Ignoring why she ended up in the water, even standard car windows are extremely tough to break without tools. It’s rather likely that without a safety hammer you just aren’t going to.
You know, we all think of billionaires as these immoral monsters hoarding wealth that could help so many people in so many ways but they don’t. But sometimes you read a story about how human they are. The fear she must have had stuck in there knowing the end was coming and being completely helpless to stop it… I hope it happens to the rest of them as well.
Billionaires are the best reason to hope hell is real. I’ll take my eternity watching their faces as they go “But…but I followed the prosperity gospel to the letter” and Jesus says “Yeah, that one isn’t mine.”
Could she not have opened the door or rolled down the window? The article made sure we knew that she went to Harvard and described the event she was attending, but no mention of why she was unable to exit the vehicle. Did she not know how to swim? Was their some obstruction? Did something malfunction? Was she so used to having other people do things for her that it just never occurred to her to do anything for herself?
People can be dumb, like really dumb. Now imagine being rich enough that you never have to learn anything and you think getting a Tesla is a good idea.
The windows here are designed to be indestructible though. I have no idea if they would actually withstand that, but they are not designed to break like regular car windows.
I think that all cars should be required to have an easily accessible and identifiable emergency escape tool though. One that can cut your seat belt and break the glass. I don’t know why that hasn’t been mandated, though we should make an exception if your networth is high enough.
Everyone should have one of these in their car, and keep it in an easily accessible place. They can save your life in an emergency, and you can buy one for a few bucks. Bonus points that they double as a pretty decent weapon if you’re ever the victim of road rage.
Depends. You have to wait for the pressure to equalize to open the door. So once the car is filled up fully will you be able to open it. The problem is if you drove a car into a body of water, you might be panicking and not thinking through your actions
My reference is a video on Mythbusters so it should apply to most ICE cars. One thing to note is that even if you’re in an EV and the weight is at the bottom, the battery, motors are not perfectly 50/50 front/back or even 50/50 left and right. Also, its not like the car was gently entered the water. Any pitch or roll while entering the water will dramatically alter your car’s position. Another factor is the water current.
Let’s all agree that we all need a window breaking device inside our cars.
Let’s all agree that we all need a window breaking device inside our cars.
Agreed! I bought a 3 pack for like $10 on Amazon and put one in my car, my wife’s car, and my son’s car. Now whether any of us will remember where that thing is, and remember to use it in an emergency, without any training, is an entirely different topic.
HAHAHA, I just bought it too. I bought one that has a flashlight built into it.
I remember that Adam Savage words when he simulated a car going into the water and how he described it as the worst thing that has ever happened to him. He said he was blind because his eyes stung when he opened his eyes underwater because the water was super dirty from how dirty the interior of the car was. Even when he could open them up, it was very dark. So that’s why I’m thinking a flashlight would be a good idea too.
Ideally you want to break the window before the water has filled the cabin. The more time you have to get out, the more likely you are to survive. Going into deep water in the middle of winter is probably a death sentence, even if you get out, unless you’re close to somewhere you can warm up.
Ideally you roll down the window as soon as you can before the car’s electrics shut down. Then you move to break the window. Then you wait until the car is depressurized to open the door.
If you go into the water and upside down and hanging from your seatbelt, this might be extra difficult.
Maybe someone can invent a product that detects if your car has been submerged and your door unlocks and windows automatically open instantly using waterproof backup batteries. Someone would become a thousandaire.
See, now that is the type of information that would have been useful in the article. I don’t care that the property “included horse stables, a swimming pool and a 10-bedroom guesthouse”. I care how somebody got trapped in their car.
I was wondering myself why her net worth is an important part of the story. Why do we need to know her husband’s net worth in a story about her dying in a pond?
And this is why you carry a window breaker in your car if you live anywhere this might potentially happen. Equalizing pressure by breaking the shit out of your window (preferably the windshield so you have a larger area of escape) is not IDEAL, but it’ll do in a pinch.
If you’re even remotely in control of your senses, there’s not really any chance of getting it wrong. At least not more than with any other control scheme. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to sober people.
If you’re even remotely in control of your senses,
Modern Car UI had evolved to all be the same because in a panic or even causal driving, it’s safer to have manual or automatic shift patterns to all be the same and the clutch/break/gas pedals all in the same order. I won’t touch something with a knob dial shifter. I shouldn’t have to take my eyes off the road to shift gears or just from forward to reverse.
Bad UX is bad UX. Regardless of how drunk, high, thick, distracted, restricted, whatever, a person is, any UI that is 1% more awkward, counterintuitive or demanding than is needs to be is that much more awkward, counterintuitive or demanding for everybody that uses it. And when the user is also trying to drive a fucking car that becomes dangerous.
Sober people don’t accidentally back up too far when making a 3 point turn? Your foot has never slipped or pressed the wrong pedal? Youve never turned the wheel too far? Never shifted into the wrong gear? You’re either a perfect specimen or completely full of shit
Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law Angela Chao begs to differ.
Ironically, your yourself laid out why you’re wrong. Touchscreens remove one of your senses… Touch. Most people can drive without stop looking at the road with some muscle memory and quick touch feeling. Not do easy on a touch screen which, as Angela Chao will confirm, do not like at all to have water on them when used (ghost touches and such)
At least not more than with any other control scheme.
Lol no… I drive a manual transmission. I can tell you with my eyes closed what gear I’m in and I can change it to any other gear without opening my eyes.
Touch screens for controlling important functions of a car are a stupid idea.
Well, I can tell you with my eyes closed whether my car goes forward or backward. Which is all I need to know. There’s really zero potential for confusion here.
Oh good - you’ll know whether you hit that child or not. 👍
Edit: This actually has to be the stupidest response to defending Tesla I have ever seen BTW. It’s a pretty low bar though - so I’m not quite sure if you’ve managed to limbo beneath it. But definitely in the bottom 3. So stupid, in fact, that I have to believe you’re just trolling or my faith in humanity will simply be destroyed. Thus any reply will be ignored.
I had to rent one a year ago as it was the only car available when I flew out of state. The windshield wipers and headlights are also activated on the touchscreen. But they’re not all on the same screen at once, you have to navigate through several menus to find each one.
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