[Lily]

Happy Monday guys! ☀️

Last week I asked you to share your best advice for driving in wintry conditions and as usual, your comments were fantastic and extremely helpful.

However, this past weekend Wales - where I currently live- and parts of England were battered by Storm Claudia, which resulted in heavy flooding in places like Monmouth and Cardiff.

I stayed home on Friday, but when I went out on Saturday morning, I saw at least a dozen cars stuck in floodwater. It was honestly shocking to see.

Here's an example:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ulPjCYwkh...mOt6JAalc0TM_0

It really made me think: staying home during an amber alert is ideal if you’re able to… but what if you can’t? What if you need to get to work, pick up a child from school, or head to a hospital appointment?

What advice would you give someone who absolutely has to drive during flooding or severe weather? To avoid the situation we see in the video? To stay safe?

[Rolebama]

A lot of cars now have air intakes too low to the ground. My last three cars were like this to avoid induction roar. Seemingly miles of plastic trunking everywhere. Because of this, I always advised my private work customers to not attempt any puddles. Trying to get wading depths from some manufacturers is like trying to get blood from a stone. Personally, if I have to go out in these conditions, I remove some of the trunking, there isn't really any alternative. If you cannot do this yourself, be aware that some garages will refuse to do this for you.

[Santa]

Without disputing what Rolebama says, I think that the reason many people get stuck in floods is that they drive too fast. In general, you should engage a low gear to keep the engine revs up and go slow enough to avoid a bow wave.

Of course, this is no help if some idiot in a Four Wheel Drive comes the other way and swamps you (for fun?)

[olduser]

You could try using https://www.floodmapper.co.uk/ to plan your route avoiding floods if possible.

If you must (in general, hospitals, doctors, dentists, will try to accommodate you if you ring before the appointment) cross a flood.
Look for clues on depth - do's the kerb line or verge disappear under water? for how far is it out of sight? Fences, hedges, and walls can all give some clue on depth of flood.
Or wait for others to go first.
If you are going in deeper than the door bottoms then don't, you will flood the car.

After considering these points, and you still feel the need to try, think of what Rolebama and Santa have said above.

When it's next daylight, at least look under the bonnet, and try and work out how air gets into your engine and aircon/heater to cover Rolebama's point.