He thought he could make it

On behalf of Noland Law Firm, LLC posted in car accidents on Friday, September 11, 2015.

Most vehicles float. For a while. And that is a problem. When drivers see some water over the road, too often they may think they can make it. After all, their car or truck weighs thousands of pounds and your ground clearance is well above the level of the water. Or at least that’s what you think when you begin to enter the water.

But if it’s moving, it may only take a few inches of water to lift your vehicle up and off the road and into a ditch or stream. Water across the road can be very deadly because it is full of unknowns. You have no way of knowing how deep it is, how fast it is moving and how much of it will cause your particular vehicle to float.

Once it happens, it is too late to stop and go back to safety. At night, it is even more dangerous. This year has been a bad year for Missouri for drowning. From boating accidents or those swimming in rivers to drowning caused by flooding, have led to a death toll that surpassed 2014’s totals back in July, and is already approaching the tragic, record setting year of 2010, when 50 people died.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has warned motorists that as little as six inches of moving water can sweep a vehicle away and that it is never worth taking the chance. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has created a campaign to help drivers stay safe with the slogan, “Turn around don’t drown.”

Missouri is prone to torrential thunderstorms that can cause flash flooding, sending water over the road, washing out the road surface or bridges. These types of storms can temporarily impair visibility and cause hydroplaning, where your vehicle skims across the road surface on a cushion of water, and can result in deadly collisions.

Under such conditions, slow down and exercise caution. You don’t want to be responsible for needless deaths, especially your own.

Source: kansascity.com, “Drownings rise with floodwaters in Missouri as troopers caution safety on Labor Day weekend,” Ian Cummings, September 4, 2015