Topic: Dashcam footage driving into a flash flood

[Jeffy]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/potbd9SCBfE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/potbd9SCBfE</a>

Published on Jun 2, 2013
This is a view from my D-TEG dashcam. I approached a flooded road and made a quick U-turn rather than driving into the water. This was a naturally smart move. Unfortunately my turn resulted in me plunging off a hidden embankment and splashing nose-first right into a swollen creek where I sunk straight to the bottom, I traveled several hundred feet underwater with the car quickly filling up. At one point I was completely surrounded by water and just holding my breath in the darkness. Somehow the driver-side and passenger-side windows broke and I was flushed from the vehicle. I surfaced after a bit and found myself racing down the creek. A cop called out to me and I was able to swim to him and his life-saving grab.

Analysis:
It probably would have been best for the police car (seen right before my turn) to have completely blocked the road the emergency lights on. As it was, the scene seemed like just a water hazard but probably should have been clearly marked as a no-go zone.

I should have come to a complete stop and taken more time to evaluate the situation. Ideally I should have just put it into reverse and slowly backed out. I took a dangerous situation and made it even worse leaping before I looked.

Lessons learned:
Turn around, don't drown!
Never drive through water when you are uncertain of its depth.
Slow down and leave yourself more time to process your surroundings.

[jfrabat]

Is it me, or was he driving too fast for the weather?  If you cannot see the concrete, you should not drive as fast as he was.  I have seen many times ere in Panama (we get heavy rains all the time here) that the water flow will pop the lids off of manholes, leaving rather BIG holes for cars to fall into, and they are invisible...

[Jeffy]

Is it me, or was he driving too fast for the weather?  If you cannot see the concrete, you should not drive as fast as he was.  I have seen many times ere in Panama (we get heavy rains all the time here) that the water flow will pop the lids off of manholes, leaving rather BIG holes for cars to fall into, and they are invisible...

Looks like he's doing 30-35 mph.  You can still see all the lines clearly until just past the PD car.

[chardrc]

i don't think he was going too fast up until there was standing water on the road. that creek looked just like a ally way until he tried to drive on it. lucky to make it out alive

[Jeffy]

i don't think he was going too fast up until there was standing water on the road. that creek looked just like a ally way until he tried to drive on it. lucky to make it out alive

The highway guardrail should have been a hint there was a ditch there though.  He was lucky someone watched him go in.  I don't think the road was closed judging by the number of cars parked on the high ground.  Otherwise the police car should have been blocking the road with its light on.