And yes, as mentioned above, although the broken glass from a car is ‘crystalline,’ it still cuts like a mofo.

I readily admit that I base this on the one and only experience I have had with a car in the water, and not on a TV program or controlled experiments. That experience though, will stay with me for the rest of my life. You don’t watch someone die without it causing you to think about it a lot. I can tell you that if I ever find myself on the inside looking to get out, I will be going through the window – not trying to open the door.

As for the car rolling and becoming disoriented, when I watched that car go down, it went straight down with the heavier engine on the bottom and the lighter trunk pointed up. It might have been different if the driver had tried to get out through the window immediately before it sank though, since she most likely would have pulled her weight up on the roof of the car. On the other hand, she would have been partially floating, making her effective weight less. You just can’t say for certain. All I know is that I would do anything I possibly could to get out just as quickly as possible. A seat belt holding me down would create a sense of panic, so I am pretty sure I’d be getting out of it just as quickly as possible regardless of what any studies might say. At a time like that, you are not doing a careful study and analysis – you are scrambling to get out fast. I saw just how many dumb things I did during that event – and I wasn’t the one in the car.

As for alligators, which one person mentioned – I’ve been around them enough to be pretty confident that they would be getting away from the area as quickly as they could. Not a problem (I hope).

http://saveyourlife.us/escape_sinking_car.html

It says:

“There have been studies done by Survival Systems USA, a Groton Connecticut company specializing in aviation and marine safety and survival training. They note that once a vehicle sinks it may turn sideways or upside down. Occupants who are not buckled in with a seat belt will float within the vehicle and can easily become disoriented. It then becomes extremely difficult for them to find the windows or door handles. They believe that if you remain in your seated position (as you will if your seatbelt remains fastened) you will retain your orientation regardless of what position the vehicle is in.”

Also, I saw the Mythbusters where they did the sinking car experiment, and it’s true-Adam was easily able to get out of the car simply by opening the door.

I appreciate your expertise, but you just repeated the information from Mary and her website. If your car is floating, what difference would it make if you opened a window or a door. And why do Mythbusters, Top Gear, and Dr. Giesbrecht say that you can open a door and escape? I’m definitely willing to change my mind about this, but I’d like to hear an explanation of why it’s the wrong thing to do if it has been demonstrated to be an effective method of escape?