

Updated July 06, 2015 07:02:25

How to escape from a sinking car Video: How to escape from a sinking car (ABC News)


In the last dangerous storm to impact the south-east corner of the state, back in May, five people died at Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

Driver Safety managing director Russell White said while it was best to avoid navigating flooded roads, it was also important people had the skills to survive if their cars became submerged.

His key message was to mentally prepare for the unexpected.

"Most people panic and either do nothing or panic and overreact in a situation," Mr White said.

"That human factor of panic can just stop a person from thinking clearly and doing the thing that's going to give them survival, not tragedy.

"Time that you spend wasting could cost you your life."

Three steps to escape a flooded car

In a supervised exercise, Mr White demonstrated three basic steps to escaping a flooded car.

The first was to remove your seatbelt.

The second step was to open a side window.

"Time is absolutely critical so the main thing is to make sure that you've got the windows down as quickly as you can," he explained.

"If you are in this situation you've literally got maybe 90 seconds to get out."

He said a good quality life hammer should be kept in a part of the car close to the driver to break a side window in case the vehicle's electrics failed.

Drivers should aim to hit the corner of the window which is weaker than the centre, and use the hammer to push out the remaining glass.

Alternatively, a mobile phone, laptop or keys could be used to break the glass.

Thirdly, if the water pressure against the door prevented it being opened, the driver should climb out through the window and either swim to shore or climb onto the car's roof or bonnet.

"I could really see how, if you were caught in that situation for real, just how terrifying it would actually be," Mr White said.

'If it's flooded, forget it'

Doug May, from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said in most flood events, firefighters and swiftwater rescue experts would be close by.

"Several days before we'll be briefed by the Bureau of Meteorology. We have a meteorologist embedded in our state operations centre," Mr May said.

"From our previous history we know what areas are going to get cut off and we have resources in those particular pockets before it happens."

QFES does not offer advice on escaping flooded cars but Mr May said drivers should heed the 'if it's flooded, forget it' message.

"Going into the floodwater, you're just taking too many risks. You don't know what the condition of the road is under that water or in many cases whether you're even driving on the road.

"The delay you're going to encounter is not worth the risk you're going to take to cross that water," he said.

But he said if the worst did happen, drivers should try not to panic and ring triple-0.

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, floods, qld

First posted July 05, 2015 15:59:34