Opinion: Should you cross a flooded road?

If it's flooded ... forget it.

It’s the latest catch cry from governments all around Australia when rain falls and creeks come down in flood. And it’s a good, simple message meant for the people out there to try and keep them safe when water is flooding across a city street or country road. I’m not a great lover of it. Why? It’s too bloody simple and all-encompassing.

Just recently I caught a bit of flack on Facebook for a few posts I put up, the latest on the Stuart Highway being cut by flood waters and vehicles being filmed passing through the long flooded stretch.

“What happened to, ‘if it’s flooded forget it,’” the keyboard warriors railed and hailed. Others got a little more personal saying with my vast amount of experience I should have known better and I was setting a bad example.

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Another pointed out, rather erroneously and alarmingly I thought, that water just a few inches deep could sweep a vehicle off a road. Geez, the water would have to be flowing bloody quickly and you’d have to have a light, low-slung vehicle with hardly any ground clearance for that to happen.

That particular video clip which wore the aggression of some people, was of a convoy of vehicles – trucks and four-wheel drives – crossing a flooded section of the Stuart, and as I pointed out to people who hadn’t bothered reading the short article, police had checked the road and then approved the convoy to cross the flooded section.

Yes, the water was flowing, but hardly at any breakneck speed – and it was, at the time of the vehicles’ crossing, about 30cm deep. Obviously, the police had checked to ensure there were no washed-out sections under the flowing water before allowing the convoy across. And, if you were in a ‘normal’ low-slung car, you were obliged to stay where you were.

If in doubt about your vehicle’s capabilities or your skill level, forget it!

The comment that the police had okayed the crossing by trucks and 4WD vehicles brought another hail of keyboard-warrior diatribe, with some stating: “So, the police don’t practice what they preach!”

Dear Lord, give me strength! Could it be that some people are so bloody stupid that they believe that, or are they just stirring the bloody possum? I’m not sure, but it certainly shows a lack of knowledge about driving a 4WD vehicle and driving in the outback generally, and driving across a flooded section of road, more specifically.

I remember a few years ago we were in the Ashburton region of Western Australia when we got caught in monsoonal type rain and flooding streams and tracks. We dodged around a bit trying to get away from the morass and then gave up and propped for two days while the tracks dried out a little and the creeks dropped. We never saw anyone in that time, which I guess was hardly surprising given the state of the roads and the amount of water moving around.

A day later we came to the Ashburton River crossing, which was still flowing strongly but shallow across its concrete causeway. Still, we opted to walk the route and check just to make sure nothing had been washed away – but what we found was rather different.

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The flood had washed a barbed wire fence downstream, complete with star pickets, and this was tangled in a great mass in the centre of the river and was completely underwater and out of sight. With some pliers and a bit of mucking around, we cleared the wire and pickets from the road and, with the causeway now cleared, we crossed easily.

So, if you come across a flooded road crossing, check the stream first to make sure the track or road surface is intact under the water and there’s no obstruction like barbed wire or star pickets to get tangled up on. If the water is too deep – say, up to your thighs – and flowing quickly so you are tending to lose your footing, don’t even think about trying to cross in a 4WD vehicle. Turn around, go back, or sit and wait for the stream to drop from its peak.

And if in doubt about your vehicle’s capabilities or your skill level – if it’s flooded – forget it!