Car crashes into rivers and dams are common enough. So are floodwaters. Here's what you do if it all goes horribly wrong on the road and when you look out the window, all you see is water.

Crashes that involve submerging have a higher death rate than head-on collisions. You might think this will never happen to you, after all, we live in the driest continent on earth. The 28-year-old Queensland mother whose car plunged into the Mulgrave River yesterday with her 10-month-old baby on board probably thought so, too. Luckily she was able to escape with the baby because, luckily, the car was not fully submerged.

DIY, safetyJohn Cadogan21 November 2010car, water, emergency, car sinking, car under water, escape, drownComment

Mark Webber Tells: How to Drive Faster

Interested in becoming a race driver? Back in 2004, when Aussie F1 driver Mark Webber was driving for Jaguar and was in Sydney before the Australian GP, I interviewed him on this topic. Here's what he (and his engineers) said:

“Ask yourself: Would a better driver be faster in this car?” That’s what Aussie F1 driver Mark Webber does. Webber’s race engineer Pete Harrison agrees. “In F1, as many as 700 people

drivingJohn Cadogan18 November 2010mark weber, f1, formula 1, how to drive, advanced driving, driving technique, driving techniquesComment

Speed Kills ... or does it?

[This story, written by me, appeared in Wheels magazine in 2006 (I think). It's still relevant today - maybe even more so, with the regulatory obsession with camera-based enforcement even more entrenched. See if you still agree with that after you read it.]

Speed kills is coercion by stealth; a passive-aggressive attack on decent drivers. To advocate against it invites scorn. You appear to endorse anti-social behaviour … and risk being labelled a crackpot. Why not just wipe off five instead?

When road safety and PR collide, rational debate

safetyJohn Cadogan18 November 2010speed, speeding fine, revenue, speed kills, police, government, regulators Comments

Car on Fire? Here's what you do

The fact is that cars are jam-packed with flammable liquids and parts. Petrol and oil, for example, burn fiercely. Upholstery and most plastics burn readily, too. In addition, car batteries manufacture hydrogen gas (flammable) and also spray sulphuric acid all over the place should they explode. The vehicle's electrical system is a godd (or is that bad?) source of ignition. In any case it is a powerful one.

In many countries the most common cause of vehicle fires is arson (ie they are intentional). Another common cause is unwittingly introducing static electricity into the refuelling process. You can read about preventing refuelling fires by clicking the link to our story on that. Crashing and mechanical malfunction are also common causes of car fires.

Let's assume, however, you don't intentionally burn your car down. Let's assume you're not refuelling. Let's assume you're driving along and your car catches fire. (Often this is only visible in the rear-view mirrors because you're leaving the smoke behind you as the car cuts into the air in front.) What do you do?

DIY, video, safetyJohn Cadogan15 November 2010car, fire, car catches fire, car on fire, car fireComment

The 10 most dangerous countries to drive a car in

Fed up with driving in the first world? Assumed the roads are getting worse? You just need to get out more.

The esteemed World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken some time off, away from AIDS, genocide, H1 N1 influenza and malaria, and instead issued some stark findings about the increasingly motorised, car-infested world in which we live. Part of those findings - all 297 pages of them - are a list of the top 10 most dangerous countries in the world to drive a car. A download link for the full WHO report is at the end of this post.

safetyJohn Cadogan13 November 2010dangerous driving, dangerous countries, road death, road trauma Comment