Car accidents can happen every day caused by human error in driving. But God forbids if you are suddenly in a situation where your car dived in a river; is there a faster way to get out?
Plunging into a river or a large body of water may happen to you anytime. You may stay inside a sinking car without any help in sight.
But there are ways that you can save your life and loved ones inside a sinking car. This article will give you some tips on what is the fastest way to get out when plunged into the water?
In an ordeal like this, one of the best tools is being calm but acting swiftly. Remember that you have only a minute to save your life and your passengers.
Leading causes that may plunge cars into the water

A car commonly dives into the water with its front first
In the United States, there are an estimated 400 people who die of drowning caused by submerged cars. There are several scenarios or situations where you may dive into a body of water. Most cases are in coastal states, such as Florida and California.
In some instances, your car might submerge in running water, like in sudden flooding of a street due to heavy rain. Sometimes, power steering trouble is to blame, but this is rare.
If you don’t have a car tracker yet, maybe you need to have one.
According to recent research and study, here are some possibilities that you may accidentally fall or submerge into the water:
A collapsing bridge due to an earthquake or flooding.
GPS errors that lead you to dive into a lake or river.
Crashes from a bridge due to the car’s mechanical trouble or lack of visibility.
Driving while using a cellphone (meaning, road distraction).
Collision near a river, lake, or on a bridge.
What are auto escape tools?
Auto escape tools and equipment should be one of the things you should keep in your car. These small devices are lightweight and easy to store. Some are so small that you can attach them to your keychain, put beside the center console, or keep inside your pocket.
These tools used to break side windows or slice-off the seat-belt strap. In other words, these escape tools will let you out of a submerged car as quickly as possible.

car-escape-tool
At left, a spring-loaded window breaker glass hammer. At right; a pair of auto-car window glass breaker hammer with a seat-belt cutter.
What to do in case your car plunged into the water?
According to experts, the best way to stay alive while submerging in water is to get out before it sinks. But how can you get out quicker?
If you can open/break the door or window of the car immediately, the possibility of being alive is high. Suppose the vehicle goes underwater before you can get out; the chances decrease.
Speed is the key to survival because as you go deeper, the pressure outside the car increases. The high outside pressure will make it difficult to open the door or the window once you are at the bottom of the body of water.
Here are the fastest ways to get out of the car when plunged into the water:
- Once you hit the water, try to unbuckle or cut off the strap with your tool.
- Don’t reach for the phone to seek help; remember that you only need a minute to escape. Making a call could lose precious time.
- Don’t try to break the windshield. Modern windshields are tough and hard to break.
- If you have children with you, unbuckle them once you are free. Start helping older kids so they can assist you in saving the other kids.
- Make an escape route through the broken window together with your kids or the other passengers before the car is fully submerged.
- To reach for the surface, follow the air bubbles up until you reach the top of the water.
Some lifesaving tips: If you don’t have an escape tool, remove one of the headrests from a seat and use it to break the lower corner of a window. Furthermore, always keep your escape tools handy and don’t bury them inside the trunk.
Conclusion
Quick thinking and calmness will lead you to the fastest way to get out of the car when plunged into the water. Having escape tools help a lot, so don’t forget to bring them with you all the time.
Moreover, these tools are your only hope to break a window once you can’t roll it down.