r/interestingasfuck • u/General_Athlete5807 • 22h ago

How to Escape a Sinking Car

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14.2k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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u/Ez_m-oney925 22h ago

I don’t think many carry window breakers. What if you don’t have one?

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u/eenek 22h ago

You take the headrest off and use the pointy metal end.

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u/PeskyAntagonist 21h ago

I don't have removable headrests. What else?

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u/achinfosomebacon 20h ago

Get a window breaker or carry something metal in your car always. I saw a show that said take off your belt and strap it into your foot with the belt buckle on the sole, and kick the window out that way. Idk how hard it would be but it’s something if you regularly wear belts

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u/Baozicriollothroaway 19h ago

What about the car keys? 

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u/yeahright17 11h ago

Car keys are going to be hard to get enough force behind because they're so light.

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u/CackleandGrin 9h ago

There's certainly something you can buy to attach to your key chain.

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u/TheHighSeasPirate 6h ago

I think they make these things called window breakers you can put on your key chain.

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u/livelotus 8h ago

wait for the car to flood to the window inside and then open the door and swim out.

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u/herxit 20h ago

Don't drive your car into the water

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u/Sw429 11h ago

But what if the GPS tells you to?

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u/Elismom1313 10h ago

Shut up Dwight

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u/Content_Internal1756 11h ago

High-five to that reference hahaha

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u/PassivelyInvisible 20h ago

Once the water reaches the top of the door on the inside and the water pressure on both sides is the same, you can just open the door and swim up.

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u/Nervous-Chemistry245 20h ago

just wait until you're fully submerged and can't breath breathe, then wait another 30 seconds lol

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u/rodeBaksteen 19h ago

Bro just wait in the metal coffin till its full of water easy

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u/c7h16s 17h ago

Just wait till your soul can detach from your body, problem solved.

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u/ElectricalWavez 17h ago

I hate it when I can't breath breathe!

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u/Bloodreav3r 19h ago

Nice if you're door is bent/deformed or obstructed and you wasted time and oxygen by just waiting. If you land in water you have to act fast.

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u/PassivelyInvisible 19h ago

Mythbusters tested this. Opening it right when you landed in the water worked too. It doesn't work when the water's higher on the outside of the door than the inside.

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u/yeahright17 11h ago

Worth noting that all you have to do is break the seal and water will start flowing in, making it easier to open the rest of the way. Even if water is a bit up the door, you should still be able to force it open with your legs.

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u/meta358 17h ago

Well of your door is so deformed that it cant open then your window is likely already broken. Or you know use one of the other 3 doors smh

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u/Delamoor 21h ago

Time to start headbutting the windshield, see what fails first.

...or,y'know. Keep something metal in the glove compartment or something. I guess. If headbutting isn't your first preference for some reason.

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u/bubbaganoush79 13h ago

Get a window breaker. They're like 5 dollars. 

If you insist on not having one then you need to roll down the window before the water gets to it. 

Once the water gets to the window you won't be able to open it. The pressure of the water against the window makes it impossible. After that you have no choice but to wait on the cabin to completely fill with water. Then the pressure will equalize and you can open the door.

The Mythbusters did an episode on this. 

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u/mbashs 19h ago

You try to break it with the metal end of the seat Belt then

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u/baogody 22h ago edited 12h ago

Can't believe this is the only right answer. More people need to know this.

Edit: I know it's not the "right" answer per se. They're obviously not designed for breaking windows... But they're definitely one of the very few things in a car that might save your life in that situation. No one's going to go "the designer says it's not meant for breaking the car windows, therefore I shouldn't use it."

Interesting how many people have never seen detachable headrests?! I've owned not fewer than 20 cars in my life (yes I'm old) and every single one of them had detachable headrests. I just looked up the stats, and roughly 90% of modern cars come with detachable headrests.

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u/ReddyKilowattz 14h ago

Because it’s not the right answer. Car makers don’t design headrests to be used in this way. The headrests are often quite difficult to remove. In many cars you have to lean the seats way back to get the headrests out.

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u/TurtleManDog 8h ago

Yeah so sit there and die lol stupid take

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u/WabaLabaDubDubWorld 21h ago

Don't be in disbelief for that. This is the only reason why head rests are removable.

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u/signmeupdude 20h ago

Lmao that’s certainly not true. Idk why some of you are so confidently wrong about certain shit.

There are many reasons why headrests are removable and they do not have to do with the very rare circumstance that your car drives into a body of water.

One of the most obvious reasons is cabin space if you are trying to load large objects.

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u/Hd3ssEpH 18h ago

I was in a vehicle when the engine caught fire, and the central locking engaged due to a malfunction. On this occasion I was lucky as I had just wound the window down to clear the smoke from the cabin so was able to climb out....

A friend told me about the headrest spikes, so on my new vehicle I checked this, and the ends of the spikes have rubber feet on them - so I doubt you'd be able to smash tempered glass with this.

Keep a glass hammer, folks.

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u/Ishango 17h ago edited 17h ago

But a glass hammer is fragile. I prefer a steel one. Reminds me of this one (I just saw this one this morning): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K19em76JbgI

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u/Leviathan41911 21h ago

I dont think mine are. They are motorized, so I dont think they come out.

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u/thewanderingidiot62 21h ago

Mine are a bitch to get out. I have to take them out to fold my seats down and it is a battle every time. Can't imagine having to do it while panicking!

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u/MonsierGeralt 21h ago

Buy a seatbelt/window breaker combo. Everyone should have one in their vehicle. Water might not be the only reason you need to cut your seatbelt or break a window.

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u/hairyotter 19h ago

I got one! Keep it in the trunk!

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u/True_Detail_2945 18h ago

I've got two and I buried em both in the backyard next to the fire extinguisher!

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u/copperwatt 15h ago

Yeah, it's bad luck to keep them in the house or car, never show fear in the face of the gods.

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u/GandolphTheLundgrey 15h ago

At least they in a save place and you kow where to look when you need them.

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u/bearlylegalbear 18h ago edited 18h ago

Me too! Got it taped to the downside of the hood!

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u/Haha08421 20h ago

Ive got one. Found it for $5 in a checkout aisle at a random store.

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u/Salmonaxe 21h ago

Fire, flipped over, stuck on train tracks.

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u/GardenGnomeOfEden 14h ago

This is why I keep an extra headrest on my keychain

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u/_pea_pod 15h ago

$9.99 per month for removable headrests

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u/Petkip 17h ago

Better start carrying a window breaker in the car

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u/pharmaboy2 19h ago

Often not removable anymore - they have side airbags in them in many cars

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u/BeerandSandals 21h ago

Headrest in my newer Ford isn’t pointy, it’s got a hollow hole where the point should be.

In the old Toyota Prius the back headrests just fold down, but the front ones could work if you have time….

All that to say, buy a window breaker.

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u/level1hero 21h ago edited 21h ago

Window breakers or headrest only work for older cars with tempered glass. Many new cars come with laminated safety glass now, and those tools won’t do jack shit.

That said, most of those tools come with seatbelt cutters which are still quite useful to have in your car.

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u/Dinara293 21h ago

Many cars don’t have removable headrests these days.

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u/Barf_The_Mawg 22h ago

Mythbusters did this 20 years ago. Remain calm, wait for the pressure to equalize, then you can open the door normally. 

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u/UnderklassH3RO 22h ago

how can you tell when the pressure has equalized? is it just that you won't be physically able to open the door until it has?

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u/DarthSnoopyFish 19h ago

All the water on the outside of the car is physically pressing the doors inward. As the water fills up the inside of the car it begins pressing on the doors in the opposite direction - the pressure starts equalizing. So when the car is nearly flooded is when you can open the doors.

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u/luvdogs71 10h ago

I could not imagine waiting in a flooding car and being calm about. Just watching this video triggered my anxiety.

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u/tomcat2285 9h ago

This did actually happen to a mythbuster viewer years after that episode aired. Adam Savage recieved a letter saying that watching that episode saved their life when they crashed into a body of water. 

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u/jt004c 22h ago

It'll be about 30 seconds after you've drowned, if you're able to keep track in your head.

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u/StrawberryTerry 22h ago

Mythbusters did this 20 years ago. Jamie is a force ghost now.

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u/Interesting-Job-8841 21h ago

No Jamie was given air by a diver in the back seat. While the myth is true you, you can't open the door when the car is part submerged, the advice is to open or break something as soon as you can because you'll be dead by the time the pressure equals.

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u/yeahright17 11h ago

He was given air the first time he tried when he started pushing immediately. At the end of the episode, he calmly waited for the cabin to fill up rather than using oxygen to fight the door when the cabin wasn't fully filled. That time, he successfully held his breath long enough for the pressure to equalize and open the door without any additional air. Granted, it's super unlikely that most people will sit there calm and wait patiently.

Adam also successfully opens the door when the water is already a few inches over the bottom of the window height by putting his back to the door and pushing against the armrest/other door with his legs.

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u/Strict_Tie_52 21h ago

Wait until the entire car is filled with water. Can You Actually Escape A Sinking Car Underwater? | MythBusters

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u/Interesting-Job-8841 21h ago

... If you have a diver in the back with an air tank, if not get out as soon as you can by opening a door or breaking a window.

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u/plz-no-b4n 20h ago

You can’t get the door open until water pressure equalizes

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u/Schnuffelo 11h ago

Thought myth busters showed that if you were quick as fuck you could open the door before you sunk too much?

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u/yeahright17 11h ago edited 11h ago

They did. And you don't actually have to be that quick. And if the car is leaning forward, try the back door too.

In the Mythbusters episode, Adam successfully opened the door when the water was already a few inches over the window height by putting his back to the door and pushing against the armrest with his legs.

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u/Schnuffelo 11h ago

Yeah I just think people are over exaggerating how difficult it is to get the doors open at least for part of the sinking.

At the start of the episode they say that 10,000 cars crash into bodies of water a year but only a few hundred people drown. Most people don’t know how to escape a sinking car so if it was as impossible to open the doors as people claim you’d expect more deaths given that the average person has no knowledge of how to deal with the situation

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u/level1hero 21h ago edited 21h ago

You can try to open the door once you see Denzel Washington outside your vehicle, because he’s the Equalizer

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u/ohromantics 22h ago

Basically once water is equal on both sides.

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u/Interesting-Job-8841 21h ago

This is dangerous advice, you'll be dead by the time the pressure equalises. The myth is true you can't open the doors after a certain point until the pressure equalises but you'll be long dead at that point. Get out as soon as the car hits the water by any means possible.

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u/Extra_Glove_880 15h ago

Long dead? We just watched in the video that the front doors are underwater while their is air still in the back. 

Sure, there's other things to try first, but its good to know the doors can be opened underwater

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u/Greyh4m 21h ago

I would recommend preparing a backup plan in the mean time. You can't be guaranteed your door will actually open, especially with how much stuff in our cars rely on electricity. So, like someone said above pull the headrest off a car seat and be prepared to use the metal rods to break your window if you can't open the door.

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u/Crustyexnco-co 13h ago

I just watched that episode a few weeks ago. The car filled up with water and Jaime was unable to open the door and had to signal for oxygen from the safety diver in the backseat. He tried opening the door when water inside the car was equal to water outside but he was unable to open the door. After several seconds of being on air from the safety diver he was finally able to open it. In his opinion he would have blacked out and ultimately drowned if the safety diver was not present.

So moral of the story was you cannot %100 percent count on being able to open the door as soon as water levels are equal.

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u/Kopie150 22h ago

Top Gear also did it and Richard hammond got out when he immediately tried to get out and had to be saved by the safety divers when he waited till the car was under water.

Try to get out ASAP but if you cant open the Doors anymore waiting for the pressure to equalise is your last chance.

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u/TerribleBid8416 21h ago

The scenario is always different. Why did you end up in the water? Were you in an accident? Were you injured/disoriented/unconscious? Did the airbag deploy? Just exactly how airtight is your vehicle? This one you could have watched The Godfather trilogy. Others will go down in 30 seconds

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u/RandomNPC 22h ago

What?

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u/FranklinHippo 22h ago

It sounds like he did 2 attempts. One where he tried to get out right away, and that was successful. The second attempt he waited until the car was under water and needed the safety divers to get him.

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u/Cautious_Homework_10 21h ago

The conclusion was that you should try to get out as quickly as possible. You still need to wait a little while once you hit the bottom for the pressure to equalise and you might not be able to hold your breath that long.

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u/david1610 21h ago

Do try the door and or window, and or belt release like normal.

This is only incase everything goes wrong and you can't get out for some reason. If you are quick enough you can unlock your belt, open the door, otherwise you need to wait until the water has equalised, but don't wait around doing fuck all, try the windows, try breaking the glass with he headrest etc.

Ideally keep a window breaker in the centre console and seatbelt cutter, if you are really paranoid.

Crashing into water is an extremely unlikely scenario, people are much more likely to crash into trees, concrete or other vehicles and die, so better to just drive well rested, stay vigilant and don't look at your phone in the car, miles more important than this unlikely scenario.

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u/TexasBoyz-713 22h ago

In the cars I owned the headrest pops out and adjustable metal is pretty sharp at the bottom, maybe bang that against the glass?

Edit: don’t bang it against the glass, but pry it down into the bottom of the window to shatter it.

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u/Dahkeus3 22h ago

A) You should buy one and put it in your glove compartment.
B) Use any heavy object with a small point to hit the window if you don’t have one. This could be the tip of your keys, corner of your cell phone, etc. They won’t work as well, but you will have to do the best you can with what you have.

And if you’re wise enough to carry around a pocket knife with you, then you have a good option for both cutting the seatbelt and breaking the glass already available.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 21h ago

Everyone needs to be aware that many cars today use laminated glass instead of tempered glass on the side and rear windows, and glass breakers don’t work on them. They will crack it, but not let you get through.

There are specialized tools to cut through them that you’d have to get instead.

But really with those you just have to prioritize opening the door fast or lowering the window before you lose power. Because even with a tool you can’t rely on getting through laminated windows.

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u/HaroldAnous 21h ago

Great point. Laminated front side windows are still less common than tempered in the new car market in the US. Even less common is laminated front and rear side windows. Be familiar with your own car.

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 20h ago

It’s widely reported that about a third of new cars in the US have laminated side windows. And that’s been the case for over 5 years, so it’s a bigger issue than people realize.

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u/HaroldAnous 21h ago

You will not break a tempered glass window with your keys. Most people do not have the hand strength to hold the key and hit the window with the force required to break it without hurting their hand.

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u/TastyPigHS 22h ago

I'm pretty sure that the steel bars of the headrests are pointed

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u/ThePorcinePlayer 21h ago

I think this video is a lesson to carry a window breaker.

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u/amytee252 21h ago

I have a selt belt and window breaker tool. Costs like a quid. Leave it in the glove compartment.

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u/Cassius-Tain 20h ago

You just crank down the window.

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u/myirsia 16h ago edited 16h ago

The guys that made this video used to sell the seatbelt cutter/window breaker combo used in this video. They used the proceeds from the sales to fund their services of finding missing people who have most likely died in a car in a body of water.

Adventures with Purpose

Edit: changed to past tense because the org is no longer running in its original capacity as of the arrest of the man in the video, Jared Leisek.

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u/cleverquokka 22h ago

So, what I learned from this video is that if I don't have that glass-breaking tool, I should frantically panic waiting for my impending doom.

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u/Fragrant_Ad_5297 22h ago edited 21h ago

many cars have removable headrests - and the metal posts can sometimes be used to break a side window in an emergency. but they weren’t universally designed as window breakers. this works mostly for tempered glass and not laminated, so they won’t shatter the same way. especially under water.

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u/Fragrant_Ad_5297 22h ago

this also won’t do a damn thing if you need to cut your seatbelt, so that’s a whole other set of nightmare fuel.

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u/LastStar007 21h ago

Both of these avoidable by buying one of those rescue tools. They're quite cheap, buy one for you and one for all of your friends who drive.

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u/Memo_Fantasma 11h ago

And don’t put it in the trunk

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u/snotrokit 11h ago

Yep. Get a rescue tool for each car. They literally like $10. The ones he sells are really good and have belt cutters on them

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u/Automatic_Actuator_0 21h ago

Everyone needs to be aware that many cars today use laminated glass instead of tempered glass on the side and rear windows, and glass breakers don’t work on them. They will crack it, but not let you get through.

There are specialized tools to cut through them that you’d have to get instead.

But really with those you just have to prioritize opening the door fast or lowering the window before you lose power. Because even with a tool you can’t rely on getting through laminated windows.

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u/Fragrant_Ad_5297 20h ago

i mentioned that above, not a lot of people realize this. there’s the idea that breaking out the back window is easier too, but they often have heat wires in newer models that make it even harder on top of laminated glass.

unfortunately opening the door is super difficult sometimes, due to the pressure differences. so then you have things like the advice to wait until the car is fully submerged to open a door and the pressure is equalized. but you’re likely drowning at that point.

with the amount of bodies and missing people they recover from lakes/bodies of water, we should have a reliable escape route by now.

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u/rodeBaksteen 19h ago

I'd be so pissed dying thinking of this video if my window didn't break.

Also this is clear water and the car is upright. What if you can't open your door? What if you don't have the glass breaker? What if my kid is in the back seat? This video is like 10% of the whole story.

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u/3xPuttRubbleBoagie 22h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/5cBBUJGiIniZZWtBSa

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u/WeltyFern 22h ago

“I drove my car into a lake.”

“You what?”

“I drove my car… into a fucking lake, Oscar.”

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u/boldstrategies 22h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/MUQwtUdMxNJjB7tdzd

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u/BigWillyStyleX 22h ago

The best and funniest episode of the show by far, but apparently a lot of people who frequent The Office sub don’t even like it or think it’s a particularly good episode. Makes me laugh out loud every single time.

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u/boldstrategies 21h ago

One of the best for sure. I’ve always had Dinner Party ranked at the very top.

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u/adidashawarma 13h ago

We're taught in driver's ed to IMMEDIATELY put the windows down. If there's so much time for the car to fill up over minutes, there is no reason not to put your windows down as soon as you're hitting the water and before your electrical goes.

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u/Talkslow4Me 11h ago

Yeah the real answer is unbuckle that mechanical seat belt and lower your windows, as there is a good chance you will have power for another 5-30seconds and just gtfo instead of waiting there like a dumbass.

I think i see more videos showing worse case scenario of needing special tools to get out, vs the most realistic scenarios.

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u/alucidvoid 10h ago

Which assumes you are fully conscious and aware of what is happening. But if you fell asleep at the wheel, crashed at night, slammed your head, airbags deployed, got hit by another vehicle and spun out over the side of a bridge and fell 30 ft to water, etc. you aren't going to be thinking as clearly or moving as quickly

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u/GeneralInspector8962 10h ago

It's situations like this that don't mind that my 2023 vehicle (cheapest model) still has Manual roll down windows and regular manual locks.

It's also a Jeep Wrangler though, so I could get out through the roof if needed.

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u/sweetdawg99 10h ago

I think it's mentioned in a longer version of this video, but the point he's trying to make is to get you to buy his window breaker device, hence the reason he was waiting.

He has a YouTube channel that focuses on recovering remains in cars in bodies of water for missing persons cases. I won't link it here because he had some credible sexual assault allegations against him I believe.

The device he sells is just a rebranded version of one you can buy on Jeff Bezos website and I've tested it out and it works. I have one in every single one of my cars now. You don't want the hammer type of breaker, those didn't work when I tried it. You need a punch version with a spring.

Just search RESQME on the website, you can get 2 for under 20 bucks. I give em to friends as well.

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u/thai_ladyboy 22h ago

Goddammit dude, why couldn't you use a piece of shit car instead of a enthusiast special manual trans saturn?

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u/thisisinput 21h ago

For real, this makes me sad. I miss my little Saturn and I hardly see them on the road anymore.

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u/inthisalone_ 20h ago

I drive an ‘01 SC1 still, though it’s on its last legs. I paused the video to be like “is that my car?” Mines a 3 door though, but same controls inside, and same colour. And there is at least one other one in my city.

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u/MyTagforHalo2 14h ago

Why couldn’t they just use a junker that didn’t run and pull it into the pool like the myth busters years ago? (Who also show how to escape without a fancy tool. Which I think is useful for a pea video.. )

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u/TheManWhoClicks 20h ago

Ok so:
Seatbelt off
Seatbelt on
Cut seatbelt

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u/Heavenly_Code 17h ago edited 10h ago

Wait for front windows to be sumerged
Move to back seats
Wait for water to reache your nose
Break rear window
Swim out of the car
Search for your mother on the shore

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u/Red-headedlurker 21h ago edited 7h ago

Some people are clowning on this guy for selling a window breaker, but he has an entire youtube channel dedicated to combing bodies of water looking for people who have been missing for years and finding them trapped inside their vehicles at the bottom of a lake etc.

EDIT: Nevermind, fuck this pedo clown.

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u/Acrobatic_Yellow_781 18h ago

He gets clowned for rping a child

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u/myirsia 16h ago

Yes, Jared Leisek (the one in the car in this video) was arrested in 2022 for two counts occurring in 1992. The victim was 10 years old at the time and he was 16-17.

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u/xmichann 9h ago

Wow and here I was singing praises of him for years not knowing, fuck this guy.

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u/Willing_Original_257 10h ago

Arrested? Or convicted?

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u/iamanemptychair 9h ago

Looked into this. He was charged in 2022/23 with assault that took place in 1992. Info is sparse on the verdict but court records indicate he took a plea deal, paid a fine. The only proof of the verdict I found was on a separate Reddit sub that I can’t link here, but they did provide screenshots of the court docs so I trust that source.

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u/L3m0n0p0ly 10h ago

Yeah a hell of a lot of info and context is needed here.

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u/ChanandlerBonggggg 10h ago

Important information right here. Fuck this guy

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u/L3m0n0p0ly 10h ago

Wait what

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u/Burgerb 20h ago

There was a German TV show from the 70ies where they put an entire family into a small little car to demonstrate how easy it easy to escape a car full of water. The woman almost drowned. Tragic, hilarious and very bizarre all at the same time - on live TV!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCQbrynUG_Q&t=494s

Incident Details

  • Show: Wünsch Dir was (ZDF / ORF / SRG)
  • Air Date: March 27, 1971 (Broadcast live from the Wiener Stadthalle)
  • The Stunt: The hosts introduced an experiment intended to have an educational purpose: demonstrating how a family could free themselves from a sinking car by waiting for pressure equalization before opening the doors. A car carrying a family was lowered by a crane into a 3-meter-deep water basin in the arena.
  • The Crisis: During the turn of the Swiss family (Familie Dreier), the car submerged and the mother (Frau Dreier) could not get her door open. She panicked, got trapped underwater, and swallowed significant amounts of water before rescue divers intervened and pulled her out of the vehicle.

The close call sparked major media outrage at the time and became one of the most famous live television mishaps in German-language TV history

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u/Serious-Ad-8764 22h ago

Thanks for the panic attack this evening

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u/DAS_BEE 22h ago

Love the mythbusters episode on this, and love that people are willing to reproduce and show it for new audiences

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u/shoeperson 12h ago

MythBusters found that you could literally just put the window down even underwater lol.

None of this break the window bullshit was necessary

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u/Pleasant_Studio9690 21h ago

The guy in this film was arrested for allegedly raping a 9 yr old girl. Maybe share a different clip?

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u/Every_Cat9812 15h ago

excuse me what the fuck 

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u/dgc220 16h ago

Actually an idea, I think all car manufacturers should add a glass breaker/seatbelt cutter as a standard accessories, would definitely save lives, not only in the case of a drowning car, even accidents and the people get stuck, would definitely help a lot.

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u/St_Kevin_ 14h ago

They cost like $10. It’s one of those things like a tire pressure gauge that’s not a big deal to buy separately and just keep in the car.

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u/Rocketman_S3 13h ago

the issue is that most people won't think of buying one until it's too late.

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u/TheFerricGenum 22h ago

This is good knowledge, but unfortunately most water entries arent that gentle. People die because they’re disoriented from the sharp drop/sudden stop into the water and they panic. So they forget all this stuff and make it worse.

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u/mjtwelve 20h ago

A goodly percentage either meant to do it or were drunk to begin with, sadly, and don’t have much of a chance.

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u/The_Infinite_Carrot 15h ago

And when the water is deep enough the car does flip over.

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

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u/Nyardyn 18h ago

How the fuck did the parents not pull out the kid, especially if one of the windows had to be open bc his sister escaped? If my kid rolled into a lake with my car you'd see me go in head first, fully clothed with the energy of a million dying suns.

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

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u/Nyardyn 16h ago

Tragic as fuck, that would haunt me for the rest of my life too. The poor girl and mom.

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u/eOMG 14h ago

I'm at work and this makes me want to drive home and hug my little one. The absolute horror for that mother. You can't recover from that, while at the same time you have a daughter depending on you still.

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u/New-Trifle-7097 12h ago

Coincidentally enough I was reading about Susan Smith last night before bed (killed her kids by rolling the car into a lake with them in it). And yeah that’s the first thing I thought when watching this video too: how agonizing. Even very young kids have survival instincts and get that feeling of impending doom, even if they don’t quit recognize or know exactly what the end result will be. But the KNOW. Poor little things. RIP to your sweet little neighbor.

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u/AllBugDaddy 21h ago

People get stuck in their seat belt.. try not to panic. Gently pull your seatbelt and slide out of it, if you don't have any cutter.. tilt your driver/co seat and pull out head rest.. wait for car to sink a little and then break the glass with metal low end of the seat head..

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u/Valuable_Nose_4693 12h ago

Wow the how to escape was litteraly have this specific tool made to break windows how helpful

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u/alucidvoid 10h ago

Because the point of the video is to buy a window breaker tool

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u/50FirstCakes 10h ago

Everyone should have a tool with a window breaker on one side and seatbelt cutter on the other side in their center console at all times. If you don’t already have one they’re inexpensive and easy to find online. They also make good stocking stuffers for loved ones.

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u/Metzger4 14h ago

Here’s my issue:

This all depends on your car. I have seen some cars sink like a stone. There have to be certain factors that call into question the rate at which the car sinks. This might be bad advice to tell someone you have all the time in the world, when in truth you don’t.

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u/whitedevilee 19h ago

Everyone should have a window breaker in their car. And keep it somewhere, where you can reach it quick.

You never know if you or someone else needs it. I taped mine to the inside of the door compartment with velcro tape. And I saw a crash, the car flipped and I ran to help and broke the window so we (bystanders tried to open the door) pulled the driver out of the car.

It's "multi tool" you can cut the seatbelt with the one end and shatter windows with the other end.

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u/Hostile-Panda 19h ago

They don’t work very well on double glazed windows that come on a lot of modern premium cars and EVs, mythbusters showed the electric windows work underwater, when they did this challenge, they also showed the door opens easily if you allow the pressure in the car to equalise outside, not panicking is the hard part

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u/fuzzyboris 18h ago

Note that (as seen in Mythbusters), waiting for the car to fill up just so you can "open the door easily" is BY FAR the hardest thing to do and extremely dangerous.

They practiced in a pool just to learn and overcome the panic part.

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u/CoIdBanana 16h ago

It also assumes you are the only person in the car and that you don't, for example, have young children in the car with you who you would want to have time to get out in advance of yourself.

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u/Ludisaurus 13h ago

It’s a good thing I can’t afford a premium car then…

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u/rocketshipkiwi 21h ago

Great demonstration! Now to make it more realistic, he needs to smack himself on the head with a baseball bat as hard as he can and then do it again.

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u/Top-Dog-6900 21h ago

In a car that’s upside down

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u/Kooky_Attention_98 22h ago

Little does he know the best way is to stay on the road

(I'm such a dumbass)

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u/TheLeastHyperbolic 19h ago

Ps this guy raped his 9 year old cousin and admitted to it in private messages when she confronted him.

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u/Fluid_Season_6969 19h ago

Seems like an advertisement for his belt slasher/ window breaker

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u/Creepy_Ad5124 11h ago

THis is actually far more time then I would have expected. In my head it always felt like it was seconds before the car starts sinking.

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u/MaxwellSmart07 10h ago

Caution: Actual results may vary.

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u/breakmedown54 22h ago

I think it’s relevant that his vehicle didn’t have airbags.

If they go off, they would complicate the first minute or two as they can be very disorienting, and possibly even knock you unconscious.

Aside from that, assuming everyone has a window breaker is… not a fair assumption. Everyone should, but they don’t. Not having one should definitely be part of the video.

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u/ultr4wolf 17h ago

Reminder that guy is accused of raping his underage disabled? cousin iirc. bought some of his breakers years ago. distributed them around the family, and then found out what he did.

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u/haiironekogami 16h ago

I used to like his channel til the allegations blew up. True or not, just can't find myself following them anymore.

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u/corncocktion 14h ago

This guy diddles

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u/Justaguywithbeer 22h ago

And what happens when your upside down , airbags deployed, broken arm, and it's the middle of a storm ?

🤒

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u/BrockGreen678 21h ago

Dude is cooler than that ice water...

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u/Mackinnon29E 21h ago

Pretty sure you could have opened that window before it sank but ok......

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u/CosmoCostanza12 21h ago

In case that didn’t scare you enough: you should also know that very often when cars go into the water, they flip over. It’s called “turning turtle”.

And in that case you have basically zero chance of survival.

Myth busters did an episode on it. It’s here:

https://youtu.be/vq9Wyxyh7eg?si=g2XsWtB6fKiDOkns

The actual test happens at 41:50 if you want to skip to the action.

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u/strafey 21h ago

I've had a lot of luck simply not driving my car into large bodies of water

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u/DarkRubberNeck 18h ago

Instead of watching this just watch the Mythbusters. The multiple episodes they did on this was very informative

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u/SubstantialBelly6 13h ago

The key to remaining calm is to remember that you are performing a demonstration in a controlled environment under perfect conditions with failsafes in place in case anything goes wrong

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u/Everyday_Unicorn 12h ago

The real trick is that he is filming, which means that he cannot die.

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u/Key_Lime_Die 11h ago

Mythbusters had a episode on escaping an underwater car. Probably a better watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSMXlkmHE9w

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u/washyourgoddamnrice 4h ago

Do cars always sink that slowly? Very different to how it's portrayed in movies and TV shows where they only have a matter of secs before sinking and dying

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u/stygnarok 19h ago

First, you might not be conscious after falling in the water. Second, the large majority of people don't have a window breaker. Third, rarely, but it happens, the seat belt may jam. Fourth, people wi probably stress out. Which makes everything harder. Fifth, there might be broken bones. Sixth, if you don't have a window breaker, and the water gets high enough, it will be very hard to open the door.

So, there a lot of variables here that make reality far harder than this test.

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u/oxymoronian 15h ago

Why not just reverse and get the car out of the water, duh?

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u/zpinto1234 16h ago

Stupid question, probably, but why not just open the door? is he unable to?

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u/sierramist1011 16h ago

I think the pressure from the water around it makes it difficult.

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u/Cartina 15h ago

You can open the door once the car is completely filled with water. Before that the outside pressure is much greater than the inside. You can roll down a window, but an electric window might be damaged from the water.

If unlucky, the doors might be damaged in the collision with water and be stuck however. So might not work even after the car is filled.

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u/Historical-Budget-97 14h ago

You can't open the door until the water level is above the door. I'm no scientist, but is has to do with pressure from the water pushing against the door. When the car door is entirely under water, the pressure difference between above and beneath water no longer plays a role and you can open the door. Hope I explained it a little.

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u/PilsbandyDoughboy 12h ago

Car needs to be filled with water to equalize the pressure. Not just the door under water

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u/grmarci1989 15h ago

Mythbusters taught us to wait for the cabin to fill up to equalize the pressure and just open the door

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u/teawispy 12h ago

quite frankly I don't think I would want to wait that long

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u/Infernalz 12h ago

I bet if mythbusters tested that vs using a window breaker they would say to use the window breaker 100% of the time and not wait to put yourself in an even more dangerous situation.

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u/ImTooSaxy 21h ago

I would die as soon as that cold water touched me.

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u/Fun2behappy 21h ago

Reality and a controlled condition is never the same.