Driving in floods or snow

[whatisforteamum]

My neighbour was in a right state having driven a few miles in floodwater.
He is mid 40s so not elderly and was going on about not going to work Fri if it doesn't subside.
I've also heard this type of thing around snow.Where I live is semi rural but not remote.
Am I being unreasonable to think this isn't drama worthy given we were warned just add extra time to your journey.

Well you're not supposed to drive in floodwater are you?

We live in South Norfolk and the floods are so bad here and so fast people have literally had to abandon their cars in the middle of the road and walk home. It’s really awful in certain places. It will kill your engine if the engine gets flooded.

Floodwater or just large puddles on the roads. As a pp said we shouldn't drive in floodwater

Are you really as stupid as you sound?
Driving in floodwater is dangerous.
It can fuck the vehicle.
It can cause drowning.
It can cause you to need the emergency services.
There can be hidden hazards under the water.
It is literally advised that people do not drive in floodwater, even if it looks shallow.

Yes, you are unreasonable. You should probably do some research into what a flood is, and why there are risks associated.

That said, there is no way your neighbour drove through a few miles of floodwater.

People have drowned recently which is probably where he's coming from and he's probably not accustomed to driving in severe conditions. I mean, so many people get caught out when it snows!

He does sound like a bit of a drama queen but, depending where you are, he might be justified.

I’d drive in the snow any day - car is AWD and I used to live in the midwestern US where that definitely doesn’t fly as an excuse to miss work! Floodwater though, absolutely not because it’s incredibly dangerous. People have been killed and even if you’re unscathed it can seriously damage your car. Or are you just saying floodwater when actually you mean some really big puddles?

He's right to be wary. Flooded roads, even those that only look like surface flooding that's drivable can easily hide hazards caused by excess water. Additionally, you cannot predict just how bad it's going to be.

Some cars have incredibly low air intakes and exhaust pipes (ironically some are styled as 4x4) which means the engine floods easily. That ruins the car.

Entirely different to driving in snow which is more an exercise in judgement and safety. There is no safe way to drive through flood water - even specifically adapted vehicle drivers don't take chances in flood water, they save the scuba exhausts for controlled off-roading!

How deep is the flood water and what kind of car is he driving?

We've had some horrendous flooding here over the last week. I’d drive DH’s truck quite happily as it’s quite high up, but I’m not taking my much smaller, lower car through it. I’m not knackering my car.

We’ve had loads of roads closed here due to flooding. At one point last Saturday night my town was cut off.

Depends on the flood water. Last week there were a few reports of impassable roads due to flooding with vehicles stuck in the water. Some of them were still waiting to be towed a few days later. The occupants were fortunately rescued safely.
The problem with flood water is you never know how deep it is until you drive into it - by which time it's too late!
Everyone has a different assessment of risk. My DH would drive through a flood that I would turn around and avoid.

It snows every year where I am and cars that try to drive to work end up abandoned on the side of the road as the roads are fat too slippery to drive on, even after gritting. 3 mikes down the road can be totally clear.

The recent storm shut the two main roads out of our town so, even though it wasn’t bad enough to flood houses, the roads were not safe to try and drive on without wrecking your engine.

YABU.

By flood I mean water across the road.
Not overflowing rivers.
The rest of the way was half way across.like puddles you would slow down for.
I take the point about some cars not coping.
I used to work somewhere by a river that regularly flooded .
If we knew it was we went the long way round but sometimes it appeared overnight.I used to go through it.

Fair enough I am unreasonable.

If it's half way across the road now, any additional rain could send it all the way across the road before finishing work

Living halfway up a mountain I don't know much about floodwater, but I'd be inclined to avoid it....

But snow... we live at 650m and there are regular heavy snowfalls. You'd be mad to drive in that kind of snow (even with winter tyres, which are obligatory). If there is heavy snow overnight and a lot of snow on the steep roads out of the village, we wouldn't drive until the snowplough has been through. There is a high risk of ending up in a ditch or worse, or if not, ending up in a 2-hour queue once you get to the dual carriageway. If snow is falling heavily during the day we wouldn't drive, because the snow can build up very quickly and it's not possible to keep the roads safe in those conditions. DH would be expected to work from home in those circumstances, and most hospitals/doctors wouldn't charge you for a missed appointment as it counts as 'force majeure'. I do keep an eye on the forecast and try to cancel things in advance if it looks like there will be a lot of snow.

In the U.K. even a small amount of snow can quickly lead to accidents because people don't have the right equipment - no snow tyres or chains - and the roads aren't cleared. I've driven in London in a small car in unexpected snow and it was chaos!

In inclement weather, if you can avoid driving eg by working from home, it makes sense to do so. Leave the roads free for people who need to be on them such as emergency services, hospital workers, teachers etc. The fewer folk out and about, the smaller the chance of problems I guess. I’m not a big fan of drama queens but this chap isn’t in the wrong.