Notes when driving a car during the rainy season

Flooding in big cities during the rainy season is a common phenomenon in developing countries, including Vietnam. Driving at this time is always a nightmare for many drivers. In fact, thousands of cars are flooded and severely damaged every year, causing owners to spend a lot of money on repairs.

Deep flooding in Thang Long Avenue area, Hanoi.

Low-chassis cars, Crossovers and SUVs have ground clearance of about 130 - 160 mm, 170 - 200 mm and 200 - 280 mm respectively. For low-chassis cars like Kia Morning, Honda City, the safe wading limit is water level up to half the wheel. In the high-chassis segment, wading ability will depend on the design. SUVs and pickups usually have the best wading ability. For example, Ford Everest can easily cross water depths up to 800 mm while Toyota Fortuner is 700 mm.

Therefore, to keep the car safe when crossing flooded areas, the driver needs to remember the ability to wade through water to avoid the car stalling in the middle of the road. We can find this information through the car's manual or contact the company's technical department directly for advice and answers. In addition, the driver also knows some notes to safely cross flooded roads.

Carefully observe the depth of the flooded area.

This is the first step in the process of driving a car through a flooded road because many people subjectively ignore this step and calmly drive the car through deep water. This leads to water hammer causing the car to stall in the middle of the road. Therefore, if you see a heavily flooded area ahead, carefully assess the situation before driving in.

The wading ability of a vehicle depends on the position of the air intake. When the water level is too high, it can enter the air intake and go straight into the engine, causing the engine to stop working. Therefore, the higher the air intake, the less water can penetrate.

Run at a steady speed

To drive through flooded roads without stalling, keep your foot on the gas pedal steady, drive at a moderate speed, and move neither too slowly nor too quickly. Never accelerate or decelerate suddenly. Pressing the gas pedal hard will easily create inertia, causing water to flow into the engine compartment through the radiator grille. On the other hand, if you brake suddenly, the unstable exhaust flow behind can also cause water to flow into the exhaust pipe. When moving through deep puddles, never stop in the middle of the road. In an unavoidable situation where you have to stop, such as a traffic jam, do not reduce the throttle but press the brake. Simultaneously pressing the brake and the gas pedal will help maintain the throttle, preventing the car from stalling.

Turn on the lights and hazard lights

Before entering a flooded road, use both your hazard lights and your headlights. If it is bright, turn on your low beams; if it is cloudy, turn on your low beams. Turning on your headlights will help the driver see better and can also assess the depth of the flooded area.

Keep at least one emergency phone number in the vehicle.

Drivers should keep at least one phone number of a rescue center that is still operating. It is best to write it down in a notebook and put it in a small drawer in the car. In addition, before starting a long journey that requires passing through a flooded area, it is necessary to find out the address and phone number of the rescue team in that area in case of emergency.

Run low gear

One of the most important things to remember is to shift to a lower gear to easily overcome deep puddles because then the traction will be high. For manual transmission vehicles, you should shift to 1st or 2nd gear to be able to run at a steady speed, without the engine being sluggish.

Turn off the air conditioner

You should turn off the car's air conditioner before driving into a flooded road. Because the fan will easily suck water deep into the engine compartment. On the other hand, turning off the air conditioner also helps reduce the load on the engine, the car can focus on "wading" through the water. If turning off the air conditioner makes the passenger compartment stuffy, open the windows. In addition, the driver should also turn off unnecessary electrical equipment in the car such as DVD screens and speakers.

Do not subjectively go through the overflow tunnels.

Roads in mountainous areas often have culverts crossing the road. If drivers rush to drive through when the water level is high and flowing rapidly, their vehicles can be quickly swept away, which is very dangerous. Therefore, drivers need to carefully assess the situation and not be subjective because the consequences can be unpredictable. In these situations, stopping the vehicle and waiting for the water to recede to a safe level is the wisest and safest decision, no matter how much time it takes.

What to do when the car is flooded

In the event of a car being flooded and causing the engine to stall, the driver should absolutely not restart the car multiple times to prevent water hammer from causing more serious engine damage and costly repairs. The only solution in this case is to turn off the engine, find a way to push the car to a higher position or raise the chassis and call for help.

In addition, car users can also refer to the option of buying flood insurance for their "beloved car". Currently, there are many flood insurance packages on the market with costs ranging from 0.3 - 0.5% of the car's value. To choose the right insurance package, owners should research information carefully and should buy from authorized car dealers for the most detailed advice.