Woman seemingly escapes sinking car with windows closed

[darksai]

A bit of high strangeness I just came across. The woman in the car was stuck and rapidly sinking (she can't swim). One of the men trying to rescue her was reaching down when he felt her hand grip his and then managed to pull her up. When the car was pulled up, the windows were all still closed. Sadly, they don't give the story from the woman's own words, that would've been mighty interesting :(


_http://www.realfarmacy.com/the-unexplainable-video-everyones-talking-about/

 

[luke wilson]

Weird.

There could be a logical down to earth explanation.

Comment from youtube

Come on people, there is no magic here, only physics. Once the car was full of water, the door opened because water pressure on the inside would have been equal to water pressure on the outside, making the door open with ease. Then, as they pulled the car out FROM THE FRONT the water pushing against the door closed it.

 

[Eva]

Weird.

There could be a logical down to earth explanation.

Comment from youtube

Come on people, there is no magic here, only physics. Once the car was full of water, the door opened because water pressure on the inside would have been equal to water pressure on the outside, making the door open with ease. Then, as they pulled the car out FROM THE FRONT the water pushing against the door closed it.

That sounds logical. I bumped on this video while searching for ways she could have got out. Hope it's never of use to anyone but since one never knows what may come up, here it is:

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maywde6eILE
(How to Escape a Car Sinking in Deep Water)

 

[Laura]

Perfect example of how this woman ALMOST lost her life because she did not have the knowledge she needed to protect herself. She should have put the window down immediately and gotten out whether she could swim or not.

And yeah, I think that the door was opened and then closed itself.

 

[seek10]

Weird.

There could be a logical down to earth explanation.

Comment from youtube

Come on people, there is no magic here, only physics. Once the car was full of water, the door opened because water pressure on the inside would have been equal to water pressure on the outside, making the door open with ease. Then, as they pulled the car out FROM THE FRONT the water pushing against the door closed it.

yesterday I watched gravity movie in which sandra bullock comes out of escape pod after pod drops to sea floor. This made me wonder how this works. As mentioned above equal pressure on both sides of door easy to open.
Regarding how long one can be in water. Though the video says more than a minute, I don't think any body counted that.
_http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/08/how_do_you_escape_from_a_sinking_car.html

Survival Systems USA, a firm that trains soldiers in emergency escape techniques, has found that it takes about 20 seconds to escape through the door of a submerged car. A calm, relaxed person can hold their breath for 30 to 45 seconds underwater. So, if your pulse is pounding, you don't have much room for error.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Perfect example of how this woman ALMOST lost her life because she did not have the knowledge she needed to protect herself. She should have put the window down immediately and gotten out whether she could swim or not.

And yeah, I think that the door was opened and then closed itself.

Very true. And fear can turn off the common sense. Or maybe you could say it's still ignorance. If she had known how to control their fear, may could have kept her rationality operating and escape from the car.

 

[Hildegarda]

And fear can turn off the common sense. Or maybe you could say it's still ignorance.

Many people become paralyzed when faced with a critical situation. It's the brain's way of coping. A book discussed here on the forum, "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why" by Amanda Ripley, goes into the neuroscience behind it. Unfortunately, less than a minute of a delay can cost a life. Good it didn't happen this time.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Thank you very much for the data, Hildegarda!