With climate change leading to more extreme and prolonged heavy rainfall across the northern hemisphere, flooding is a risk, especially in autumn and winter.
While concerns typically consider travel disruption and damage to housing, the top cause of death during occurs from . In England alone, there have been with several high-profile deaths in recent years in , and .
My team’s investigates the factors affecting people’s decisions to drive into floodwater. We also explore what can be done to more effectively warn drivers about the dangers associated with floodwater.
Many drivers expect the worst that can happen is their car might be damaged. But driving through floodwater can lead to drowning .
Our national survey of 185 drivers found widespread understanding that water depth is a critical factor. Around 80% correctly identified depths above 25cm as being not safe to drive through.
However, most of the drivers didn’t recognise the effect of fast-moving water during flood conditions. Even when directly asked how they would judge the speed of water, they typically responded in terms of water depth.
This is worrying. While deep water immobilises a vehicle, flowing water can take a car downstream, because modern cars tend to initially float due to being so well-sealed. Floating vehicles can lead to drownings, particularly if the car then hits an obstacle and turns over.
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