I wrote a post not long ago about how water (uncontrolled) can destroy your house, and how simple things like gutters and paint can protect your investment.

But this isn’t abut anything so trivial…

If you haven’t been paying attention to the news… or you aren’t reading this post in mid to late September (2009), we are having some serious water issues here in Atlanta.  The words 100 year flood are making the rounds… and I have NO reason to not believe that.  I have been here 20 years and have never seen anything like this.

While out and about today, I saw displaced roads, flooded creeks and rivers flowing over bridges.  Those things all happen sometimes, but the word is that there are several HUNDRED roads closed from flooding.  And the rain hasn’t stopped.

Here is the important part…

So far there are six people that have died in the floods.  Most of them have died in their cars.  All of the folks that have died in their cars have died while driving through flooded roadways… and had their cars swept from the road.

Simply, if a creek or river is FLOWING over the road, do drive through it. Sure, you MIGHT make it through if the water is low enough.  But you might not.  Is it worth it?  Not for me…

Stay safe…

I am perfectly willing to admit that I have taken Jeeps through creeks that were fairly deep.  Even some that were running pretty fast.  But there are a couple of HUGE differences.  With the larger tires and lifted suspensions, the vehicle is well out of the water.  A standard sedan starts getting pushed by the water as low as six or seven inches.  My jeep kept the body clear of the water for almost two feet…

And then there was a “happening” in Kane Creek in Moab, UT.  Some friends had a Jeep start to float while crossing the rain swollen creek.  The Jeep would have kept floating for a while it not attached by winch cable to a stable object.  As it was, it rolled in the creek, and the driver barely escaped a dunking by climbing out the passenger side and jumping to shore.  The Jeep was totaled. It could have easily been much worse.

And stay smart…

Today I saw a car parked in the middle of the road after a deep spot (pooled, not flowing).  The engine may have been toast (we call it hydro-locked.  Water doesn’t compress, so if it gets into the engine, bad things can happen.  And the worst thing to possibly do is try to turn the engine over with the starter if it stalls in the water. Instead, get towed out, and then take out the spark plugs.  Turn the engine over with the starter (watch out, because gas/water may spray out a few feet).  Shoot a little WD-40 in each cylinder and then reinstall the spark plugs.  If there are ugly, unnatural sounds, it might be too late, the damage may already be done.

Sounds like good reasons to NOT drive in deep water, huh?  Death or mechanical devastation…

from GwinnettGarageGuy.com

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