The A443 is a proper nightmare after drivers acted like lemmings during flood
Well, this is all a bit silly.
Every time we see flooding on the UK’s roads, we inevitably see drivers being forced to abandon their cars after trying – and failing – to drive through flood water.
It’s extremely difficult to tell how deep the water is, and it doesn’t take much for a car to break down if it gets in the engine.
But these latest pictures, taken during flooding caused by Storm Henk, have taken the situation to an entirely new level.
Not one, not two, but 11 cars have tried and failed to drive through flooding on the A443 close to Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire.
At first, the road was blocked by one car after the nearby River Tame broke its banks.
But as more drivers tried to navigate the water, one by one they too ended up stranded.
You would think that they gradually increasing number of stranded cars would cause some of those drivers to turn around and try a different route.
Especially as drivers turning up later on would be able to tell how deep the water was, when compared to the cars which had already become stuck in the flooding.
But apparently not.
Instead, these 11 drivers followed each other like lemmings to meet the same fate.
The local fire service was called in to rescue the stranded motorists – but emergency services and highways staff have been extremely busy throughout the day as Storm Henk has left hundreds of roads impassable.
A number of railway lines have also been blocked by flooding, fallen trees, or downed power lines.
A mum and daughter had to be rescued from a car stuck in flood water, and a man died after a falling tree crushed his car.
To add insult to injury, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue shared an appeal only last week telling people to ‘never, ever’ drive or walk into flood water.
They said: ‘Flash flooding and rising river levels can cause dangerous situations for those in vehicles and on foot.
‘You should never drive through more than six inches of standing water or more than four inches of moving water.
‘Flood water can be deceptively fast moving and there may be dangers which are not visible.
‘People should never walk into flood water. The dangers might include, for example, lifted manholes which could expose them to the risk to falling deep into drains from which they are unable to escape.
‘They cannot see the edge of a path so might stray into deep water and neither can they see street furniture which they might fall over and get entangled in.
‘People carrying out such acts not only put themselves in danger but also those who might be called upon to rescue them.’
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