Controversy over lowering car windows when crossing bridges, what do driving experts say?

After the collapse of Phong Chau Bridge (Phu Tho), causing many cars to fall into the river and be swept away by floodwaters, many people have come up with some tips to prevent this situation by lowering the car windows when crossing the bridge. This idea has quickly received mixed reactions from users and even those who are working in the field of safe driving training.

Driving safety training expert Nguyen Hong Vinh said: "The skill of lowering the window when crossing a bridge is often applied to offroaders because bridge crossing tests are very difficult. Therefore, the driver is forced to lower the window to easily observe and when the car flips over, it is easy to get out of the car."

However, when driving across bridges, lowering the car windows is unnecessary if the bridge is solidly built and can withstand heavy loads. Not to mention that when there is a traffic jam on the bridge, the exhaust fumes from many cars cause pollution. If you keep lowering the car windows, the people in the car will feel very uncomfortable. Lowering the car windows should only be applied when going across small bridges, with limited load capacity and are too old, Mr. Vinh added.

Mr. Khuc Cao The, a driving instructor in the Long Bien area (Hanoi), commented that traffic conditions in Vietnam are polluted with dust and exhaust fumes, so it is rare for drivers to have the habit of lowering their windows while driving, let alone when crossing a bridge.

In case of heavy rain and strong wind, if you lower the car windows to cross the bridge, everyone in the car will get wet, not to mention the risk of damage to the electronic devices in the car due to the effects of rainwater.

"If you are driving across a bridge and are worried about the bridge collapsing, it is best not to go across the bridge. Even if the bridge collapses and causes the car to fall into the water, the probability is very low, no different from winning the Vietlott lottery. Therefore, instead of worrying about going across a collapsed bridge, drivers need to know how to handle the situation in case the car sinks into the water," said Mr. The.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the car user community, many people pointed out that there are more important handling experiences when the car falls into water than rolling down the car window every time you pass through.

A person with the account Luu Ba Hung said: "The skill in this case is to know how to swim, if you don't know how to swim, even if you escape from the car, you will still drown. In addition, one special thing to remember is to take off all your shoes because when wearing shoes, you won't be able to swim."

Another account named Kien Bui said: "Having more knowledge is good, but sometimes applying it in practice is not appropriate." And an account named Nam NT pointed out: "When the car just fell into the water, the electrical system was still working for a while, so the windows could still be lowered. The important thing is to stay calm to handle it."

In fact, driving safety experts do not recommend lowering the car windows when driving over bridges, but instead they often instruct users on the safest way to escape when the car falls into the water.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Vinh advised: "Some studies have shown that, depending on how the car is submerged, your car can float for 30 seconds or longer before sinking. Try to break the glass on both sides of the car door as quickly as possible to escape. Panic will not help you in this situation."

While Mr. Khuc Cao The said that people often see window-breaking hammers on buses or passenger cars, few car owners proactively equip their personal vehicles with window-breaking hammers.

So, don’t skip buying yourself a glass breaker hammer because it’s quite cheap, around 100,000 VND or less. It’s quite compact and users can completely put it in a covered storage space to use whenever needed, even though they know no one wants to use it.