GoAuto Oddspot: If it's flooded forget it

HAVING just come through the droughts and bushfires (for now), we can get more climate insight from poet Dorothea McKellar’s ‘My Country’.

It’s a sage poem that tells us what else to expect from the land Down Under, especially relevant at the moment in the last part of the second stanza that alludes to flooding rains. 

“I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.”

We’re not sure about ‘loving’ flooding rains because it’s been raining pretty much every day around here for yonks to the point where water bounces off the ground it’s so saturated.

And according to the weather bureau, there’s more on the way in the form of La Nina 3.0.

The roads are full of potholes, the edges are ragged, trees regularly fall across roads, broken windscreens are commonplace, tyre services are doing a roaring trade in damaged tyre replacement, rims are being dinged or cracked and the number of crashes due to wet, muddy, slippery roads would be monumental. 

Given the prevailing climatic conditions, the warnings and the readily available information, it beggars belief that fools still drive their cars into flood waters.

And then expect emergency service crew to come save them if things go awry as they often do.

This, from the NSW SES website is a monotonously regular type of post:

“A couple have made a lucky escape after being pulled from their vehicle by NSW State Emergency Service (SES) Flood Technicians, when they became stuck while trying to navigate a flooded crossing at Barrington, near Gloucester, yesterday.

“About 11am, emergency services were called to Rocky Crossing, on the Barrington River, after a ute containing two occupants became stuck in the water.

“NSW SES crews used a Rural Fire Service (RFS) tanker to access the couple and performed a delicate rescue operation, successfully pulling them to safety.

“NSW SES Gloucester Unit Commander, Robert McNeice, says that with some areas of NSW still in flood, the incident serves as a timely reminder about the dangers of driving through water.

“NSW SES crews have performed over 660 flood rescues since the Storm Season commenced on 1 October 2021.

“It does not matter how well you think you know the roads, or how big your car is, driving through flood water is dangerous.

“You don’t know what condition the road underneath the water is in and can’t see hidden obstacles and debris under the surface.

“Your vehicle could stall and then our volunteers have to come along and put themselves in harm’s way to safely get you out of it.”

Extrapolate this nationally and unfortunately, it would be the same across the country whenever there was a flooding event.

Some people obviously think they are immortal or invincible but you could reasonably call them a bunch of drongos.

It begs the question: When do they take responsibility for their own safety?

Not very often it would seem, and especially when they’re in a car or other motor vehicle that brings out the stupid in some people regardless of numerous vehicle/flood related fatalities.

While no hard national figures on vehicle flood rescues are available they would be frighteningly, infuriatingly high at the moment.  

Australia’s various state emergency services would have some idea as they are on the front line together with the police and ambos. They must be sick and tired of placing themselves and co-workers at high risk due to foolhardy behaviour of others (in cars) in flood waters.

The actions of a group of these ignorant, boof-heads continues with news this week of more vehicle flood rescues in Victoria and NSW.

Vehicle flood rescue scenarios have become so rife that automotive safety group ANCAP is about to introduce ‘submergence’ requirements in new cars that must enable doors and windows to function for up to 10 minutes after a car is submerged.

Wow, that must be a relief for emergency service crew as they dangle in a torrent on a rope attempting to get to a submerged vehicle that has been driven into flood waters.