BULLETIN
Risk Control
ACWA/Joint Powers Insurance Authority, 5620 Birdcage Street, Suite 200, Citrus Heights, CA 95610-7632, (800) 231-5742
By John Haaf
February 2011
So Your Car’s in the Water and You’re in the Car!
Now What?
You find yourself in your car and it’s in the water. What
are you going to do? NO REALLY, WHAT ARE YOU
GOING TO DO? You cannot wait until that happens to
come up with a plan of action. You MUST decide on a
course of action NOW. Every second of confusion or
inaction may be critical to you or your passengers’
survival.
The JPIA’s Lending
Library has an extremely
good resource that
explains what you should
do if your vehicle ends up
in the water. The “NBC
Dateline-Submerged
Car” (150.49.1) actually
shows what should and
should not be done to
escape from your vehicle.
The information provided
is something you should
think about and prepare
for before you have to
use it! One way you can
do this is to remember
the acronym (POGO).
POGO simply stands for:
it)! it)!
PPop
op the
theseat
seatbelt
belt(unbuckle
(unbuckle
Open
O
penaawindow!
window!
GO…
Get
GO . . .G
Out!
.GetOut!
While that sounds simple, it is important to understand
the critical elements of each:
Popping the seatbelt seems like an obvious action
to take, but as the video indicates, people have
drowned in their vehicles with their window or door
open, but still strapped in with the seatbelt. Panic
prevented them from remembering a simple action
that would have saved their lives.
It will be impossible to open your door unless the
water level inside is the same as on the outside.
With a higher level of water on the outside, the
exterior pressure of the water will be too strong to
force open. With the levels equal inside and
outside, the door will open with effort.
Opening a window
sounds easy to do,
but that will depend
on the type of
windows the vehicle
has. If the windows
wind-down by hand,
you would simply
crank a window down
and use that as an
exit.
Should your vehicle
have electrically
operated windows,
you will probably have
a big problem.
Normally, the
electrical system will
have shorted out when in the water. You will have
to try opening the door, or breaking a window in
order to escape.
You will not be able to break the front or rear
windows since they are made of safety glass. The
side windows will be your only option. They may
be difficult to break, but if you plan ahead, you can
still do so. You will need a device with a strong,
sharp point that you can push against the window
until it breaks. The video mentions using a “center
punch,” screw driver, pocket knife, or any other
sharp object to break the window. It also suggests
that the breaking device is attached to the dash of
the vehicle and in easy reach of the driver. There
are many commercially-sold tools that can be used
to break windows in an emergency. Do a Google
search for “Car Window Breaker” and you will find
several devices.
Once a door or window is open, GO! Get Out! Do
not expect the car to float for long. It may float for
a short time, but it will sink. Once the vehicle starts
filling with water, the rate of sinking will accelerate.
Get out before it goes under!
Think about what you would do if the “seemingly
impossible” happens. Remember POGO. Pop the
seatbelt, open a window, and GO – get out. You can
be a survivor. So can your family members, if you
share POGO with them.
So You’re in COLD Water –
How Long Could You Last?
The JPIA’s Lending Library has an excellent video
addressing cold water survival. The title is “Cold
Water Boot Camp” (380.14.1). In the video,
volunteers participate in controlled experiments
designed to show how long an individual can function
well enough to survive emersion in cold (40-50 degree)
water. It is strongly suggested that all personnel who
work alongside water sources watch this video. Some
of the most critical points made in “Cold Water Boot
Camp” follow:
It will take a person about 1-minute to stabilize
his/her breathing once they first enter the water.
The cold water will shock the system and cause
people to gasp for breath.
After breathing is stabilized, individuals will have
only about 15-minutes to save themselves. After
15-minutes, they will not have enough energy, nor
will their muscles function well enough to selfrescue.
At 30-minutes of emersion, a person is expected
to be completely overcome by hypothermia. Death
will not be far behind.
And most importantly – this timeline is based on
the individual WEARING A LIFE VEST! Without a
life vest, there is not expected to be 15-minutes of
useful activity. Drowning will probably come way
before hypothermia fully sets in.
LIFE VESTS are just that. They give you a chance
for survival. If worn they can keep you alive. If not
worn, or if not worn properly (i.e. zipped up), you
will have significantly less time to be rescued alive.
Reminder
The OSHA Summary Form 300-A must be posted by
February 1 and remain posted until April 30.
ACWA/JPIA Presents:
The Cal/OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety Course
ACWA/JPIA has begun offering a two-day Cal/OSHAFed/OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety Course. This
nationally-recognized course developed by OSHA
provides an awareness-level overview of the safe work
practices established by the U.S. and California
Departments of Labor. The JPIA’s presentation of the
course is geared toward water and wastewater
operations. Those attending should be experienced
lead workers, foremen, job supervisors, construction
inspectors, or project managers. Course content is,
however, appropriate for all skill levels. Training is
based on Cal/OSHA construction safety standards. A
Department of Labor OSHA 10-Hour completion
card with Cal/OSHA sticker is issued upon
completion. Students must achieve a passing score
on final examination/project to earn certification.
Initially, the 10-Hour Construction Safety Course will be
offered as a regional training event. The course can,
however, be provided locally on request by a JPIA
member district. Please reference the Training
Calendar attached to the JPIA Risk Control Bulletin, or
available in the Training Directory of the JPIA’s website
(www.acwajpia.com) for course dates and locations.
Risk Control Manual Updates
Two documents were added to the Risk Control
Manual:
•
•
Urban Wildland Fire Coordination Plan
for Water Utilities and Fire Departments
(Section 4 – Model Programs, Fire
Prevention Plan tab).
Encroachment Permit Steel Plate
Bridging Utility Provisions (Section 8 –
General Forms, Permits, Checklists).
The Table of Contents and Section 8 Listing of
Forms were also updated (Revised 1-20-11). Follow
the link to download the additions from the JPIA’s
website: http://www.acwajpia.com/RiskControlManual.aspx
Should you need assistance, please contact
Terry Lofing at [email protected] or
(800) 231-5742, Ext. 3126.
Risk Management Staff
Walter “Andy” Sells, Chief Operations Officer
Keith Forbes, Senior Risk Management Consultant
John Haaf, Senior Risk Management Consultant
Peter Kuchinsky II, Senior Risk Management Consultant
Lee Patton, Senior Risk Management Consultant
R. Scott Wood, Risk Management Consultant
Terry Lofing, Administrative Assistant II