[lapis_lazuli]

Dears, I drive a sensitive 4 wheeler: a barge that is unable to keep itself afloat in water. Yes.

I wanted to learn from other members, especially these days when every big city seems to be flooded during monsoons. Delhi is infamous, read Minto Road underpass. Gurgaon: The guru doesn't bless the city either. So I am really scared. What if I go out to meet a friend and on the way back, it rains and there is a deep waterlogging in some underpass or a street that I need to cross. I cant turn back, the road is a divided road, and I cant park anywhere on the left and just wait it out. These scenarios happen: What would you do? We have witnessed the extreme : Manuj's case. But what would you usually do on a fine, rainy day that presents you with the dread? Driving through water. Stay at home or plan with the weather app or just take a taxi?? It will happen to you some day, given the pace at which we are getting urban. So let us talk it out. Please . I am specifically talking about the day which started dry and then heavy rain and completely unexpected and severe waterlogging, while you are still on road.

It happened to me in Greater Noida, of all places, I reversed and came back wrong side. I admit. I was ready to pay a challan, the road was WIDE...read Toy City/ New Holland Fiat road I had enough space. The challan would have been cheaper than a hydro-lock. I won't be lucky everytime.

[saket77]

If streets are too much waterlogged, I would try to stay at home.

I would like to minimize the risk to my life (by drowning), risk my finance (by hydro-locking & destroying my car for which I am paying EMIs), or if by chance nothing like that happens then facing an arrest and subsequent legal torture.
Thanks but I can do without any of these.

If at all, things turn bad when I am already out, I would park my vehicle at a safe place and may be take an alternative back home or even stay out for a day or so.

[AbhishekNigam]

Stay at home sir and have some pakodas. You never know which gate might fall apart from the tsunami waves that your car can create.

[Thyag]

Stay Put, Don't be a hero ! Your family needs you more than anybody else in the whole damn world - it is as simple as that.

No vehicle is safe or road worthy in India, given how great our roads are & how good our drainage system is.

Above All :- There is so much corruption & stupidity spread across that, people use accident causation theory and consider an iron gate as a layer of protection against flood for pointing their damn dirty finger at an innocent guy !

[NomadSK]

In that case, I will take a decision based on my safety and others on the road. Hydro-locking would be my least worry, If water is already at that level to create hydro-lock, I would be more worried about my and passengers safety than the car.

I was stuck in 2005 Mumbai famous flooding near BKC, I had to leave the car there and walk back home in almost waist deep water.

Here I have encountered many times (more than 10) that the day started pretty sunny and by the end of the work few hours of rain, floods the road. I have to cross around 5 underpasses to reach home, which are notorious to flooding in few mins, if you are stuck in a traffic in the underpass during such moment, Just leave the car and find a safe spot, now they have installed caged ladders in all the underpasses specifically for such scenarios, to come to the top. Luckily, I have never been stuck there and now those underpasses are closed by the authorities as soon as heavy downpour occurs. In that case, I have to take a longer de-tour with crawling traffic to reach destination.

They found that a small car like a Toyota Yaris, weighing 1.05 tonnes, was moved by water only 15 cm deep and with a flow speed of 1 metre/second (or 3.6 km/h).

They found that vehicles became vulnerable to moving floodwaters once the depth reached the floor of the car.

Here's an interesting read.

Car experiment shows extent of flood danger

[SmartCat]

I think the question is:

- You are already outside
- If you are at work, it is already late in the evening, and have to get home
- It has been raining heavily
- The streets are water-logged

Now what do you do?

Personally, I have always driven through water-logged streets, but only after observing how vehicles ahead of me fared during the water-crossing.

Mod Note: added poll

[Oppanna]

It mainly depends on where I am at the moment

If I was traveling and come across a waterlogged section which I cannot avoid then I wait, asses the situation and then drive on carefully.

Having said that I would not risk at an unknown location to drive via waterlogged section.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

Dears, I drive a sensitive 4 wheeler: a barge that is unable to keep itself afloat in water.

Take the Punto to the office instead of the Superb when the probability of rain is high.

Jokes aside, go with the option with the least amount of risk. Assessing the situation is very important. Whether to leave early or wait until the water recedes a bit. You know how quickly water recedes on the route you regularly take. My route from the office in Ahmedabad to home was notorious for water logging. I once left the car at the office and hitched a ride in a colleague’s SUV because that had a lower chance of getting stuck.

When on the road and you have no other options than to carry on, try not to be a leader but a follower. Look for the path others are taking. Observe carefully whether they dip or get stuck for signs of open manholes, stones, etc. Drive in the lowest gear while maintaining a steady pace. If things look too risky, turn back or park at a safe place. Bruised egos are better than bruised bodies and cars.

[Lij]

1. If I am at home/office and its heavy rains leading to water-logging
> Will not venture out
> In case needed to, make sure to avoid known routes prone to water-logging

2. I am on the way and suddenly get caught in heavy rains causing water-logging
> Again, make sure to avoid known routes prone to water-logging and try alternate routes.
> Try to safely park your car in the nearest mall/public parking with multi-level car park and wait it out till water recedes.
> Try to gauge the depth of water by observing other vehicles going in front of you so that you can make an informed decision of taking the risk of wading through water.

[narayans80]

I've done both:

Drive through the water-logged street, after assessing the risks
and
Reverse and try to find an alternate route

In my case, these were main roads/highways. Usually streets are avoidable, unless these lead to the source or destination.

[It's Magic]

Knowing how water logging occurs on roads, I mostly avoid going out in heavy rains these days. However, if I am out and it starts raining heavily, I will try to find a safe space and wait for some time. If it continues to rain, I will have to venture out in the rain but will try to avoid roads that are known for water logging. If I come across water logged roads, I will check the movement of other vehicles along with the force and depth of the water. Once I assess the situation and the risk for safety, I will drive through it carefully.

[Capri89]

If I am already on the road and I come across a flooded street I would assess the risk and drive through depending upon the urgency of my outing. For example, yesterday (12th) I had to drive to airport early morning 3.30 am to drop off my daughter. It already started raining and the drizzle became heavy downpour. I had to navigate tough stretches on the ORR. No choice there.

If it rains before I leave home and the outing is important I would take a cab. This I have done several times in the past.

Where going to the destination is not urgent:-
If I am on the road I would bide my time.
If at home I would not step out.

[somspaple]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

...

Personally, I have always driven through water-logged streets, but only after observing how vehicles ahead of me fared during the water-crossing.

Mod Note: added poll

Same here. I drive through if it is a regular road that I commute on and other vehicles are moving. One issue that makes me nervous though is when the vehicle in front stops abruptly and if I'm driving an automatic. With a manual gearbox it is easy to modulate with clutch but not so with automatic [even in manual mode] - can't keep the accelerator pressed.

[GTO]

Water is a car's WORST enemy. I own two Jeeps and both of them can drive through flooded roads with aplomb. But guess what? While the air intake may be high, ancillaries like the alternator, starter etc. aren't waterproof. Water ingress causes all kinds of problems like rust, foul smell, electrical issues and more.

I never drive through a flooded road. When offroading, I try to avoid it 99% of the time.

I live right next to the beach in a coastal area and our lane does get flooded during heavy rains + high tide. If we're home, we stay at home. If we're out, we stay out. Driving through water is one of the worst abuses you can put your car through.

And it's not just my own cars. I have mechanical empathy for other's cars too. I was in a Scorpio-N from the media fleet and came across this underpass. Even a crossover made it through to the other side. I reversed, added 30-45 minutes to my commute and went the other way.

[Passatman]

It really depends on which vehicle I am driving.
If I am in my german sedan, being low slung , I would prefer to either wait it out by the roadside ( if outside already) or if there is an alternative route I would try the detour.
If I am in my MUV, I would assess and drive through if the water doesn't seem to too deep.
Done both of above, but I had a bearing failure of the prop shaft of my MUV due to driving through deep water.

Living in bangalore in one of the older areas, I don't see flooding near my house, come even the worst rains.