What to do to survive if you fall in water with your car

It was when I went to an auction place the other day. While checking the cars before auction, I noticed that right in front of my eyes was a submerged vehicle (which was written on the slip). It was a Skyline GT-R. Although I had no plan of bidding on it, because I personally like the car, I borrowed the key to have a closer look.

The engine had been changed and there was no defects in the electric system. No problem with the gears either. However, there was a vague line at the bottom 1/3 of the door. It was obvious the water had come up to the line. There was also some, hard to describe but weird smell. Ripping the floor covering under the seat, I found a little bit of rust there.

These cars are usually the ones which went under the water because of natural disasters and could not cope with rapid increase of water level; and most of them have to be written off. But an expensive car like a Skyline GT-R can still hold some commercial value, so I guess the owner brought it into the auction after putting a new engine in. The result was 30% less than the average price.

Checking previous data, in Japan 200～300 people a year die from drowning in accidents involving cars. Now I would like to tell you how to get out of a car in water in case you face a situation like this:


＊ If you fall into water
Calm yourself down, take your seatbelt off, open the window and get yourself out. If you cannot open the window, use a hammer to break the window and get out. If you cannot break the window, just wait calmly until water fills the car up until there is no difference in water pressures outside and inside the car, open the door and get out. You can purchase a special hammer at car dealers, etc.
Every year, tens of deaths by drowning are reported from cars that fell into water by bad driving or slipping. Even when you fall into water, don’t panic. Cars will not go down that fast. If you keep calm, you will have more than enough time to get out safely.

＊ To get out from a window
1. Undo your seatbelt
2. Open a window
3. Get yourself out

＊ If you cannot open the windows
1. Break a window using a hammer
You can easily break a window if you have a special hammer with a pointy edge. These are sold at car dealers or car accessory shops.
2. Caution: some cars have accident-proof front and/or rear windows which are hard to break!
Never break a window when the water comes up to the level of the door window because broken pieces will gush inside the car.

＊ When you cannot get out of a window
1. Unlock the door
Even if it is an electric lock, you can unlock it with the manual lever or a knob under each door
2. Wait calmly until water comes up to the level of between your chest and neck.
3. Deep breath, open the door and get out
With water pressure, the door will be heavy, so you need to kick it hard to open it.

Fortunately, I have not had this sort of experience yet but if we unfortunately face a situation like this (of course we hope we will not), please do not panic. Remember the instruction and save your life.


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(Editor)
JPC TRADE CO.,LTD.
3B YS-Building, 1-2-2 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Japan Used Motor Vehicle Exporters Association (JUMVEA)
TEL : +81-3-5245-7731
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