Nevada driving lesson · Special Driving Conditions
Flash floods
A 3-minute lesson from the Nevada course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Nevada's dry climate is ideal for flash floods, especially during summer storms, spring thaw and prolonged rain. More than half of all flash flood deaths are auto related, and very little water can take control of your car.
Never try to drive through a flooded roadway. Turn around and find another route, or wait until the water subsides. You can't judge the depth, and the road underneath may be washed away.
Floating vehicles drift toward deeper, faster water where escape is harder, and top-heavy vehicles may roll over. Many deaths happen because people wrongly think a vehicle protects them from rising, swift water.
If you're caught anyway, judge whether you can reach higher ground or are better off staying with the vehicle. The only sure rule: turn around and avoid flooded roads in the first place.
After a summer storm, brown water is flowing across a dip in the road. It looks only a few inches deep. Turn around — 6 inches can push a car off the road, and the pavement underneath may be gone.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Less than how much water on a roadway can cause a driver to lose control of their car?
3 inches
6 inches
12 inches
1 inch
Answer: 1 inch
Less than 1 inch of water can cause a driver to lose control.