Tips for driving safely through flooded areas
(Baonghean.vn) - During heavy rains, local flooding occurs in many places, with high-chassis cars can pass, but low-chassis cars are a fear for drivers. To be able to move through flooded areas safely, you need to note the following points.
1. Watch the vehicles in front, if the water level is not more than half the tire, then proceed to go through. Because if the water level rises more than half the tire, the possibility of water overflowing into the cabin and overflowing through the electrical system under the car is very high.
When the floor of the car is flooded, the car is at risk of electrical short circuit leading to damage to the internal electrical system affecting the equipment on the car.
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2.If traffic conditions permit, driveshould walk in the middle of the roadas this is always the highest point of the road; this will help reduce the water level and reduce the risk to your vehicle.
3. Always keep your distance from other vehiclesand stay away from heavy vehicles because other vehicles when moving will create large waves of water that will overflow the hood of your car and can cause water to flow into the air intake and straight into the engine, causing "hydrostatic" phenomenon.
4.When driving through flooded areas,should keep steady throttle and choose low gear.If it is a manual transmission, you should use gears 1-2. For automatic or semi-automatic transmission, you should shift to D1 or switch to manual mode and use gears 1-2.
Turn off some devices such as air conditioners and entertainment systems to reduce the load on the engine and also avoid fire in case of water overflow.
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5. Never speed through flooded roads.because of the risk of water being pushed up the hood and into the engine's air intake causing hydrolock.
A small experience that old drivers often share with each other is that before going through flooded areas, you should remove the air intake pipe at the front of the car to take air directly from the engine compartment (highest position) without going through the car's air intake (lower position); after passing the flooded area, reinstall the engine air filter. This way, you can limit the water overflowing the hood and being sucked into the air intake and into the engine, causing "water hammer" phenomenon.
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- 6.After passing through the flooded road, you need tobrake while drivingTo let the water out of the brake disc, to avoid the brake locking phenomenon after leaving it overnight.
- Clean the trash and leaves from the radiator because when entering a flooded area, the radiator is the place to block a lot of trash in the water and retain it. Finally, check the engine and undercarriage to make sure it is clean and there is nothing unusual.
