Once in a while I remember that power windows are a freaky thought if you’re unlucky enough to drive into the water and start sinking. I doubt they’d work once your car is submerged, making escape a lot less likely.
Here’s how I’d do it, once I was underwater:
breathe lightly
crank the window down about halfway*
wait for the car to fill with water, slurping up the last bits of air.
Take your last huge breath, and roll down the window all the way (the water pressure inside and outside of the car should be balanced now)
pull yourself out, boost off the door frame towards the surface and swim like hell
*****you can’t roll down a power window if the electrical is out
I keep a window smashing hammer with a seat belt cutter right under my parking brake. Maybe I’ll need it, maybe someone else will.
What scares me about the power windows is that children have accidentally strangled themselves by sticking their head out the window and then hitting the button to raise it with their leg.
A normal negative ground 14V DC electrical system found in 99.9% of the cars sold today will have basically no trouble working completely submerged in water.
Anything not controlled by computer will continue to operate long enough for you to escape: windows, headlights, etc.
In fact, there is a school in The Netherlands dedicated exclusively to teaching you how to escape from a submerged car (it’s a big problem there with all the dykes).
Their steps are sort of like yours, but their first step is one to turn on your headlights. They will illuminate your escape route as well as make your car easier to spot to passers by and rescuers.
Long story short, your power windows will work fine, as will your headlights which you should turn on.
Also, lieu All cars with power windows these days have pinch protection to prevent the exact scneario you describe.
Please people, car engineers are not idiots. If you thought of these things you can be sure they did as well.
racekarl is completely correct. Power windows will work under water.
And lieu, I’m sorry, but have you heard of this happening? Ever? Come on people! Power windows aren’t death traps! Sheesh.
Also, the power window switches I’ve seen (in my Voyager, Bonneville and Matrix) are flat switches with nothing to get ‘caught’ on. You cannot power up your window with your foot by accident.
How about if the electrical system is compromised in the accident, say if the battery was destroyed?
Glad to hear at least some of the problems have been addressed, although I fear it was because people were dying and not because of any foresight in the matter.
Yes badmana. It happened here in Houston to an adolescent girl about a month or so back. I saw the interview with her friend and a family member on the local CBS channel.
Here’s one of several links that came up when I googled “power window death child”.
C’mon lieu do you expect the thing to be totally indestructable?
However, your second concern has also already been addressed:
Think about where the battery is in most cars: it’s usually either high in the engine compartment, or is often even inside of the crash structure of the car itself. My Audi A6 was like this, the battery was high behind and above the engine, and behind a mini firewall.
This was no mistake, but was designed specifically to address your concern. In fact many cars today are designed to actively participate in the post crash rescue effort. I know that BMWs and Audis do this but other makes may as well: The car can acutally detect that it is submerged in water and will roll down the windows and turn on the headlights. In the event of a collision it will unlock the doors and turn on the flashers, and will later detonate an explosive bolt to disconnect the ignition system to prevent a fire.
The upshot is that these sorts of things are taken very seriously, and not much is overlooked.
This isn’t the pit so I don’t wanna get rude but more kids die of heat stroke while trapped in the back of a car than dying of power windows. It’s kinda silly to be concerned about this sort of thing. Oh heck, 2.5 kids a year is less than all other concerns that I can recall that kill kids including being struck by lightining!
BTW, my new car has window disabling up front. When it’s engaged, no one 'cept me can open or close a window.
And about your other concern, yes, in an accident power would be cut (it’s actually a function of your airbags) and again, drowning after being in a serious accident is pretty slim. Oh, I’m sure there are people who have died in the senario you describe but it’s too rare to fix.
Why don’t we focus on the things that kill people the most? You know, like bad parenting and stuff?
(I don’t mean to be snarky but it’s kinda funny there are people worried about power windows).
Just a slight correction badmana, the airbags don’t cut all power, they just disconnect the ignition system. Power accessories like windows, interior lights, OnStar, etc. will still function.
I suggested this to some people recently and they thought I was crazy. A crank window with an electrical motor that can be disengaged. It’s not like putting a man on the moon. I guess the number of people that drown that could have been saved by such windows hasn’t led to enough legal costs exceeding the potential costs incurred in having such hybrid windows. You’d think, given the lakes around here, that there would be a fair number of drownings in cars. I can’t remember any.
Not correct. If you are going to need to hold your breath for a length of time underwater, then you should breath deeply and (most importantly) as rapidly as possible, just prior to submergance. Once submerged you should very slowly let the air come out of your mouth as a stream of tiny bubbles. This method should enable you to hold your breath longer.
Well hey as long as we are discussing If frog’s had wings, what are you going to do if the door’s of your car, with manual crank windows, are bashed and the windows won’t roll down once you are in the water?
furthermore let’s talk about kids and power windows. Using the linked article can we count the parents screwups. By my count
[list=1]
[li]Left key in car[/li][li]Left key in on position[/li][li]Left child in car[/li][li]Turned back[/li][/list=1]
The parents had to do 4 separate stupid thing in a row in order to kill their child. Any three would not have killed the child. The problem is that every time you think that you have made something foolproof, they go out and invent a better fool.
On to a couple of other nits to pick. racekarl some cars (some BMWs) actually have a squib on the positive battery cable that fires when the airbags go off. I know it disconnects the main power to the starter, I can’t recall if it interrupts accessory power or not. Also lots of batteries are located where they will get destroyed in a crash. But even so, this does not make power windows a death trap. The car will fill with water. Once the car is near full and the pressure is equal inside and out (air is compressed into a bubble near the roof, front or rear window). All you have to do is open the damn door and swim out. Anyway have any of you ever tried to climb in or more importantly out of your car through the window? It ain’t zactly easy or fun. My point is that you are going to need the door to get out anyway. The only difference is you have to keep your wits about you for a few moments.
** criminalcatalog and Beagle** What the cost of new cars isn’t high enough for you yet? Are you looking for a way to increase the cost of the next car you buy? As racekarl pointed out the electrical system will still work when the car is under water, so why is a crank needed? Also if the crank is fixed and rotates when the electrical motor turns (a logical assumption) that some genius will manage to bang his knee with the crank and sue the car maker for 6.2 zillion dollars. Even if the carmaker wins it will cost about 100 grand to the case to trial. Up goes the cost of your next car.
You have to provide a cite. Every single website I found that talked about this said your electric window will be likely to short out after a few minutes. For example:
When did they stop making cars with manual windows? My friend has a fairly new car (I believe, though I’m not sure, that it’s a 1999 Ford Contour), and she has manual windows. If you’re that worried, they shouldn’t be impossible to find.
