Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbam here. Preparing for potential emergencies is stressful. For example, it's really unlikely that you'll ever be in a car accident that winds up with your vehicle being submerged in water. For example, in the US, driving heavy country, it only happens less than one thousand, five hundred times a year. That's less than zero point zero three percent of car
accidents here. But as with all potential emergencies, having a plan in place will help keep you calm and increase your chances of getting yourself out. So if you drive in areas with bodies of water or the risk of flooding, it's worth going through the stressful planning process. The experts of the American Automobile Association or Triple A a reckend keeping in mind what they call the SURE method that stands for stay calm, unbuckle or cut your seat belt,
roll down or break windows and exit quickly. Helping children first. But let's back up a little. The problem with being in a sinking car is that water is heavy. So if your car is sinking, the pressure of all that water on the outside of the car will prevent you from opening the doors until the car's cabin fills with water and the pressure equalizes. But you don't want to wait for that if you don't have to, because breathing is good. The best thing is to try to get
a window opens that you can escape through. There, cars sink quickly. You may only have thirty seconds to a minute before the water level reaches the passenger windows, so you have to act fast. If you can roll a window down, that's great, but it may bring you extra piece of mind to store an emergency window breaking tool
in your car though. Back in twenty nineteen, the Triple A ran a study about the different kinds of glass being included in modern car designs and the ability of different tools on the market to break them in case of emergency. They overall recommend buying spring loaded style tools because the hammer style tools they tried out sometimes broke during the test. But their key finding was actually that
the type of glass your car contains matters the most. Traditionally, car windows and rear windshields were made of tempered glass, which is designed so that when it breaks, it shatters into small chunks that are less likely to cut you than normal glass shards. The type of glass in the front windshield, meanwhile, is usually laminated glass E. Laminated glass is made by sandwiching a layer of polyvinyl butterol between
two pieces of glass. The glass and the pv BE are sealed by a series of pressure rollers and then heated. This combination of pressure and heat chemically and mechanically bonds the PVB to the glass. That inserted layer of polyvinyl allows the glass to absorb energy during an impact and gives the glass resistance to penetration from flying projectiles, meaning that laminated glass can break and be punctured, but it will stay intact because of its chemical bond with the polyvinyl.
It also deflects up to ninety five percent of ultraviolet rays from the sun and helps deflect road noise and help quiet down a vehicle's cabin, which is all great at preventing flying objects from coming at you through the windshield. Anyone who grew up with the Final Destination movies is still traumatized from that and at preventing you from being ejected out through the windshield in case of a sudden stop.
But it also means laminated glass can't be shattered by escape tools, and an increasing number of new vehicles have switched from using tempered side glass windows to laminated side glass windows in response to federal safety standards A but don't panic. Most new cars with laminated side windows include one tempered side window. Stickers near the bottom of each window should tell you what the glass is made of. If there are no stickers there, you can check your
owner's manual or get in touch with the manufacturer. If your side windows are all laminated glass, you'll know that you'll have to roll one down as quickly as possible. Again, it's most important to have a plan in place beforehand. If you know you can break a window, have an escape tool at the ready and know which window to break.
Just consider watching an online tutorial to familiarize yourself with how the device works, and you can test your spring loaded escape tool on a notepad or a piece of spare wood. If it's working properly, you'll hear a click and be able to see a hole or indent in the paper or wood. Escape tools can also come in handy in case your seat belt buckle gets jammed during an accident. Look for tools that include a device for
safely and easily slicing through seat belts. You want to get out of your seat belt before opening or breaking a window because water can rush in very fast through a window. Again, remember the sure method, Stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt or cut it if it's jammed, Roll down or break a window, and exit the vehicle quickly. Helping children first, don't call nine one one until after you've escaped, because cars again sink quickly. Time is of the essence. If you can't get a window open, head
to the backseat of the car, where water will fill in. Last, take a deep breath, and try to get a door open once the pressure is equalized. It's scary to think that you might need to prepare for an incident that traps you in your car, but experts do agree that it's better to acknowledge the possibility. If you have a tool with an easy reach and you have some idea of what to do, you'll save crucial seconds that could
make all the difference. Today's episode is based on the article how to Escape a sinking car on how stuffworks dot com, written by Scherise three. Whit brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Sp