Rope

Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3875699.stm

"The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
and being careful not to flood their engines because of
continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "

Ged! there are a lot of thick bastards out there!

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Just call me Charlie Brown

Mike

Rope wrote:
> Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?
>
> From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3875699.stm
>
> "The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
> snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
> and being careful not to flood their engines because of
> continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "
>
> Ged! there are a lot of thick bastards out there!
>

You should have been there.
They weren't just slow, they were swerving across the road to avoid
puddles, reardless of us on bikes.
Mind you, it happens every time it rains around here so I shouldn't be
surprised any more.

I'm only surprised when one of the cars does something *right*.

--

Mike Hall
Trophy 3

Stoneskin

Rope left a note on my windscreen which said:

> Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?

Reduced visibility, less traction and chances of aquaplaning.

> From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3875699.stm
>
> "The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
> snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
> and being careful not to flood their engines because of
> continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "

Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
--
Stoneskin

[Insert sig text here]

oldbloke at work

"Stoneskin" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b572a181fbb07c09898bf@news.individual.ne t...
>
> > Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?
>
> Reduced visibility, less traction and chances of aquaplaning.
>
> > From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3875699.stm
> >
> > "The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
> > snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
> > and being careful not to flood their engines because of
> > continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "
>
> Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.

Depends on the depth of the puddle, surely?
--
Oldbloke at work

Rope

Oldbloke at work spoke:
> > > "The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
> > > snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
> > > and being careful not to flood their engines because of
> > > continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "
> >
> > Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
>
> Depends on the depth of the puddle, surely?

Well, yes, if you plow through deep water in *some* cars, then
you could get water in through the carb/FI air intake, and
cause hydraulic lock and blow the engine, but they would have
to be *deep* puddles taken at speed.

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Just call me Charlie Brown

Rope

Stoneskin spoke:
> > Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?
>
> Reduced visibility,

Unless we are talking monsoon+ conditions, then normal heavy
rain, while driving at urban speeds shouldn't cause *that* much
reduced visibility.

> less traction and chances of aquaplaning.

In a cage, to aquaplane, you have to have 2 of 3 circumstances:
Speed > 50mph
Change of direction
Poor/bald tyres

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Just call me Charlie Brown

Stoneskin

oldbloke at work left a note on my windscreen which said:

> > Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
>
> Depends on the depth of the puddle, surely?

Not at all. Just the height or the engine and/or exhaust.
--
Stoneskin

[Insert sig text here]

Stoneskin

Rope left a note on my windscreen which said:

> > > Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?
> >
> > Reduced visibility,
>
> Unless we are talking monsoon+ conditions, then normal heavy
> rain, while driving at urban speeds shouldn't cause *that* much
> reduced visibility.

It depends on what you mean by *that* much. For a start it's darker,
rain on a windscreen or visor will impact visibility, summer windscreens
probably haven't been cleaned for accumilated gunk and the rain itself
will reduce visibility even more due to it occupying a % of the vision -
although I have no idea how much in reality.

I have been caught in the cage in some really heavy rains and visibility
dropped to around zero due to the windscreen wipers simply not being
able to keep up with the volume of water being thrown at the screen.

> > less traction and chances of aquaplaning.
>
> In a cage, to aquaplane, you have to have 2 of 3 circumstances:
> Speed > 50mph
> Change of direction
> Poor/bald tyres

I dunno. I'm sure you could manage it with only one of those criteria
if you really made the effort.
--
Stoneskin

[Insert sig text here]

oldbloke at work

"Rope" <spam@ukrm.net> wrote in message
news:VA.000011cf.0ddaefa8@ukrm.net...
> Oldbloke at work spoke:
> > > > "The whole of Southampton's roads have been moving at a
> > > > snail's pace all afternoon. Everyone's driving extra slow
> > > > and being careful not to flood their engines because of
> > > > continuous puddles along the sides of roads. "
> > >
> > > Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
> >
> > Depends on the depth of the puddle, surely?
>
> Well, yes, if you plow through deep water in *some* cars, then
> you could get water in through the carb/FI air intake, and
> cause hydraulic lock and blow the engine, but they would have
> to be *deep* puddles taken at speed.
>
I know 2 people this has happened to, one in a BMW540, and one in a Mondeo
24V
--
Oldbloke at work

Mr. Fantastic

"Mike" <MikeUKRM@hotmail.com> wrote...
>
> You should have been there.
> They weren't just slow, they were swerving across the road to avoid
> puddles, reardless of us on bikes.
> Mind you, it happens every time it rains around here so I shouldn't be
> surprised any more.
>
> I'm only surprised when one of the cars does something *right*.
>

Windy up there, is it?

--
Mr. Fantastic

ZXR400
Remove Pirate to Reply

Rope

Oldbloke at work spoke:
> > Well, yes, if you plow through deep water in *some* cars, then
> > you could get water in through the carb/FI air intake, and
> > cause hydraulic lock and blow the engine, but they would have
> > to be *deep* puddles taken at speed.
> >
> I know 2 people this has happened to, one in a BMW540, and one in a Mondeo
> 24V

And around here there are 2 ford we drive through regularly, with water up
to a foot deep. The one at Rufford often has people standing by the side
hoping cars will speed through and splash them, and many oblige :^)

I've seen one SOC stalled in it during a flood, and that was water in the
electrics.

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Just call me Charlie Brown

Catman

Stoneskin wrote:

> Rope left a note on my windscreen which said:
>
>> Why does traffic slow to a crawl in heavy rain?
>
> Reduced visibility, less traction and chances of aquaplaning.

Slightly disconcerting this afternoon in what passed to me as monsoon (and
I've seen them) I was in lane 1 of the M25, being overtaken by an artic in
lane 2.
I swear, he was less than 20 feet from the lorry in front and every time he
hit the brakes at 60ish, his whole trailer was slipping left......

--
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Rope

Catman spoke:
> Modern cars seem to have a trendency to have the air intake rather lower.
> I think it's to draw in cooler air.

But the path to the inlet manifold is hardly straight, and there is an air
filter in the way.

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Just call me Charlie Brown

Pip

Catman <catman@cuore-rustsportivo.co.uk> struggled to ejaculate:

>>> > Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.

>Modern cars seem to have a trendency to have the air intake rather lower.
>I think it's to draw in cooler air.

I remember watching the RAC rally on the telly, where there was a
watersplash in a spectator stage. It was set up so that the cars
would shoot through the water, sending up sheets either side. Lovely,
until the Lancia Delta Integrales came along.

An Integrale has its air intake inside the left front wheelarch, in
front of the wheel, see. Into six inches of water at ~50mph went the
first one - out of the rally with a hydraulic-locked engine before it
had the rear wheels out of the water. The second one made it about 30
feet beyond the watersplash, before succumbing in clouds of steam.

It is generally bollocks, mind. It would be very difficult to "flood"
an engine, with water in through the engine air intake on the road.
The deepest puddles I saw today were about a foot, right across one
lane - most people were having fun scooting through them.


Having said that, a memory just surfaced (as it were) of a day in
Milton Keynes when I went to drive through an underpass carrying one
of the dual carriageway grid roads. As the front wheels entered the
water, I realised the car was nose-down and the water stretched a
further 50 feet ... the footpath beside the road was level and above
the water.

Stopping and checking seemed to be a good idea. From the footpath it
all became clearer than the water. The road dipped to about ten feet
lower than the footpath at its lowest point, to provide clearance for
delivery vehicles. That would have put the water easily four feet
over the car roof - that might have flooded the engine ;-)

--
Pip, Ex - Hairy Gfedcker. RF 900RR, Ruff and Rattly.
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ANORAK#8 MIRTTH#15 BOTAFOT/F#47/34a BONY#13 KotMIB# <space>
UKRMRM#14 TWA#2

Catman

Rope wrote:

> Catman spoke:
>> Modern cars seem to have a trendency to have the air intake rather lower.
>> I think it's to draw in cooler air.
>
> But the path to the inlet manifold is hardly straight, and there is an air
> filter in the way.
>
And the engine is sucking.....
There was a bit on watchfrog a while back. Espaces IIRC.
--
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www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Catman

Pip wrote:

> Catman <catman@cuore-rustsportivo.co.uk> struggled to ejaculate:
>
>>>> > Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
>
>>Modern cars seem to have a trendency to have the air intake rather lower.
>>I think it's to draw in cooler air.
>
> That would have put the water easily four feet
> over the car roof - that might have flooded the engine ;-)
>

Hmmmm, possibly
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
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www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Muck

Pip wrote:

> Catman <catman@cuore-rustsportivo.co.uk> struggled to ejaculate:
>
>
>>>>>Flooding engines? Well, that's bollocks, that is.
>
>
>>Modern cars seem to have a trendency to have the air intake rather lower.
>>I think it's to draw in cooler air.
>
>
> I remember watching the RAC rally on the telly, where there was a
> watersplash in a spectator stage. It was set up so that the cars
> would shoot through the water, sending up sheets either side. Lovely,
> until the Lancia Delta Integrales came along.
>
<snip>

Heh..

I remember going through a deep bit of water at speed in an Audi GT
Coupe. I had both windows open a little at the time, and the water made
it's way up the bonnet up the windscreen and in through both windows.

I was supprised that the engine didn't go bang, but on investigation of
the inlet system, I found a sort of trap door that let the water out.
Which must have donr it's job, as hitting that water at the speed I was
going was not a good thing to be doing.

darsy

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 23:56:10 +0100, "Porl" <porlp@btinternet.com>
wrote:

>I wonder if I'm the only one that has no idea how to distinguish betwen
>cars. I can tell a gixxer, a goldwing a cg125, etc. But cars are either big
>or small, red, blue or whatever. I might be able to guess at a Lamborghini
>(sp) or a Ferrari but if I was a victim in an accident there's almost no
>way I could tell what had hit me.

no, Angie's the same.

her: I saw a nice car the other day
me: what sort was it?
her: light blue.

--
darsy
r65ls|zx-7r|cbr929rr-1

Ben Blaney

darsy wrote:

>On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 23:56:10 +0100, "Porl" <porlp@btinternet.com>
>wrote:
>
>>I wonder if I'm the only one that has no idea how to distinguish betwen
>>cars. I can tell a gixxer, a goldwing a cg125, etc. But cars are either big
>>or small, red, blue or whatever. I might be able to guess at a Lamborghini
>>(sp) or a Ferrari but if I was a victim in an accident there's almost no
>>way I could tell what had hit me.
>
>no, Angie's the same.

porl in "like a chick" non-shocker.

>her: I saw a nice car the other day
>me: what sort was it?
>her: light blue.

Your response presumably is to nod, and say "mmm, nice"?

--
Ben Blaney

darsy

Ben Blaney <benblaney@ukrm.net> wrote:

>darsy wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 23:56:10 +0100, "Porl" <porlp@btinternet.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I wonder if I'm the only one that has no idea how to distinguish betwen
>>>cars.
>>no, Angie's the same.
>
>porl in "like a chick" non-shocker.

you'd almost think he did it deliberately.

>>her: I saw a nice car the other day
>>me: what sort was it?
>>her: light blue.
>
>Your response presumably is to nod, and say "mmm, nice"?

the approach that seems to work best is "well, if you see it again,
point it out".

--
darsy
r65ls|zx-7r|cbr929rr-1