Its now the monsoon season again. With the many road works going around in KL flash floods are bound to happen. And you might find yourself cought unexpectedly on a road which is flooded. This is what I do whenever I find myself in this type of situation.
1. Don’t Panic.
2. Look at the road curb, road divider, lamp post or any other objects which would be able to give u a rough idea of how high the water is. If you don’t feel confident, do not proceed.
3. Shift the car into 1st gear( tip- tronic mode if you’re driving an auto)
4. Say a short prayer.
5. If there's a vehicle infront of you, let it clear the flood too. You wouldn't want to end up behind him if his car stalls
6. Go into the flood slowly, to create a bow wave. For the 206 its about 15km/h to 20km/h.
7. Sit up right and you should be able to see the bow wave in-front of the car.
8. Adjust your vehicle speed accordingly so that you do not overtake the bow wave. Don’t let the bow wave get away from you either.
9. Once you’ve cleared the flood, don’t forget to thank God and smile. IF your car stalls in the flood, my sympathy is with you.
These 2 pictures are examples of a bow wave. As you can see, the water level infront of the vehicle/ the water level of the bow wave is much higher compared with the water level behind the bow wave. Imagine you’re in a bathtub. Then push your palm across the water. You’ll notice that the water level in-front of your palm is higher than the water level at the back of your palm. The same concept applies here. When you drive into the flood slowly, you’re using the car’s front bumper to create the bow wave. It pushes the water away, thus lowering the water level from the engine bay onwards.
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