I like to summit my nominee but I think he survived.
foxweather.com/weather-news/wa...87b4b0767
Maybe an almost category??
article mentions this guy's a contractor. He may have lost some potential future business. I mean would you hire this guy knowing that he made this unadvised decision?
Edited by - 5B-Ranch on 12/09/2022 06:53:39
After several people around here DIED when driving into flooded underpasses, the Gummint installed depth gauges, in the hopes that knowing it was too deep to navigate, would discourage people from heading through.
But, when one notices that the river is OVER the road, one should not drive into what is now a river.
Forty years ago, a friend of mine made "Rescue 911" by being evacuated from the top of his Ford Bronco in a raging wash.
My neighbourhood can get nearly isolated when it rains, with the creek rising to the point that none of the roads entering the area are passable. If it persists, the sheriff orders a golf course to open one of their emergency access gates and orders the golf course to let us through. When that happens, we can drive an extra 15 miles or so and access our neighbourhood through a small trail that stays on high ground.
Years ago Dave and I and a couple of friends were in the Davis Mountains and there came a terrible rain as we were trying to drive down a mountain road. We had to stop because of water cascading over the road for quite a stretch. We shut down the truck, had a soda and some lunch (we'd intended to go on a picnic) and waited for the raging waters to slow down.
When Dave finally decided we could cross, the current was still strong enough to actually move that big pickup almost across the road before we got out of it. Scarey!
I like to go off-roading in my jeep. Hills, trees, mudholes, streams, etc. But I literally have wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night nightmares about getting swept away into an icy river. No freakin way.
5B-Ranch
After watching that video, I second the motion.
My preference is for a system that allows for some common sense ... or lack thereof. I.e. advisories rather than orders/directives where feasible, Sometimes on our news (?) coverage of impending disasters (?) in the US we get mayors/governors/??? saying things like: If you choose to disregard this warning, know that [emergency] services might not be available to you. Fair enough in my book.
quote:
Originally posted by mike gregoryAfter several people around here DIED when driving into flooded underpasses, the Gummint installed depth gauges, in the hopes that knowing it was too deep to navigate, would discourage people from heading through.
But, when one notices that the river is OVER the road, one should not drive into what is now a river.
We have a gauge like that on Clear Creek that runs through Buffalo. At the top of the gauge, it says "Run"!
Survival is an important part of a Darwin Award. The concept is to be removed from the gene pool such that no more of that unsuccessful kind will be born. Shooting blanks.
Look up the lists of the DA's. Some are the most outstanding surprises imaginable (or not).
Come on! He's from the shallow end of the gene pool! Paddle faster!!!
Edited by - bubbalouie on 12/09/2022 16:04:51
I read a story of an old timer from New Orleans that was found floating around on a piece of wreckage out in the gulf after a hurricane.
He said he always wore his life jacket to bed if a storm was blowing up!
For the life of me, I just CAN'T understand why some persons seem to think their vehicle is half boat.
"7+ inches of water over the road?
Bring it on, baby! This Ford Focus can get us throuOOOOOHHH!!!"
Without knowing the ins-and-outs of the Focus, I wouldn't be overly concerned about 7" of water in and of itself. However, my concern might increase depending on other factors.... just how much the "+" is, the condition of the ground (?) under the water, the width of the road, the steepness of the ditches, whether there is debris floating in the water, how badly I needed to be on the other side, whether there are other drivers present whose actions I couldn't predict, etc., etc.
When I was on the Cataraqui Trail Management Board here, the chairman and another person went to check on an island on a lake. Their truck went through the ice and they died. He was a respected guy, quite generous, and there was a long lineup of people to pay their respects. Still, one moment of generosity overcame a sense of caution.
A car will float in only 30cm of moving water, nothing can be so important as to risk that.
The roads into my village flood very regularly in certain rainfall conditions. They flood quickly but drain within a couple of hours. Yet every time, you will see at least one or two stranded vehicles where people have thought their car would make it. Add to that, in the U.K. typically your vehicle insurance won’t pay out for you intentionally driving into water, and the damage caused is usually a new engine at the least or the car written off.
Once upon a time, driving my trusty Datsun 710 (a "Bluebird" for the Canadians and Brits among us), I came across a small stream that had formed across my road to work. I pulled over to the side and watched the other cars cross it, trying to judge its depth and whether I would make it. I finally decided I would, and, about halfway in, I stalled out and started to rock back and forth as the Datsun started to float. A group of teenagers in a lifted Toyota truck suddenly appeared. One of the kids shouted "$10 to pull you out!". I nodded, and they got a couple of slings on my front bumper and had me out in maybe 90 seconds. They pulled me into the Circle K lot at the corner, spritzed my distributor with WD40, and got me running.
Turned out they had been there all night. They had learned to be really fast because if they let someone stay in the water, the next guy would know not to cross and they'd lose money.
There are endeavours/facets of life where I'm part of the lowest common denominator. I take a measure of satisfaction in knowing that operating a vehicle or machinery in less than ideal conditions isn't among 'em. Omitted from my ^^ list (?) of factors to consider is one that's probably fairly important: the capability of the operator. I'm well aware that I ain't the man I used to be [and possibly never was] though I like to think my mental capacity is hanging in there better than my physical capacity.
Apparently "ford crossings" are a l-o-t more widespread than I realized. Most of the online pics show clean, clear water [i.e. depth and bottom easily discernable], unlike the 3 [or 4?] I've used in my meanderings. I'll take 7" of water over 7" of saturated mud/clay any day.
Kevin, we had a 510 wagon for a bit.... was unaware of the "Bluebird" label. Every day's a school day. A few decades back, it got me through about 3 miles of rainy road construction .... middle of the nite ... middle of nowhere [Saskatchewan's "Grid Road" system] ... the "experts" had seen fit to only put up signage right at the actual site, rather than at intersections several miles back. Thankfully, the mud/ruts probably averaged only about 4 or 5 inches deep. 
Edited by - Owen on 12/10/2022 11:36:32
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