What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Why do people drive through floodwater?

You will have seen recent pictures of a Porsche in water up to its roof. The Porsche was in a dip in the road (not a ford - as was widely and incorrectly reported). The dip in the road is beneath a railway bridge (the railway is on raised ground). Rather than raise the railway line higher, the authorities dug ground out from beneath the track. In recent months it has filled with water a couple of times. When cycling I have taken off shoes and socks and waded through - easy to do; there is a depth scale on each side of the railway track. Given the situation, and given the conspicuous and easily read depth scale, what sort of nincompoop attempts to drive a low-slung sports car through the water when an abundance of alternative roads are within a couple of miles?

Asked on 2 February 2013 by PDG, via email

Answered by Honest John
I worried about that today. There is a village named Piercebridge that regularly gets flooded on my route from the A1 cross-country to my parent's house. There are sandbags out around the pub, but happily no flood. Interestingly, I had the cruise control cut out on me briefly on the M1.The car's systems had detected slippage from standing water and automatically knocked it out of cruise. So that old advice not to use cruise in heavy rain does not apply to F30 320dEDs.
Similar questions
During the recent flooding a friend of mine came up to a section of flooded road and, seeing that the two cars in front of him had successfully edged their way cautiously through the water, proceeded to...
What is the recommended driving technique for safely negotiating deeper standing water on roads? Splash or trickle? Most drivers seem to prefer splash but trickle seems more sensible to me.
The accepted advice is that driving through floods should be avoided. If it is felt necessary then a low gear should be selected, slip the clutch and keep revs up to avoid water being taken into the exhaust....
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer