Whats the probability of drowning in your car?

Question

need to prove a point

Answer 1

I know somebody that perished this way in his car.  It was a flash flood, and the man was trapped in the vehicle.

It depends on:

1) Are there rivers, seas, oceans in the region?

2) Is the region subject to flash floods and hurricanes (like the Gulf of Mexico)?

But outside these cases, I would say 1/5*10^7 per year.

Examples:

-- the car plunges in a river.

-- the ferry sinks with people in their car.

-- a driver falls asleep in his car on a beach during a tide.

In the USA, year: 2005, 3,842 deaths by drowning.

Answer 2

Looking at U.S. death statistics, I'm not seeing a definite number of deaths caused by drowning in a car.  There were about 3,700 deaths from drowning, so I'd have to assume there were many fewer that were in a car.

Let's assume there were 100 deaths due to drowning in a year (probably an over estimation) and there are about 200 million people in the U.S., that means the probability of drowning in a car in a year would be:

100/200 million = 0.0000005 (1 in 2 million)

That's extremely unlikely.

Answer 3

42

Answer 4

I don't believe there are any statistics on this.  But...  the chances are greater than zero.  So.... if you want to carry a device to break open the glass, it would be a good idea.  However, with the chance being very low in most places, would I over-invest in such device?  I personally would not.