electric door locks and water 3

[amorrison]

Sad, tragic story

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/10/25/nj.suv.drownings.ap/index.html

What are the facts about the operation of electric door locks in river water?
A friend says electric locks will not work when submerged.

 

[carnage1]

A few things.
My grandfather was killed when the toolbox in the back of his truck shifted on a bridge arround a corner (yes they exist) on one of the rural highways near the oregon coast. They found him because of the tools scattered on the road and the pickup settled headlights up. they were able to find the truck fully submerged because the lights were still on. Normal fresh water won't flow much current with only a 12v differential.

As I recall it takes a few minutes for a car to sink. The instructions I was told is roll down the window as soon as possible, if you do this before you are submerged beyond the doors it will have no effect on the rate at whitch you sink, and you can climb out the window even possibly before you are fully submerged.

last if you happen to be driving a few types of cars (without rust holes) you will just float anyway.

 

[CRG]

carnage1 is correct about rolling down the window; however, this is easier said than done under many circumstances. Years ago I started to drive onto a frozen lake at night to do some snow plowing and had an odd feeling. So I rehearsed what I would need to do if I went through the ice. As I was snow plowing on the lake 30 minutes later, I thought that the truck became stuck (in reality, the truck actually broke through the ice and was sinking, but it was night and I could not tell.) I shifted between forward and reverse several times still not realizing that I had broken through. Finally after realizing that truck was sinking, I tried to open the door; however, it would not budge. Next, I opened the window and crawled out onto the ice and watched as the truck sank 10 seconds later.

The truth is without the rehearsal of what I would need to do just prior to sinking the truck, I would be dead. It is hard to describe the disorientation experienced at night and having to accept that the door would not open. Once submerged in water, I doubt that it would be possible to locate the hole in the ice even if I did manage to get out of the truck. I estimate that it took less than a minute for the truck to sink. A minute seems like a long time; however, it is not very long to make decisions when you are disorientated unless you have practiced.

 

[evelrod]

CRG you are spot on. Unless you practic emergency situations, even mentally, you will not know what to do when one arises. "Drive Defensively" is bandied about a lot but it makes sense. Being aware of ones surroundings and the consequences of what "might" happen could avoid an accident or save your life. It's a proven fact that if you rehearse an emergency that when it does happen you are much more likely not to panic.

As a race car driving instructor in the 80's I tried a little experiment with a group of students that were having problems driving the right lines. I took them out and drove the course several times on the correct lines and then, in the paddock, we all mentally drove the course for about thirty minutes. What an amazing transformation! After that I made this practice a regular part of my instruction. It always worked. Now when I go to a new track I talk someone familiar with the track or I go out in the first session and just find the lines then back to the pits to sit and 'get mental'. Yes it still works, even after 46 years of racing.

Rod

 

[evelrod]

I had just posted the previous when my son pointed out an article in the paper. Seems like a woman made a wrong turn in Texas and drove down a boat ramp. The car floated for several minutes but only a 12 year old girl managed to get out and she later died at hospital.
I am at a loss for words.

Rod

 

[rlgdtime]

Here's a site that is trying to prevent submersion drownings:

http://www.escapetip.com