Recently the UK has seen an unprecedented amount of rainfall that has caused significant disruption to homes, businesses, and travel, it is essential to know how to navigate safely through challenging driving conditions such as floods. Driving in floods requires specific skills and knowledge that can save lives and prevent accidents.
Flooded roads present a challenge for all drivers, whether you are taking driving lessons in Tameside, have newly passed your test or are an experienced driver.
Recommendations for driving in flood conditions
- Turn on your headlights
- Leave twice as much space between you and the car in front of you
- If your steering feels light, this could be caused by aquaplaning, ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually
Why slow down in flood conditions?
Driving through water can be very dangerous as you can’t see what debris or hazards are underneath the surface. Maintenance hole covers and grates can be lifted and moved, these can cause a lot of damage to cars. It is also very difficult to judge just how deep the water is and your car may get stuck or damaged. It only takes a very small amount of water to be sucked into the engine to cause significant damage which may be beyond repair.
You can be fined if you drive through water and splash or soak pedestrians or cyclists on the pavement.
Problems when driving into floodwater
If the floodwater is deep your car could get swept away or it could cause damage to the car’s electrical systems. Brakes may not work or may be reduced, the car could aquaplane and you could lose control. The car could break down in the floodwater. Just 30cm of flowing water could be enough to move your car!
Driving through floodwater
If you can’t avoid driving through floodwater, and you feel it is not too deep and it is safe to proceed, you should drive through very slowly in first or second gear. Try to keep the revs higher than usual and it’s important that you keep the car moving, avoid stalling and do not change gear until you have cleared the water. Generally, it’s not advised to drive through water deeper than 10cm, unless you have a car or 4×4 that sites higher than this. Where possible on flooded roads allow one vehicle to move at a time, waiting for other vehicles to clear the water before you start to drive through.
After you have driven through the water you should check your brakes and lights, if possible have a look underneath the car to check for any debris.