# Locking or not car doors, which is safer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197 "2009-12-06T15:06:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/21 "2009-12-07T18:14:55Z")
If, as is not an uncommon occurence in a land with more coastline than anything, I were to drive my car into the sea, a lake or a river, would it not be much more safe to have the doors unlocked? In modern, electrically operated windows and door lock, cars, I’d think getting trapped in a sinking car would be the result if you plummeted in with the door locks engaged. Can’t open the windows, after all, and if the door lock mechanism is shorted, you’d probably not be able to unlock the door after the car has been submerged… Especially in cars withouth that little manual unlock tap. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/22 "2009-12-07T18:54:21Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > My 2002 Escape’s doors open from inside even if locked. I agree about the back seat doors and child locks, but otherwise I think most open. Well, we’ve had some ironic username/post content combos – but you pave new ground, with a car name/post content twist to it! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/23 "2009-12-07T19:12:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Then again, if the doors are unlocked, maybe you’ll get lucky and get “thrown clear” and all you’ll suffer are minor injuries I never understood how some people think you can be “thrown clear” from an accident. It involves smashing through a sheet of hard glass with your body (usually your head). How is this possibly better than remaining inside the car? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/24 "2009-12-07T20:04:37Z")
For those of you concerned about being trapped in a car as it is submersed in water and shorting the door locks/windows, they make tools for that. It’a portable escape tool specifically for breaking auto windows. They now come in keychain size. They typically come combined with a cutter to use on the seat belt if it jams. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/25 "2009-12-08T01:30:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I never understood how some people think you can be “thrown clear” from an accident. It involves smashing through a sheet of hard glass with your body (usually your head). How is this possibly better than remaining inside the car? There’s really no such thing as being thrown clear. Like **Nemo** says, people get thrown through the windshield.Even if you were somehow thrown through an open door, best case scenario is that you get thrown onto the street. Ow. Where I work any ejection from a vehicle requires a trip to a Level I Trauma Center. St. Urho Paramedic ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/26 "2009-12-08T02:50:46Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > If, as is not an uncommon occurence in a land with more coastline than anything, I were to drive my car into the sea, a lake or a river, would it not be much more safe to have the doors unlocked? In modern, electrically operated windows and door lock, cars, I’d think getting trapped in a sinking car would be the result if you plummeted in with the door locks engaged. Can’t open the windows, after all, and if the door lock mechanism is shorted, you’d probably not be able to unlock the door after the car has been submerged… Especially in cars withouth that little manual unlock tap. You _can’t_ open the doors, due to water pressure. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/27 "2009-12-08T04:59:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You _can’t_ open the doors, due to water pressure. I might not be contradicting you–I’m unclear as to what exactly you’re saying–but you can open the door once you’re submerged. Just open the windows, let the water rush in, and you’ll be able to open the door once you’re under water and the pressures are equalized. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/28 "2009-12-08T05:23:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I might not be contradicting you–I’m unclear as to what exactly you’re saying–but you can open the door once you’re submerged. Just open the windows, let the water rush in, and you’ll be able to open the door once you’re under water and the pressures are equalized. After you are fully submerged and there’s no air left in the car, sure. Of course, by then you will have panicked and be dead. Don’t try this at home, kiddies. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/29 "2009-12-08T05:34:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > After you are fully submerged and there’s no air left in the car, sure. Of course, by then you will have panicked and be dead. Don’t try this at home, kiddies. If you can keep your cool, this is one of the ways to survive a car being submerged underwater. The more common way is to open the window and work your way through that. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/30 "2009-12-08T05:39:38Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > If, as is not an uncommon occurence in a land with more coastline than anything, I were to drive my car into the sea, a lake or a river, would it not be much more safe to have the doors unlocked? In modern, electrically operated windows and door lock, cars, I’d think getting trapped in a sinking car would be the result if you plummeted in with the door locks engaged. Can’t open the windows, after all, and if the door lock mechanism is shorted, you’d probably not be able to unlock the door after the car has been submerged… Especially in cars withouth that little manual unlock tap. Is it really all that common? I mean, compared to run of the mill collisions that happen every day? California has lots of coastline, and after living in this state for over 25 years I can recall less than ten incidents in which a car was driven into deep water, drowning the occupant(s). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/31 "2009-12-08T06:57:10Z")
Hmm, my WAG here is that a locked door would prevent someone outside from helping you in an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/32 "2009-12-08T08:01:05Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Hmm, my WAG here is that a locked door would prevent someone outside from helping you in an accident. Unless they have a golf club 🙂 Wasn’t there a case recently of a car being submerged and the occupants couldn’t get out because the windows were electric and the electric system had shorted out? ---
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/33 "2009-12-08T16:10:36Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Is it really all that common? I mean, compared to run of the mill collisions that happen every day? California has lots of coastline, and after living in this state for over 25 years I can recall less than ten incidents in which a car was driven into deep water, drowning the occupant(s). Nah, probably not 🙂 But a few times a year at least.. Only last week a couple went into the drink when they tried driving onto a ferry that had left the pier, and the car fell into the sea. They got out, but the state of the door locks remain unreported.. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/34 "2009-12-08T16:27:58Z")
> [@abel29a](#): > > Nah, probably not 🙂 But a few times a year at least.. Only last week a couple went into the drink when they tried driving onto a ferry that had left the pier, and the car fell into the sea. They got out, but the state of the door locks remain unreported.. If you drive off a pier onto a ferry that isn’t there, you got bigger problems than your door locks. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/35 "2009-12-08T16:39:40Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Is it really all that common? I mean, compared to run of the mill collisions that happen every day? California has lots of coastline, and after living in this state for over 25 years I can recall less than ten incidents in which a car was driven into deep water, drowning the occupant(s). Confirmation bias, perhaps, but when I lived in South Florida, this was a weekly occurrence. Canals lined many, many streets. The demographics of the area also led to a lot of elderly folks finding untimely watery graves. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/36 "2009-12-08T16:51:16Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My doors automatically lock when my speed reaches 10 MPH. So unless I’m cruising around at \<10, it’s a moot point. My car has “speed sensitive locks” also. The owner’s manual says they lock for safety. My buddy has a car (Saab I think) where the owner’s manual specifically states that you should not lock the doors for safety. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/37 "2009-12-08T18:12:31Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > Confirmation bias, perhaps, but when I lived in South Florida, this was a weekly occurrence. Canals lined many, many streets. The demographics of the area also led to a lot of elderly folks finding untimely watery graves. It was common enough in the Netherlands that there was a driving school there east of Amsterdam that taught you how to deal with the situation. Basically, they put you in a car with an instructor and dumped you in a dark pool of water. The method they taught was: detach safety belt, open windows, turn on headlights [apparently, the electrics will survive long enough to help a potential rescue crew locate you, if you’re not dead by that time], take a deep breath, sink, open door once fully pressurized, swim to safety. edit: [Looks like they have the story we did archived](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/01q2/the_drowning_pool-feature) here, for those interested in further reading. Here’s the relevant text as to the method: > [@](#): > > First, get the seatbelt unbuckled. Then immediately get one hand in position on the door handle. And keep it there. Once you’re underwater – in the dark – it’s almost impossible to locate it, particularly with water rushing in. Then, with the other hand, open the window. Finally, turn on the headlight switch with the hand you used to wind down the window. The vehicle’s battery will work underwater for a while and make locating the car (and – ha-ha – your corpse) much easier in murky water. Then it’s a piece of cake – just wait calmly for the water to fill inside the car, as the icy water rises up your legs and the darkness engulfs you, and you begin to sob hysterically and wonder if your underwear is hash-mark-free, at which time you take a final very deep breath, push hard on the door, and begin rehearsing your Bill Clinton speech to the assembled TV news crews on how you “did it for the children.” That door will open much more slowly than normal. Don’t panic, keep pushing. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/38 "2009-12-08T18:18:49Z")
Oh, and further info from the above site about the statistics of underwater driving: > [@](#): > > Holland, you see, is wetter than tournament week at Wimbledon in Britain. In fact, 24 percent of Dutch land is below sea level, and as a result, most of the country is crisscrossed with canals and dikes, which are, amusingly enough, located for the most part right alongside roads. On some of these picturesque lanes, suffering a case of sudden understeer can result in a situation where you’d best have the skills acquired in scuba-diving school. Last year in Holland, about 1550 persons had an involuntary go at underwater driving. What’s not exactly funny is that 90 of them didn’t live to tell their tales on whatever passes for Oprah on Dutch television. So, in the Netherlands, at least, we’re looking at 4.25 vehicles per day in the water. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/39 "2009-12-08T18:28:03Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > For those of you concerned about being trapped in a car as it is submersed in water and shorting the door locks/windows, they make tools for that. It’a portable escape tool specifically for breaking auto windows. They now come in keychain size. They typically come combined with a cutter to use on the seat belt if it jams. One tool I’ve seen is the common, [spring-loaded nailset.](http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11257&source=googlelps&cookietest=1) It should be able to break or at least crack a side window (not a windshield, which is safety glass). Haven’t tried it, or had the need to. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197/40 "2009-12-08T18:37:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I never understood how some people think you can be “thrown clear” from an accident. It involves smashing through a sheet of hard glass with your body (usually your head). How is this possibly better than remaining inside the car? I remember a comedian talking about this once, on Johnny Carson I think. “My grandpa didn’t like seatbelts, he said that in an accident he’d like to be ‘thrown clear’. Maybe instead of a beeper, seatbelt warnings should just slam the seat forward so you hit your forehead on the windshield - just to remind you how hard it is… Have you ever noticed in an airplane, where seatbelts are totally useless, everyone does them up? Nobody says that if they are in an airplane crash they want to be ‘thrown clear…’” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locking-or-not-car-doors-which-is-safer/520197.md?page=3)