"here is the story. I was the photographer (unfortunately, the story doesn’t use the photos that ran in the magazine.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/9 "2014-07-10T12:27:25Z")
Also tested by Mythbusters: if the car tips right over 180° and the water is murky (it probably will be a lake or a flooded river) then you have very little likelihood of orienting yourself and escaping the car quickly enough to survive. It really disorients you. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/10 "2014-07-10T13:04:05Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > How difficult is it to open the door _after_ the pressure equalises? Very difficult if your car lands on the side of the door you are trying to open. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/11 "2014-07-10T14:01:24Z")
[Fixed link](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-drowning-pool). Incidentally, that driving school also teaches getting out of a car when flipped over underwater, but that’s a more advanced class. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/12 "2014-07-10T14:28:48Z")
open the window as the car is sinking. an agile person could get out before the car sinks. if submerged still open the window. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/13 "2014-07-10T15:34:24Z")
Do what I do, drive a jeep with no doors, at least in the summer. In the winter, just don’t drive into a lake I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/14 "2014-07-10T16:04:51Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > if submerged still open the window. It’s likely you won’t be able to open the window until the pressure equalizes. You’ll have to shatter it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/15 "2014-07-10T16:07:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s likely you won’t be able to open the window until the pressure equalizes. You’ll have to shatter it. There was no issue with window opening at the car school. They opened fine, and this was in a vehicle designed to fill up with water even faster than normal. (As the article states, a modern, sealed car can float for up to five minutes. Plenty of time to get that window open. And, yes, the electric appears to work long enough for automatic windows to open.) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/16 "2014-07-10T16:09:18Z")
Ideally, you’d want to leap out before hitting the water, but this doesn’t always [work](http://gif-central.blogspot.com/2012/02/homer-simpson-rolling-back-into-car.html). (animated gif) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/17 "2014-07-10T16:17:27Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s likely you won’t be able to open the window until the pressure equalizes. You’ll have to shatter it. Why? Windows slide down, not out. I’m not seeing why water pressure would cause problems. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/18 "2014-07-10T16:21:49Z")
The Mythbusters episode covered this. The water pressure is so high that the window is locked into place and even a hand crank won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/19 "2014-07-10T16:23:26Z")
For the same reason that I can push an empty shoe around on a floor with one hand but put a 150 lb person in the shoe and I won’t be able to get it to budge. The water pressure will force the glass against the frame and your crank won’t be able to counteract that force until the force inequality subsides. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753/20 "2014-07-10T16:26:11Z")
Here it is — [Max88: สล็อตเว็บตรง รองรับทุกธนาคาร ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ เว็บแท้ 100% เล่นง่าย ได้เงินจริง](http://mythbustersresults.com/episode72) > [@](#): > > You can open a window in a submerged car by using a manual window crank. > > BUSTED > > Using a test weight of 350 lbs (equivalent to pressure differential from just two feet of immersion), the pressure of the window glass against the frame is so great that no amount of effort can move the gear. You are more likely to break the window handle. > You can open a window in a submerged car by opening power windows. > > BUSTED > > Though more powerful, power windows still cannot overcome the pressure differential. Contrary to popular belief, though, power windows can withstand immersion in fresh water for prolonged periods and still function. Keys, cellphones, and heavy boots are also ineffective in shattering the window. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-exit-a-car-underwater/692753.md?page=2)