Floods and Deep Water
With so much rain around our roads are fast becoming flooded once more! The ground is still saturated so even a relatively small amount of heavy rain can quickly cause severe flooding. When you are faced with driving in these conditions, the following advice will help to keep you safe and keep your vehicle going:
- Take your time when you have to negotiate a flood/deep water. Stop and assess how deep it is first.
- Drive in first gear as slowly as possible but keep the engine speed high and steady by slipping the clutch.
- Keep to the highest part of the road, ie the middle or ‘crown’ of the road. For this reason, do not try to negotiate the flood if another vehicle is coming towards you as you, or the other driver, could be forced into deeper water.
- Never ‘take a run’ at the flood in the hope your speed will get you through! Quite the opposite will result as this is a sure way of getting water into your engine which could cut out. On some vehicles serious engine damage can be caused if water finds its way into the air intake.
- Always consider other drivers as well as yourself - do not drive at a speed which will cause water to be thrown up all over their vehicle as you may cause them to break down.
- Although some diesel engines will tolerate a little water, many modern fuel systems are electronically controlled and therefore affected by water.
- Even small amounts of water splashed onto the electrical components of a petrol car can seriously affect the engine.
- In residential and shopping areas, do please consider pedestrians on the footpaths - try to avoid puddles at the side of the road, they may well be very deep, but if you can’t avoid them because of oncoming traffic, then please drive slowly through them - don’t soak the pedestrians Brigitte Jones style!
Aquaplaning:
This is what can happen when driving at speed in very wet weather. It is caused by a build up of water between the tyres and the road surface - your vehicle is literally floating on water! Your first indication of this is when your steering suddenly feels very light. When this happens you have no control over braking or steering so do not attempt to brake or to steer. Release your pressure on the accelerator and hold the steering wheel firmly until you regain control. The higher your speed, the more likely you are to aquaplane. Even at lower speeds, if your nearside wheels hit a patch of deep water, your vehicle may swerve because of the additional resistance on that side. Therefore, keep your speed down and avoid deep puddles at the side of the road if at all possible. Look well ahead so you can do any necessary braking before you reach the deep water.
In these wet times, stay safe!
