I was distressed when I read the news about three college girls who died in a submerged car.  They were softball teammates in North Dakota and were out Sunday night looking at the stars when their vehicle ended up in a pond on a farm.  They were found as the result of pleas for help from their cell phones to friends which cut off shortly after being made.  Authorities were able to localize the position from which the calls came and retrieved their bodies.

I thought about two of my own girls. One will be going to college next year and one is learning to drive. I thought about the driver’s education they have received and seriously doubt that any consideration is given to how to escape a car that ends up in water. I can be sure that my girls would have no clue what to do in that type of situation. I was surprised to learn that more people die from drowning in submerged vehicles than die in head-on collisions. In my research on the internet, there was some debate as to the ability of someone to be able to break through a glass window in a submerged car, but that is what is recommended in this useful video.

Living in the middle of Indiana, I have not had much exposure to water safety.  In some of the information on the internet, many who live near water state that they drive with the windows open when the road is close enough to the water that a submerged vehicle may become a possibility.  I thought this was an incredibly useful suggestion and made great sense at least for the warmer climates.  Of course, in an unusual situation like what happened in North Dakota, it is important to remain calm but also to consider what the options would be should this ever happen to you. 

My heart goes out to families of those girls.  Hopefully, others may learn from this so that this type of tragedy can be prevented in the future.