How to drive on waterlogged roads

Everyone is currently experiencing a lot of water logging in Delhi NCR region due to heavy rains and poor drainage system. Driving in these waterlogged roads can be really harmful for you as well as your vehicle. Water can enter in your car through the tail pipe which can then enter the engine, mix with the engine oil and break the moving components inside your engine and will seize the engine of the car. The water entered inside the car can also damage the electrical of the cars. These damages are sometimes beyond repairs and you will be left with just the body-shell of the car. In cases where the car is repairable, costs of doing so will be very high. These damages are often also not covered in your insurance policies so you will be left on your own. Here are a few tricks which you can follow to prevent water entering in your car from the tail pipe –

1. Avoid going out if not necessary – Avoid going out if it’s not an emergency. That’s your best bet against the water logged roads.
2. If you get stuck in water logging situation try to measure the deepness of the water by cars moving ahead of you. If the water levels are touching the bonnet of the car, try stopping by on the side of the road and avoid going into such deep water patch.
3. If you’re stuck in the deep water patch, for the manual transmission car, keep your car on first gear engage half clutch and keep your revs around 2k-3k rpm. Do this until you have crossed the water logged patch. On an automatic, put the transmission on manual mode shift to first gear and try to keep the revs high around 2k-3k rpm.
4. Try to maintain very large gap between your car and the car ahead of you. This is to avoid the situation of fully stopping in between the water logged patch. This is the most dangerous situation as chances of water entering in your car through the tail pipe are the highest. But just in case you come to a full stop in such situation, fully engage the clutch and don’t release the accelerator pedal. Doing this makes the continuous pressure of exhaust gasses being pushed out of the tail pipe and this pressure stops the water entering inside the tail pipe.
5. If your car is stuck and stalled inside a water logged patch do not try to turn on the engine again as this will cause more water to enter in the engine from tail pipe. Stop your car wait for water logged area to get cleared, call for towing van and tow your car to the nearest service station for the repairs.
6. If you’re unable to get out of the car in above situation try pushing the door using both your legs. If you are still not able to open the door try breaking the glass using headrest of the seat and escape from the window area.