Driving comes with different experiences which can be enticing, frustrating, and painful. It is enticing to cruise around the city, but it can also be painful to lose control of the car and see yourself in an unpleasant situation.
Whenever you find yourself and your car inside the water submerging, what do you do? How do you escape? Through the door or the window? Can you open a car door underwater?
Yes, you can open a car door underwater as long as the car is fully submerged in the water equalizing the pressure from the inside and outside of the car otherwise, the pressure from the outside of the car will make it impossible the door to open.
Can You Open a Car Door Underwater?
Opening a car door underwater is possible but some factors must be considered before the door can open. These factors are:
1. The Car Must Be Fully Submerged in Water
For a car door to open underwater, the car must be fully submerged in water; if not, the outside water pressure will not allow the door to open.
If you try to open the door, the pressure from the outside water will keep pushing the door back. You might use up all the breathing strength you have trying to open the door.
So, the car must be fully submerged in water before you can be able to open the door.
However, if the door opens, what chances do you have to survive? If you’re not able to escape and allow the car to submerge into the water so you can be able to open the door, how sure are you that you will be able to escape?
2. Water Pressure Equalization
As reiterated earlier, a car door cannot open underwater if the outside water pressure does not equalize with the pressure from the water inside the car.
This is why the car must be allowed to fully submerge into the water so that the car will be filled with water and hopefully equalizes the pressure from the outside water to enable you to open the door.
3. The Car Must be Filled with Water
When a car starts to sink into the water, opening the car door is impossible until a large quantity of water makes its way into the car. However, this is feasible if the car is allowed to fully sink into the water.
When the inside of the car is filled with water, it will equalize the pressure of the water from the outside of the car, giving you the ability to open the car door.
These are the factors that should be considered before trying to open a car door underwater. If these factors are met, you will find it difficult to open the car. You might use up your breathing strength to open the door.
Nevertheless, the truth must be told. Escaping a sinking car before it’s fully submerged in water is the safest. At this stage, you have the highest chances of surviving unlike when the car is fully submerged in water.
Just like what Gordon Giesbrecht, a University of Manitoba professor who trains law enforcement officers and others on underwater escape said, “You have about a minute to get out alive”. That time is however reduced if the car is allowed to fully sink into water.
When Do You Open Car Door Underwater?
You can only open a car door underwater when:
- The car is fully submerged in water
- The outside and inside water pressure equalizes
- There’s enough water inside the car
Does the Car Lock Underwater?
Yes, the car door can jam lock underwater and the reason behind that is the water pressure.
This is because, the deeper the car sinks, the faster the pressure all around the car increases. The pressure will jam lock the door and make it impossible to open the door until the factors explained above are met.
For example, if a car door is measured 1 square meter and you go 10 meters deep into the water, if the water pressure outside the door of the car is one-tenth of atmospheric pressure which is about 1.2 kilograms per cubic meter, and water has the density of 1000 kilograms per cubic meter, the total pressure becomes much more as that of the surface of the water.
This is possible because of the water and the atmosphere above it. The total force would be 10,000 Newton which is over 2,000 pounds.
Can You Open the Door if the Car is Full of Water?
Yes, you can open a car door when the car is full of water. This is possible because of the quantity of water inside the car. This water will help equalize the water pressure outside the car door, allowing you to open the door.
As a matter of fact, you can only open a car door when it is fully submerged and filled with water. The force of the water outside the car door will make it impossible for you to do so until the car is fully sunk into the water. The water pressure needs to equalize before the door can open.
Why the Car Door Won’t Open in the Water?
The reason why the car door won’t open in the water is because the water pressure from outside the car door is yet to equalize with the pressure from inside the car. Once the pressure equalizes, you should be able to open the door.
Conclusion
Just as Gordon Giesbrecht said, you’ve got about a minute to get out alive, therefore, you need to escape as fast as you can to be able to survive. You can only open the car door when the car is fully submerged in water and the inside is filled with water.
