汽车落水后该如何自救
What to Do if Your Car Is Submerged in Water
这位年仅50岁的首席执行官的意外死亡凸显了一个很少被讨论的有关机动车安全的现实:每年北美大约有400人在落水的车辆中死亡。 6park.com The death of a 50-year-old chief executive highlights a little-discussed reality of motor-vehicle safety: Approximately 400 people die annually in North America in a submerged vehicle. 6park.com 据《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)报道,赵安吉(Angela Chao)之死起因是她在驾驶其特斯拉SUV时挂错了档。当时,她在自己位于得克萨斯州的一个占地900英亩的牧场里驾驶特斯拉,换挡出错导致车辆从路堤上翻落下来,掉进池塘里。 6park.comAngela Chao’s death resulted from a mistake she made with the gearshift in her Tesla SUV, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The error caused the vehicle to tip over an embankment and into a pond located on her Texas ranch’s 900 acres. 6park.com 美国的联邦法规没有强制要求汽车制造商在这些危险情境下保护车内人员。如果你遇到这种情况该怎么办?以下是需要了解的内容。 6park.comThere are no federal regulations in the U.S. that require automakers to protect people inside the car during these dangerous scenarios. Here’s what you need to know if you are ever in this situation. 6park.com我有多少时间可以采取行动? How much time do I have to act? 6park.com 6park.com在车辆灌满水之前,驾驶员有大约一分钟时间可以逃出车外。在这60秒的时间里,必须保持清醒的头脑才能果断采取行动,马尼托巴大学(University of Manitoba)专门研究车辆落水安全问题的资深学者戈登·吉斯布雷希特(Gordon Giesbrecht)这样说。 6park.comDrivers have about one minute to get out of the car before it fills with water. In those 60 seconds, it is necessary to have the clarity of mind to act decisively, said Gordon Giesbrecht, a senior scholar at the University of Manitoba who studies vehicle-submersion safety. 6park.com “60秒其实是很长的一段时间,”吉斯布雷希特说。“你可以在60秒内做很多事情。”然而,对驾驶员来说,提前知道该怎么做至关重要,因为你必须快速做出决定。 6park.com“Sixty seconds is a long time,” Giesbrecht said. “You can do a lot in 60 seconds.” 6park.comStill, it is important for drivers to know what to do in advance because decisions have to be made quickly. 6park.com “没有人会在车辆落水时阅读车主手册,”位于华盛顿哥伦比亚特区的倡导团体汽车安全中心(Center for Auto Safety)的执行主任迈克尔·布鲁克斯(Michael Brooks)指出。 6park.com“No one is reading an owner’s manual while submerged,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. 6park.com 我该怎么做? What should I do? 6park.com 6park.com尽量保持冷静,解开安全带并降下车窗。现在的第一要务就是通过打开的窗户钻出车外。如果车内有儿童,先帮助他们撤出。 6park.comTry to stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt and lower your window down. Exiting through the open window is preferred above anything else. If there are children in the car, get them out first. 6park.com 6park.com很重要的一点是,在水位升得太高以至于水压太大无法打开车窗前迅速采取行动。 6park.comIt is important to act swiftly before the water level rises too high and the window can no longer be opened because the pressure on it becomes too great. 6park.com 6park.com吉斯布雷希特说:“在水漫过车窗一半的位置前,你都可以打开它。” 6park.com“Until the water gets halfway up the window, you can open it,” Giesbrecht said. 6park.com 人们对落水车辆的一个误解是,车辆会瞬间短路并断电。吉斯布雷希特表示,他测试过的一些车辆在落水很长一段时间后电子设备仍保持良好状态,这段时间足以让乘客在60秒窗口期逃离。 6park.comOne misunderstanding of cars in water is that a vehicle will short out and lose its electricity instantaneously. Giesbrecht said some vehicles he has tested had their electronics remain on well after landing in water—enough time to give the occupant time to exit within that 60-second window. 6park.com 专家表示,如果车辆带有天窗,这也可能是一个逃生出路,因为如果电源系统仍在工作,就可以打开天窗。 6park.comIf the car has a sunroof, that could also be a way out because it should remain operable if the power is still working, experts say. 6park.com 如果我打不开窗户该怎么办? What if I can’t open the window? 6park.com 6park.com这种情况就复杂多了。 6park.comThe situation gets much more complicated. 6park.com 美国汽车协会(American Automobile Association)的汽车研究主任格雷格·布兰农(Greg Brannon)表示,在这种情况下,只要车窗是由钢化玻璃制成的,驾驶员就可以使用破窗工具。如果汽车使用的是夹层玻璃,几乎不可能被击碎。 6park.comIn this case, a window-breaking tool could be useful for drivers to have—as long as the windows are made of tempered glass, said Greg Brannon, American Automobile Association’s director of automotive research. Laminated glass used for cars is almost impossible to break. 6park.com 6park.com一般来说,车窗标签上会标明玻璃的类型,或者可以通过联系制造商来获得这一信息。了解玻璃的类型以及击碎它的方法是至关重要的。如果有天窗,也可以用到这些工具。 6park.comGenerally, the type of glass is indicated on a window label or can be found by contacting the manufacturer. Knowing what kind it is and how to possibly break it is critical. These tools can also be used on the sunroof if one is available. 6park.com “当你要打破玻璃的时候,你最好是做好准备,因为你将会被水淹没,”布兰农说。 6park.com“You better be ready whenever you break that glass, because you will be flooded with water,” Brannon said. 6park.com 打开车门行不行? What about opening the door? 6park.com 6park.com这么做很冒险。一旦车内灌满水,内外压力变得平衡,通过车门逃生是有可能的。 6park.comIt is risky. Escaping through the door is possible once the car’s interior fills up with water and the pressure is equalized inside and out. 6park.com 6park.com“从技术上讲,这是可以的,”吉斯布雷希特说。“但真到了那个时候,你会被淹死。” 6park.com“Technically, that’s true,” Giesbrecht said. “But by that time, you’ll drown.” 6park.com 如果你设法打开了车门,水会迅速涌入车内,导致车辆下沉得更快,从而让车内其他人面临更大的危险。 6park.comIf you can manage to open the door, water could then rush inside the vehicle, causing it to sink more quickly and leaving others inside more at risk. 6park.com 因此,最好的逃生出路还是车窗。他说:“任何与车门有关的逃生努力都是跑偏的举措。” 6park.comFor that reason, the best way out the door is through the vehicle’s windows. “Anything to do with the door is a red herring,” he said. 6park.com 我应该购买破窗工具吗? Should I buy a window-breaking tool? 6park.com 6park.com供应商在亚马逊网站(Amazon.com)和其他地方出售各种各样的汽车破窗工具,这些工具通常配有剃刀,可以在安全带因为碰撞而收紧时将其割断。 6park.comVendors sell numerous car window-breaking tools on Amazon.com and elsewhere, and the instruments often come with razors to cut the seat belt in the event it becomes tense from the collision. 6park.com 6park.com但是,据事故研究人员称,这些工具在水下打破玻璃的能力尚不清楚。 6park.comBut their ability to bust through glass underwater isn’t clear, according to researchers who have studied these incidents. 6park.com 美国汽车协会在测试了各种工具后发现,夹层玻璃具有特殊的安全特性,可以保护车内人员在碰撞事故中不被弹出车外,但这种玻璃在水下几乎不可能被击碎。 6park.comLaminated glass, which has specific safety qualities to protect people from being ejected during a crash, is nearly impossible to break underwater, AAA found after testing various tools. 6park.com 这种破窗装置可以用在钢化玻璃上,但仍然很难穿透。根据美国汽车协会的说法,一种可以将金属锥子扎入玻璃的弹簧式破窗工具比破窗锤更可取。 6park.comSuch window-breaking devices can be used on tempered glass, but still, it would be difficult to get through. A spring-loaded tool that drives a metal cone into the glass is preferable to a hammer-style mallet, according to AAA. 6park.com “在落水后必须尽快使用这种工具,”车辆落水事故专家兼顾问格里·德沃金(Gerry Dworkin)说。 6park.com“It’s got to be used as soon as possible,” said Gerry Dworkin, an expert and consultant on vehicle-submergence incidents. 6park.com 如果你开的是电动汽车,和燃油汽车有什么区别吗? Does it make a difference if it is an EV or gas-powered car? 6park.com 6park.com没有,无论是哪种类型的车辆,车内人员都应该采取相同的应对措施。 6park.comNo, the occupant response should be the same for both types of vehicles. 6park.com 车辆落水后,通常是发动机所在的位置最先下沉,因为它是车身较重的部分。虽然电动汽车没有内燃机,但是它也会顺着车辆最重的方向下沉。 6park.comA vehicle in water will normally sink first based on where the engine is located, as it is the heftier part of the vehicle. While an electric car lacks an internal combustion engine, it will sink in whatever direction the car is the heaviest. 6park.com 吉斯布雷希特说:“最重要的就是,它会下沉,水会通过排气口进入车内,在水漫到车窗之前,你都可以打开窗户逃出去。” 6park.com“The bottom line is it’s going to sink, water is going to come in through the vents, and until the water gets up to the windows, you can open the windows and get out,” Giesbrecht said. 6park.com 电动汽车的设计还可以防止落水后的触电风险。根据全国消防协会(National Fire Protection Association)的说法,这是因为高压电池和车辆框架之间被隔离开了。该协会是制定消防安全规范和标准的非营利组织。 6park.comElectric vehicles are also designed to protect against the risk of a shock once they hit the water. That is because the high-voltage battery is isolated from the frame, according to the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit organization that develops fire-safety codes and standards. 6park.com “水不会带电,”该协会负责新问题的首席经理安德鲁·克洛克(Andrew Klock)表示。 6park.com“The water isn’t being energized,” said Andrew Klock, lead manager of emerging issues at the NFPA. 6park.com 该协会称,在某些情况下,电池在水里可能出现小气泡,但这并不表示存在触电风险,也不会让周围的水带电。 6park.comIn some instances, small bubbles might appear from the battery in water, but this doesn’t indicate a shock hazard nor does it energize the surrounding water, the organization said. 6park.com 行业和监管部门正在做些什么? What are the industry and regulators doing? 6park.com 6park.com简而言之,他们做的不多。 6park.comIn short, not much. 6park.com 2016年,美国国家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)驳回了一位个人的请愿书,这份请愿书要求给每辆车配备一个“紧急破窗器”。这名人士援引了一起车辆落水致人死亡事件,敦促联邦监管机构采取行动。 6park.comIn 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration denied a petition from an individual to require every vehicle be equipped with an “emergency window breaker.” The individual cited a vehicle-submersion death in urging the federal regulatory agency to take action. 6park.com 国家公路交通安全管理局拒绝这项请愿的部分原因是,这种工具在落水事故中的有效性尚不明确,如果消费者认为有必要,可以自己购买一个。另外,该汽车安全机构表示,在某些落水事故中,驾驶员可能无法根据汽车落水前的情况采取行动。 6park.comPart of NHTSA’s rationale for the denial was that the effectiveness of such a tool during a submersion isn’t known, and that consumers can buy one if they feel it is necessary. Plus, the auto-safety agency said, in some submersion accidents, the driver might not be able to act based on what preceded the car going into the water. 6park.com 在欧洲,一家对车辆碰撞安全进行测试和评级的广受认可的非营利组织在2020年更新了该组织的一项自愿计划,以便更好地解决落水车辆受困人员的安全问题。据该自愿计划的网站称,它提出了新的要求,以确保车辆侧窗在发生落水事故时可以操作足够长的时间,以便车内人员逃离车辆。 6park.comIn Europe, a widely regarded nonprofit group that tests and rates cars for crash safety updated its program in 2020 to better address the dangers of people stuck in vehicle submersions. It introduced new requirements to ensure that, in the event of a submergence, side windows could still be operated long enough for an occupant to exit from the vehicle, according to the website for the voluntary program. 6park.com 无法立即确认有多少汽车制造商已经开始采用技术手段来满足这一标准。 6park.comIt wasn’t immediately clear how many automakers have started to incorporate technology to meet such a standard.
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