Jackson Bell wants you to know it takes only fifteen centimeters of water for a car to float.
“It’s the size of a pen…it’s not much for a vehicle to become immobile,” Mr Bell said.
“The tyres will become buoyant and you’ll be stuck.”
The State Emergency Services assistant chief officer is urging Wyndham residents to reconsider driving through flood water, as the announcement of an upcoming la nina period means a potential increase in flash flooding.
“We’re going to see an increased likelihood of above average rainfall,” he said.
“The ground is saturated, that means the ground isn’t able to absorb much of that water that falls.”
The renewed calls follow an emergency rescue conducted by VICSES and Victoria Police last week at Cobledicks Ford Road in Mount Cottrell.
“A driver became trapped in his vehicle after trying to navigate a crossing, it’s a known area that floods [and] there’s a flood marker there as well,” Mr Bell said.
“We probably get maybe six calls a year for that area.
“In this particular occasion, he unfortunately got stuck, it was quite deep and his vehicle ended up failing so he needed to be rescued.”
The driver was eventually rescued, but Mr Bell said motorists needed to ensure they were seeking alternative routes when necessary with no “ifs or buts”.
“It’s one of those things where people think they can do it, they get too far in, and they go ‘i can’t back out now’,” he said.
“They perceive it to be an easy ‘rather than driving around, it’ll take me an extra 5-10 minutes’.”
Mr Bell said the spared time isn’t worth the potential perils.
“When we do participate in these operations, it places our members in danger because we have to come out and rescue these people,” he said.
“You’re risking not only your safety but you’re also risking emergency service workers’ safety.
“If it’s flooded, forget it.”
