cars - how can car manufacturers make cars safe in water accidents?

Question

so many people die when a car gets submerged - they have to figure a way to get the people out if that ever happens? maybe through the bottom somehow? or something? look at the bridge disaster - the people in the cars died, no way out - depending on the kind of windows I guess. just bothers me that people die when they probably dont' need to.

Answer 1

Hey, Fire Ralph Nader, and let us have teeny cars like Europe and higher taxes, Like Europe and all will be well, newer bridges, and cars that are easier to escape!

very small cars are FUN to drive!

Answer 2

Hmm.. That is a problem, isn't it?

Maybe your seat cushion could double as a flotation device. :) lol.

Of course, maybe just educating people about how to get out of their vehicles alive in a water accident will help a little. Like, if you get submerged you shouldn't panic. Just wait until the car is submerged and try to let some water in somehow (rolling down the window maybe) to equalize the pressure on either side of the car door. When the pressure is equalized, then you open the door.

So, perhaps cars need to go back to hand-crank windows, or at least have one in addition to the electric windows on the driver's side. Then people can equalize the pressure without worrying about it not working.

All the water pressure on windows and such precludes any sort of easy-pop-out windows, wouldn't it?

Of course, none of this probably would have helped in the bridge collapse incident. The flow of the water and undertow would have prevented any reasonable escape, not to mention crushing debris and chaotic mass of a collapsed bridge blocking your way to the surface...

If somebody got out, they may simply have been swept away, unable to fight the current of the river. . . sad.

This is a pickle.

Answer 3

Is unfortunate that physics plays a major role in this type of accidents. If the vehicle windows are closed is much more difficult to open a door or brake the glass without having a large force trying to keep everything in. If the windows are opened once the vehicle reaches its capacity to float and begins to fill the vehicle will begin to fill fast and unless the person is a very strong swimmer once they leave the vehicle trough a window the same force filling the vehicle will tend to pull the individual down as a vortex is created under the person getting out. The most probable and best way to save lives is showing how to properly get out of a vehicle, of course technology can help but the only way to achieve this is to create vehicles that can float, but by doing this will also increase the price of vehicles and will also make them dangerous in everyday situations. There is always a better way and if you keep looking you might find it, but also consider that though vehicles can be created to be safe in certain situations they can become dangerous for other.

Answer 4

cars were not designed to be water proof but they all are equipted with popout windshields, once the car is completely submerged and the pressure is equalized, you can easily leave the vehilcle by kicking out either windshield or opening the door, most cases people panic and try to get out before they are under water. In anycase, you have a few seconds before you allow your vehicle to go underwater, how about opening the window or door at that moment? This is another reason why seat belts can harm more than help. Should cars be fireproof, bomb proof, and bullet proof too?

Answer 5

How many people really die in this kind of accident? Not many. Or not much in terms of percentage. I'll bet tons people deliver babies in cars but do they have to install delivery room stuff inside of cars (or whatever)? In this world, lot more cars catch fire but are they required to install fire alarms and extinguishers too? People have heart attacks while driving - should the car manufacturers install defibrillator device?

These just aren't really common accidents. If you are really worried for youself, you can go to Home Depot and buy a metal punch. They can be used to break car window really easily. But I'll bet you won't be going to home depot tomorrow (because YOU know the chances of you driving into water is really low).

http://www.wfrfire.com/website/front/index.htm?/website/rescue/hand/punch.htm&front
http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum4806.php
http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum4497.php

The problem with the bridge disaster is... THE BRIDGE. Especially in cases like that, there's just about nothing that a car manufacturer do so make the car safer. In previous bridge collapse, people died even when they didn't collapse over water. They were just crushed.

Car manufacturers shouldn't be required to make additional changes for EVERY conceivable accident.

But it is good that you are seeking a safer car. I preferred if you were asking for car manufacturers that can driver safer in snow or rain.

Answer 6

Well,
People's insistance on "power everything" meaning power window, power locks, etc may have literally sealed their fate.
When a car submerges, the power almost instantly dies, so the windows and doors were locked tight and nothing can unlock them when the power is dead.
You have to smash your way out before you drown.
If windows still had manual cranks, many lives could have been saved.
But, keep in mind, some of those cars fell quite a long distance, and the occupants could have been killed by the impact, not the submersion itself.

Answer 7

.Well i could tell you this, your side window and back glass are tempered glass, in other words the glass, when it's made, is hot and then the glass is cooled down immediately which is called temped glass, in other words, the glass is in state of compression. All rescue emergency vehicle have a device called "Giffer", while that's what they call it in Canada. This device is capable of breaking glass under water with a force of 400lbs of pressure under water causing the glass to shatter, unlike your front windshield its laminated so when a rock hits your front windshield or other debris it will just crack, because the lamination between the glass hold the break together. Your side window and back glass is specifically made from tempered for emergency exit for life and death situations

Answer 8

Maybe have an Emergency Blow-down of the windows - driver's side at the least. A simple spring reel, cable and trip release for the window drive mechanism might work. This technology is "off-the-shelf".

Answer 9

Make a device like airbags called floatation devices that buy someone more time to get out of the car.

Answer 10

It's not up to the car manufacturers to make a car idiot proof in every way possible. Just keep it on dry ground....sheesh!