With this spring's flooding in and around Jefferson City, the odds you'll encounter water over roads while driving are considerably higher.
It's probably not that deep, and the current probably not that strong. You can make it.
At least, that voice inside of your head will try to convince you of that. Because, after all, turning around will take more time. It might cause you to be late.
Our advice: Be inconvenienced. Turn around and be safe.
The Missouri Department of Transportation is highlighting a real story of Kate Dougherty, who attempted to drive her shiny white SUV across a road flooded by the swollen waters of the Fabius River in northeast Missouri. In a self-shot Facebook video, she calls the experience a combination of mortification and embarrassment. Though she survived, Dougherty realized she had put her life in danger. And she totaled the car she had purchased just two months ago.
"It was scary," Dougherty said in a MoDOT news release. "It wasn't like a ton of fun to sit on the top of my vehicle for 45 minutes today (and) it was a little bit embarrassing to suddenly see the Marion County Sheriff show up."
Her story is like many others, some of whom were not as fortunate.
MoDOT and other agencies, for years, have implored us not to drive or walk through flood-covered roads. Even roads with a few inches of fast-moving water can sweep a vehicle away.
Vehicles that get caught in flood waters can face hazards other than just from the water, including tree trunks, sharp objects, electrical wires, sewage and chemicals.
Road barriers are put in front of water-covered roads for a reason. And if you encounter a road covered with flood water and see no barrier, alert authorities. Then turn around.
Keep yourself and your loved ones safe, and do what officials have advised for years: "Turn around, don't drown."
News Tribune