It’s usually not a safe idea to drive through a puddle, especially if its depth is a mystery. If you’re lucky, powering through water won’t result in nasty effects like hydrolock and other mechanical or electrical damage. That was obviously at top of mind for the driver of a Ford Mondeo who had to cross a flooded roadway, although they took steps to minimize the risk of hydrolocking their engine, albeit in an unconventional manner.
A video on the Facebook page “Vehicles Vs Water” shows the Ford Mondeo in reverse just before it plunges into the fast-moving water flooding the road. The driver of the Mondeo, which appears to be a 2010 through 2014 model year liftback, accelerates in reverse toward the water, tapping the brakes a few times, perhaps in hesitation, before taking the full plunge.
The back end hits the water first, churning the dirty floodwater as the entire vehicle charges in. The back end appears to drift slightly as it hits the deepest part of the flood, but the driver does not lose control even as the vehicle bobs a tiny bit. They continue through the water, keeping the accelerator down.
After a tense few seconds with both axles submerged, the Ford Mondeo hits an incline and exits the flood unharmed. Driving in reverse might not be every driver’s first instinct when crossing water, but the risk worked in this Mondeo’s favor.
It’s unclear who captured the footage of the Mondeo crossing the flooded road, but the funnier possibility is that the cameraman was a passenger in the liftback, which means the driver sent them across the river on foot to record the stunt. They’re lucky it went viral instead of becoming evidence in an insurance claim.
The driver of a Ford Explorer wasn’t so lucky when they backed too far down a boat ramp. The crossover took on more water than they intended it to, and is probably going to be a mess to clean out. A Ford F-150 met a watery demise when its driver decided to take a puddle at highway speeds, promptly hydroplaning directly into a barrier.
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