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Over 300 Americans die each year from drowning inside a sinking car (think flash floods or getting pushed off the road into a body of water). For decades, experts recommended just to let the car sink and then open the doors and swim away to safety. But the experts showcased in the Good Morning America segment below say that’s a death wish. God forbid you’re ever caught in this situation, you should follow these steps:
- STEP 1: Unbuckle your seat belt
- STEP 2: Roll down your window
- STEP 3: Unbuckle any children in the car and grab a hold of them
- STEP 4: Flop out of the open window into the water outside
The experts say that because you only have about one minute before the car fills up with water, you shouldn’t waste time touching your cell phone to call someone.
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They also highly recommend that you keep a window-breaking hammer handy to break your windows in case they can’t be opened. I just bought this two-pack seatbelt cutter and window breaker emergency escape tool on Amazon so my wife and I can keep it in the glovebox of our car. This handy and compact little hammer can both cut your seatbelt off if you’re trapped and smash your car window if you need to escape.
No one wants to think about these types of things happening but in the event that you’re ever in an emergency, you’ll be glad you have this handy. And because these are so inexpensive, you may want to consider keeping two in each of your vehicles, one in the door compartment beside the driver and the other in the door compartment beside the front seat passenger because if you’re trapped, you may not be able to reach or open your glove compartment.
RELATED READING: How to Quickly Make an Emergency Call on an iPhone
Get more tips about what to do in the event of flash flooding while you’re in your car from this Good Morning America video below:
The glove box isn’t ideal because if your seatbelt is locked you won’t be able to reach across for it. I have also just bought these for my family and we are keeping them in the center console or in the door pockets of our cars. 7 people died in Houston last month during the floods there.
It’s now on the side pocket of my door. Thanks
If you don’t have one of these or access to it, the headrest on your seat back can be detached and used to break a window.
Good to know! Thanks