HAMSTER'S BEST BITS

2. THAT SINKING FEELING
Apparently, every year in Britain, more people drown in cars than on boating lakes.

So imagine you’re driving along one day and you suddenly veer off into a lake. What do you do? After being shown a frankly pretty scary video of how quickly a car can fill up with water and sink, Hammond is taken through a series of safety exercises before being suspended aloft in a Vauxhall Carlton above a tank full of safety divers.

“Ok, so I’m swinging above the water, in a car about to have a horrible accident. This is real fear.â€?

There are two theories of how to get out of a sinking car. The first method tried is to wait for the car to fill up until the pressure equalises before attempting escape. Plunged into the water for the first time, Hammond sits patiently as water pours in quickly around him until his nose is pressed against the roof. Gasping for breath, the intrepid Hamster struggles to open the door with no success and has to use the oxygen from the life-saving diver sitting behind him.

Theory one does not go down at all well. “If it was for real, I’m pretty sure I would have drowned,â€? comments Hammond.

Undaunted, he attempts the simpler second method – not to waste any time trying to escape as soon as the car hits the water. With one hefty push, our Hamster is out before the car has time to submerge.

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