what would you do in this driving situation?

[nageov3t]

the Georgia highway clusterfuck reminded me of a situation I was in a few years back...

driving at night, in the pouring rain, on an unfamiliar road trying to get back home after dropping off a date at his parents' house. I'm on a 2-lane highway with a substantial concrete divider running down the road, and I approach a section of the road that's very obviously underwater.

do you:

-drive through the water and risk it?
-park on the shoulder and wait for the rain to stop/water to recede?
-maunever to the shoulder and attempt to reverse your way back to the last exit several miles back
-or something I didn't think of?

I went with option #1, and knock on wood, my car made it through fine. it was making the most godawful noise the whole way home, but the next morning when it was bright out, I discovered that an empty plastic soda bottle had somehow gotten wedged in next to a tire... I'm curious what ATOT driving pros would have done instead, though.

 

[DesiPower]

get out of the car and try to test the depth?

the Georgia highway clusterfuck reminded me of a situation I was in a few years back...

driving at night, in the pouring rain, on an unfamiliar road trying to get back home after dropping off a date at his parents' house. I'm on a 2-lane highway with a substantial concrete divider running down the road, and I approach a section of the road that's very obviously underwater.

do you:

-drive through the water and risk it?
-park on the shoulder and wait for the rain to stop/water to recede?
-maunever to the shoulder and attempt to reverse your way back to the last exit several miles back
-or something I didn't think of?

I went with option #1, and knock on wood, my car made it through fine. it was making the most godawful noise the whole way home, but the next morning when it was bright out, I discovered that an empty plastic soda bottle had somehow gotten wedged in next to a tire... I'm curious what ATOT driving pros would have done instead, though.

So you are a girl who picked up her date who lives with his parents, and who let you drive home alone on country road on a rainy night? or it was a typo?

 

[nageov3t]

So you are a girl who picked up her date who lives with his parents, and who let you drive home alone on country road on a rainy night? or it was a typo?

I'm a guy, who went out on a date after work in the city, and offered to drive him home so he didn't need to worry about catching a train at a certain schedule.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I would have driven through the puddle and risked it.

 

[Fern]

I probably would've gone with #3 unless i could see that the water was very shallow.

Even if you can make it through without obvious problems water has a habit of getting into places it shouldn't be. My brother just had an expensive repair due to water getting into the differential case on his car. The only way it could have gotten into there was driving through a water puddle.

Fern

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

park beside, wait for someone else to go thru, see how deep it is, proceed if not too bad. If reaaaaly deep... get a good running start?

 

[sixone]

Driving thru it at night was extraordinarily dangerous - you really got lucky. Either park and wait, or back up and turn around.

 

[lxskllr]

Driven through slowly, but I have a high clearance vehicle. It really depends though. Every situation's different. Sometimes you're supposed to drive through the water(ford).

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Pull well off to the shoulder with flashers blinking. Wait for some other guinea pig to go through the puddle. If it's safe, follow along. If they get stuck go with the least objectionable choice between #2 and #3.

 

[dainthomas]

Anything but 1. Don't be that guy on the news getting plucked out of a tree by a helicopter (if you're lucky) or more likely the guy they find getting chewed on by coyotes a week later.

 

[Captante]

Pull well off to the shoulder with flashers blinking. Wait for some other guinea pig to go through the puddle. If it's safe, follow along. If they get stuck go with the least objectionable choice between #2 and #3.

Agreed.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Areas that regularly flood are marked with signage and water depth markers. On an unmarked highway, I would probably slow way down and motor on through unless there were signs of a current.

 

[randay]

drive through at a safe speed, depending on depth. since you use the word puddle i assume it was obviously shallow.

 

[Midwayman]

D) speed up so you're going fast enough to ensure you can hydroplane across it.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I voted 3, but I think testing the depth by walking isn't a horrible idea.

 

[notposting]

I voted 3, but I think testing the depth by walking isn't a horrible idea.

Unless the roadway has washed out/current is fast/sinkhole o'doom.

Definitely a fan of "watch some other sucker try it first" and then decide.

 

[SandEagle]

charge through at full speed. #yolo

 

[SKORPI0]

Safety first, if I can gauge how deep the water is and the vehicle I use is capable I go straight ahead. If not #3.

 

[IronWing]

I face this situation with every major monsoon storm. I pull over and let someone else go first, waiting until a car lower/smaller than mine passes through okay.

In light of the Japanese tsunami I'm rethinking this as it was more than adequately demonstrated that Fits float.

 

[richaron]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiPg5DHeyNU

 

[deerslayer]

Drive through it in the truck. Turn around on the bike.

 

[Rebel44]

park beside, wait for someone else to go thru, see how deep it is, proceed if not too bad.

this

 

[brainhulk]

Drive thru in suv
Call AAA for other cars (free flatbed towing)

 

[JTsyo]

Put up the snorkel and dive right in.

 

[Blackjack200]

This was me three years ago after hurricane Irene. I tried to drive through it, didn't make it. Car was totaled and I felt like an idiot. There had been several other big puddles over the past few weeks that I had made it through okay, but it only takes one.

I'm trying to remember my favorite part of the experience. Was it wading through knee deep Delaware River water mixed with Philly sewage to get back to my clubhouse? Was it waiting until 11:30 PM for a tow truck to tow me 40 miles home, stopping first at an ATM so I could pull out $350 to pay him? Was it walking to car rental place the next morning (or perhaps discovering I didn't have rental car coverage?) Or maybe the fact that I destroyed my car, which I had just paid off and absolutely loved...

So, no. Fuck no. I am not driving through that shit.