A demonstration of why you shouldn't drive through floodwater.

#ruffordfordfails #ruffordford #rufford #floodwaters
The saying "if it's flooded forget it" is wise for a few reasons and here we see a tractor demonstrating why that advice is worth heeding.
Thanks to ‪@TomSunderland‬ for use of the footage.
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[@BaradineAllawa]

Interesting story behind that. That ford is actually closed permanently now, and those blocks were the closure blocks put across it. A few of the locals are a bit miffed over it being closed, and ole mate in the tractor just decided to send it anyway.

[@L2SFBC]

Yes. aware it's closed, wasn't aware it was closed when that tractor went through!

[@BaradineAllawa]

@@L2SFBCSomewhere in Tom Sunderlands footage is an excellent example of the dangers of sending it at speed too. Driver comes from the other direction, and the driver ends up going up the creek to the right instead of up the road

[@L2SFBC]

Can you post a link please?

[@BaradineAllawa]

@@L2SFBCkzbin.info/www/bejne/j2KreXmOe7Nqbpo approx 4:20 in. Actually there's another one around 6mins too

[@lowtech_1]

Council put those barriers across, when the water level was lower.

[@TomSunderland]

Amazing video! Appreciated the credit towards the channel. Some really good informative information and advice for people who are unaware about the dangers of floods.

[@L2SFBC]

Thanks again Tom!

[@peterrichardson8671]

An excellent way to communicate your point. A great video.

[@L2SFBC]

Glad you liked it! Please share :-)

[@user-ey6rc1uo3i]

Tractors are made to take a fair bit of punishment but the lack of care by this guy for a very expensive machine is crazy.

[@Penny-mk7fv]

Amazing how the tractor just bumped those concrete blocks out of the way like legos at the end.

[@hoyks1]

Cars have a tendency to float, the tractor is all mass with very little displacement, cars on the other hand make passable boats, but only for a short time. Getting washed off a crossing when there is flow, or the back end floating when its deep mean that you lose control pretty easily. Things were getting crazy at that ford and I think the road has now been closed. The farmer complained because people were trespassing on his land to dam up the creek to flood the crossing and get better vehicle splashes.

[@L2SFBC]

Yes, I read it went crazy...local publicans would have loved it, homeowners not so much I guess!

[@bikeman123]

That tractor driver is an idiot, he knew there were concrete blocks but persisted. He could have lost that trailers axle.

[@FutureSystem738]

The tractor driver is about the sharpest tool in a VERY BIG shed. And yes, I AM being VERY sarcastic.

[@flo__60]

most people won't understand that that tractor had a huge weight on the front and as he probably already straddled the concrete block by the time he stoped after hitting it he couldn't reverse (at least in 2wd) because these trailers offer barely any weight transfer to the tractor (no weight on driven wheels) and that's assuming he had somewhere to back up to and turn around given he couldn't be bothered to back up enough to avoid the concrete blocs at the end... poor situation poor driver. That level of water is too high for confort he probably got water in the hydraulic system gearbox and air compressor as well some troubles could be on their way...

[@nealesmith1873]

It was interesting to see what was causing the tractor to climb something but not the trailer! Very good info! I once drove my YJ through a stream crossing during a flash flood. There was enough water that the vehicle was swiveling on the rocks, as if it were starting to float a bit. Everything came out ok but it was actually a bad decision.

[@Pandora882]

Hi. Robert good illustration I live by a deep ford and it is surprising how near to wading depth floating away is happens on a regular basis have rescues several over the years. ALSO I'T WHAT IS IN THE WATER .

[@MogsAndDogs]

Excellent advice. thank you!

[@istp1967]

Dept of Transport and Main Roads and Maritime Authority slogan, "Remember , if it's Flooded, Forget it!"

[@kenmuggli4613]

Thanks Robert, fun Video.

[@JamesParus]

At least in Finland even full comp insurance doesn't cover running into flood. If the car is parked and water raises then insurance works. Friend drove car into flood and engine was toasted. It's going to be over 5keuros to fix it.

[@BenMitro]

Wow! Point taken.

[@GavinEarnshaw]

I was teaching some RNLI Water Rescue Instructors some years back and they have a rule-of-thumb: 6inches if water moving at 6mph (twice walking speed) will knock someone off their feet. Water weighs 1tonne per cubic metre. Defender 110 is approx 4.5m x 2m, wading depth is ½m so potentially 4.5 cubic m of water = 4.5t so if the water is moving you are going where it wants 🙂 Obviously 250mm is going under the LR until it hits the chassis and side but the idea makes sense to most people. I tend to say if you haven't walked it what the heck are doing driving your vehicle there😂 Most wellie boots are not as high as official wading depth so this keeps drivers from the worst of it...

[@andrewhurstcars]

Also not very clever for a tractor to go much deeper than this, as the fan blade starts hitting the water, you can see this on some Australian videos where a convoy of combines and tractors has to get through some heavily flooded roads.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

good video with excellent indication why the risk is not worth it your life or property damage.

[@nnoddy8161]

Brilliant.

[@operation4wheelz]

I bet who closed the road with those blocks is stoked. People never get this message. I swear every significant flood event FRs are spending the majority of their resources searching for bodies in cars.

[@L2SFBC]

Doing my bit to spread the word!

[@operation4wheelz]

@@L2SFBC it’s all ya can do.

[@0HOON0]

Whoever put those blocks there were creating a more serious hazard than existed before.

[@fanfeck2844]

The council closed the road and there was barriers blocking the road, but someone obviously removed them. The police were also involved

[@operation4wheelz]

@@fanfeck2844 maybe the water just kept rising past the Barriers after they set them up maybe

[@HardstylePete]

I will miss the videos from this crossing.

[@KenanTurkiye]

Turkish high-tech! The smart nation. I have a folder about it (folder 5 in the playlist).

[@bikeman123]

I have a friend who drove into a sink hole. The council had closed the road but everyone was ignoring the signs. The sink hole was about 5 foot across and 10 feet deep! Good job it wasn't a pedestrian or a child walking through.

[@aslkdfjhg]

The crazy thing is that there is a detour around the ford that adds only an extra 2.5 miles or 7 minutes. Yet people directly into flood water and put their lives at risk. I guess this another case of 'this is why we can't have nice things.'

[@wesleymcgrath5175]

Can you imagine the farmers having that detour in a tractor. They've been driving that ford for I don't know how many years and then council comes along an puts concrete k rails across because some dickhead gets their toerag flooded. Catering to the lowest common denominator.

[@valije]

That's the reason the farmer was pissed. 7 minutes by car is not 7 minutes by tractor. 2.5 miles is a pretty long distance with farming equipment.

[@L2SFBC]

Yes - fuel as well, it all adds up if you're doing that trip a lot and time is money. I can understand the annoyance if there's an extra 2.5 miles of distance on what is probably a 2 mile journey. But, that doesn't excuse what happened.

[@nirfz]

The easiest reason for me would already be: usually the force of the water is vastly underestimated by everybody and so it gets too dangerous. (washing away the car) Even if the water is not higher than the ground clearance of the car. (Have seen firetrucks having a hard time crossing 30cm of water on a road, which would have been easy if it would have been just about the depth, but the current was so strong that the truck barely made it across and was moved sideways a lot) Apart from brining the point across (hopefully to those who questioned a reason beforehand) i think this video example also shows that the guy on the tractor is very much not the brightest light under the sun. Right when his front wheels were going up on something he should have already realized that he won't be able to pull that trailer over this size of obstacle he just found.

[@Juzzy520]

The old Calor Gas trailer,,,,💪💪🍺👍👍👍

[@lawrencewillard6370]

Did see something similar in the 60s. Water over road after long time rain. Stopped short, went to look at it. Tried to stop a van going into it, it dodged around me, got carried away by the water. There was a culvert under the road that was washed away, big water flow just above the 'road'. Went back to town, told police . Took another road to keep on.

[@PaulG.x]

I live in a location that floods during king tides and was told of a genius that was driving his brand new top spec HSV Holden home from collecting it at the dealer. He drove it through the flooded section of road and it sucked water through the engine intake and completely destroyed the engine.

[@borisjohnson1944]

I have watched a few of these videos of this ford. Many haven't a clue. Many engines munted.

[@algprt]

As already mentioned. The guy on the tractor was p**s*d with the closure and decided to “open” it . He knew very well the blocks where there and took advantage of the water which helped to reduce the weight and friction of the blocks. Therefore making “easier” to drag them. 😉 Although i agree that floods are dangerous to cross, it is 100% NOT what happened here.

[@L2SFBC]

Nobody has said the driver knew there were blocks there. They have said it was closed.

[@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330]

Tractor driver watching this: A demonstration of why you SHOULD drive through floodwater. He had it under control, not even a scratch.

[@L2SFBC]

I think your definition of "under control" is different to that of most people!

[@darshparmar7679]

If a person can’t walk across usually don’t cross for 4wders,tractors not sure what the procedure is,old mate seemed like he was local it’s his call they could of put barricade bit further up the road.

[@WolfandCatUnite]

nice

[@twist0077]

I think those concrete blocks was placed there intentionally by road service to stop driving through water when level was half of size. Then water level got higher and blocks simply submerged.

[@threeboardsfour]

Yeah, they weren't washed in there by flood water. They were put in to close the ford.

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

As tractors go, that's only medium sized. The largest tractors exceed 30t and 900hp! Specifically, there's one tractor in production, not on sale yet, that can put out 913hp.

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

My dad said to me when I was learning to drive 45+ years ago. _"Never drive through water you don't know the depth of."_ And to this date, I never have. As you pointed out. If you can't see the road surface you're driving over, how do you know it's still there? As for the video and those concrete blocks. Where the hell did they come from? There seems to be know where upstream from the rivers normal depth that they could have come from. They'll remain a mystery unless someone knows. 🤔

[@L2SFBC]

Seems the council put them there to block the road. However they either forgot floodwater rises, thought nobody would drive through if it did, or the blocks were moved by the water.

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

@@L2SFBC That would be so typical of the council. There used to be one of those triangular FLOOD AHEAD! signs on a local road the the council put there when we had some big floods a few years ago on a section of road that doesn't normally flood. But it did, that one year. That sign stayed there for about 3 years before it vanished one night and not a puddle was to be seen since the flood ;-))...

[@overlandready]

What it meant is the tractor driver was driving a closed road with a TRO, Trafic Regulation Order on it, that in the UK could be the guy loosing his licence to drive AND his car (tractor) being seized and potentially crushed (on a second offence). The Ford was close about a year ago because of, as you know, idiots dangerously driving through the ford. The blocks were laid to stop cars using the road as it had been TRO'd, as a temorary TRO, the road cannot be permenently blocked so the concrete blocks were laid to stop vehicles. I believe the road is deemed unsuitable for reopening. I actually agree with this decision unlike most permanent TRO's, as they are made to close decent lanes that actually just need a bit of work to make them usable again, oh, and less idiots on them, but then the TRO doesn't stop idiots! re: Tractor driver.

[@overlandready]

[@avid6186]

Another issue is mechanically driven fans pulling forward because they get more "grip" in water than they do the air they are designed for. Its quite common for them to move enough to chew a hole in the radiator. That gets bad quickly. Notice the water spraying out the side of the motor on the tractor as it exits the water, the fan doing that?

[@LFG-gu7kk]

That ford is closed. First they have put just signs in the middle of the road, but drivers were moving it to the side and drove through, so they decided to put a concrete blocks accross, but to close to water when not flooded, so when the water raise they become hidden. Hundreds of fords around UK, and just because people are stupid and cant drive through them and meanvile other "youtubers" filming in and making it more known - authorities are closing fords as a "prevention". Same with that accident where 3 guys died in 4x4 after swept from flooded ford - stupid mistake and now the council is trying to close it... Same when people doing stupid stuff on trails (or greenlanes as they are called in UK) and publishing it online - all this will lead to closing trails, fords...

[@einfelder8262]

Cars and 4WDs float easily until the water seeps past the door seals. Then the current just carries them sideways into more danger. Have seen it often in the Vic high country river crossings.

[@anthonywalsh2164]

Flood waters across the road can be very hard to see in the dark.

[@MX-Mug]

There all ejits for bollocking into water with no idea what’s under the surface.

[@blackmoon925]

The statement that it's not possible to climb a step higher than the radius of the tires is incorrect for any vehicle that has at least one driven front and rear axle (which includes the depicted Defender) and enough torque at the front axle (which may not include a Defender). The driven front axle can lift itself onto the step while the rear axle is pushing it against it, increasing the climbing grip. The are videos showing this effect here on KZbin.

[@L2SFBC]

Yes and I have one myself; should have been clearer it's difficult and gets rapidly more so the higher the wall, and also you tend to run out of approach angle.

[@andrewahern3730]

Great way to wreck your vehicle's electronic system. Maybe suck some water into the intake.

[@PaulG.x]

2:47 aside from the fact that this tractor is trying to pull the trailer over the submerged obstructions, the tractor itself is almost floating and has little traction. You can see this by the way it bobs up and down. The large wheels provide a lot of buoyancy if they are not filled with water ballast.

[@L2SFBC]

No it's not floating. Unlike a car there is no large air filled space. The volume of air in the tyres is not enough either and the tyres may be partially filled with water - any tractor drivers like to confirm? This one also has additional weights over the front.

[@Jason-gj1pu]

Need the apple crates ,,,now.😅

[@cedhome7945]

Spoil sport ! Now you're told them when we were having so much fun 😊

[@fredorico41]

They should build a decent bridge?

[@YouTube_user3333]

Definitely not the first time for the tractor driver. He looks like he has crossed there many times in floodwaters.

[@L2SFBC]

Possibly for the last time in that tractor if he's an employee and the boss saw the clip

[@YouTube_user3333]

@@L2SFBC True but knowing how bosses are, he was probably the one telling the driver, if the load doesn’t arrive on time I’ll be docking your pay 😆

[@juhajuntunen7866]

So, tractor simply collect road blocks. Tractors do tractors things.

[@michealplater9007]

Would be interesting if he had to put in an insurance claim?

[@einfelder8262]

For what? Nothing was damaged.

[@MondayMorning-yv7nf]

4:00 that surely was not debris that was washed away and hidden...... it was deliberately placed over there.

[@roybatty2030]

Looks like those concrete blocks were placed there to stop people using the ford. Otherwise, known as obstructing the highway.

[@seansquirrell]

Not a good operator at all.