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Thread: Is there any survival gear in case vehicle goes in a pond?

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Mystery View Post
    Yes.
    If you can't help, move along.
    Sometimes silence is better than opening your mouth.

    Maybe someone who's into water sports can shed something.
    If there's nothing out there, that maybe what it is but I'm curious.
    Did you watch the video I posted? They tested a breathing device called spare air. Maybe that part wasn't in the clip. Not sure if you can find the show to see the entire segment.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by rayrevolver View Post
    Did you watch the video I posted? They tested a breathing device called spare air. Maybe that part wasn't in the clip. Not sure if you can find the show to see the entire segment.
    Yes, that's something I was thinking to keep in the car.
    Not too big and not too complicated. Just grab and breathe.
    I'll see if it's actually a product or just a concept.
    Thanks

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rex G View Post
    Half an hour? Yep, SCUBA tank, a regulator, and all of the maintenance that entails. Be sure to secure the rig, so it stays in place during that collision. This project is going to require a high level of dedication and diligence.
    Not looking for complicated or dedicated install.
    If there's nothing, so be it. Half hour is just a guess.
    If someone sees a car going into a pond, it's much quicker for first responders to arrive in and around the city.
    If no one sees you and you can't get out, well, that's the end.

    I was just thinking something grab and go.
    I saw there are Oxygen boosting canisters that contain 95% oxygen and have 30 to 100 one second inhalation capacity.
    The scenario I'm thinking doesn't involve too deep under water.
    Maybe 10-20 feet so something like that but usable under water, if there is one, is what I want to keep few in the center console or zip tie on the door just like other emergency tools.

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  4. #14
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    Let's start with the basics.

    1) Water decelerates vehicles. So, sliding off a road, into a pond/river/lake, it is extremely unlikely to produce sufficient force to have the vehicle crush in and pin you in place. So, getting out of the vehicle is the important aspect.

    2) A crash of sufficient force to crush a vehicle as it hits a body of water is likely sufficient to kill you. So, it doesn't really matter.

    3) A vehicle that hits the water, doesn't actually sink that fast. Don't get me wrong, you don't want to hang around inside of it. But if the windows are up and doors closed, it takes a minute for it to sink. Giving you plenty of time to start working on extricating yourself, without a need for extra oxygen.

    4) I'd be more worried about entering a body of water in winter weather and the potential for hypothermia upon escaping, than I am about drowning inside a vehicle in the water as it sinks.

    I mean, sure you could lose control on land, roll over six times and end up, upside down in a lake or pond. If by some miracle your O2 cylinder was handy, I suppose you could use it to breath under water, while you wait for rescue. I'm not sure how you're going to end up rolling over multiple times and then landing in water deep enough to sink fully into, but it is possible.

    If there is a specific spot in your commute that gives you concern, the easier solution would seem to be to modify your route.

  5. #15
    ^^ This.

    To be honest, you just don't see a lot of true entrapment in MVAs. They get reported a lot, but mostly, people just try and open the one door with normal force, and if that doesn't work, they give up and bawl about how they're trapped. Generally, you have to strike a fixed object at a pretty good clip--a tree or something. They're kinda common in DUI crashes.

    Go slow, exercise caution, keep your brakes in good shape. Change your route if possible. There's also a pretty good chance that the water isn't even deep-enough to submerge a car.

  6. #16
    Member TGS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rayrevolver View Post
    Did you watch the video I posted? They tested a breathing device called spare air. Maybe that part wasn't in the clip. Not sure if you can find the show to see the entire segment.
    A "Spare Air" is not going to last long enough for an entrapment like he's imagining, especially for someone who is untrained, stressed out, in an uncomfortable situation. A trained individual who knows how to manage their air consumption in high stress, zero visibility silt-out situations will be able to get a few minutes out of it. A casual buyer who crashes their car in a pond will probably get less than a minute, if that. To put this into perspective, I saw someone breath down an entire SCBA (firefighter's rig) in 5 minutes or so, and that was just on the surface, not in water, with a blacked out mask going through a very basic, non-threatening, low speed "obstacle" course (crawling up and down stairs, under tables, through a wall between studs, etc). The former is usually 1.7 cu/ft of air (but also 3 cu/ft and 6cu/ft, nobody really carries them), the latter usually being 45cu/ft of air.

    Spare Airs are popular with recreational divers who don't know any better; insufficient gas supply to solve any real problems at depth, and they're also prone to malfunction when subjected to particulate. They're useful in very specific situations (aircrew egress), require training under stress to use effectively, and need to be securely affixed to a position that is easily reached in your entrapped position, such as on your person with an aircrew survival vest (i.e. not a console or glove box). I imagine rigidly affixing them to the A-pillar or on the back of the headrest in the nook between the headrest and seat would work as well (pulling it out from the side like a Sotech Viper IFAK).
    Last edited by TGS; 04-21-2021 at 04:45 AM.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  7. #17
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  8. #18
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  9. #19
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    Thanks for replies.
    I guess I'm overthinking this.
    Hammer and belt cutter it is then.
    I'll see what type of glass my vehicles have.
    One is 2000 and another is 2013.

  10. #20
    Option 3 is also in play: if that happens, you really can't get out, and the car actually submerges and fills, you're dead.

    Here's what you need to have happen in order for you to not die in that scenario, with some fun time estimates:

    • Someone has to call 911 (0mins if you call yourself, which you probably won't be able to if the crash was rough-enough to pin you)
    • The fire department (presuming volunteer) has to get into a rescue truck from wherever they are, be it station or home (5mins to 15mins).
    • They have to drive out there (5mins to 20mins) Protip: fire trucks are really slow, and what you need is a rescue or an engine/rescue truck, not the chief's Blazer or a Dodge 3500 brush truck
    • They have to get into the water with a tool and get the car open, because dragging it out will take longer (10mins minimum)
    • They have to get you to the surface
    • By this time, they have to get you breathing again


    Best case is 20 minutes. And I mean, that would be a matter of being very close to a fire station, and getting a fucking heroic response. I think 30 minutes is a more realistic number. A full-size SCUBA tank lasts ~45 minutes when being used by a trained diver in a non-emergency situation. You can deplete that in no time without even being excited, just unfamiliar with diving. I do not think that even a full-size tank could be a factor in such a circumstance.

    The cost of this is that you're driving around with a full-size SCUBA tank. This presents problems. If you're in a regular car accident, if that thing breaks loose, it's going to fly around and kill you, either by smashing you directly or breaking your seat. Oh, and SCUBA tanks can also explode. Not to mention, properly maintaining it is a expensive undertaking that will kill you if you don't do it right. It's not just "hook it up to an air compressor".

    Chances of it saving your life in an extremely unlikely scenario: virtually zero.
    Chances of it killing you in extremely common scenario: more than zero.
    Conclusion: idea is bad.

    If the water was deep-enough to be a real hazard, I would suspect that they'd have a guardrail. Call whatever highway department is in charge of the road there (the one that runs along the pond, not the one leading to it) and ask.

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