One of the most annoying aspects of the 20 July floods was the amount of irresponsible driving. There were numerous cases where the flood level was increased by large waves produced when cars were driven too quickly through the flood waters. The pictures below shows a prime example.
In the first picture (above) the red car is approaching the Denchworth Road bridge over Letcombe Brook (white railing behind the guy in the centre right). The car is generating a clear bow wave - apparently with little regard for people nearby.
The red car has now crossed the bridge over Letcombe Brook and appears to have accelerated; certainly it was generating a larger bow wave (notice that the number plate is now obscured by the bow wave). The wave is running up against the houses on the south side of Denchworth Road.
Another example comes from Vale Avenue. Here a white van was driven west-to-east through deep water at a high speed, generating huge waves that caused huge alarm to residents and threatened still-dry houses. The driver had ignored a warning sign erected at the western end of the flooded section but was forced to stop by parked cars at the eastern end (see picture left). He then received good telling-off from residents. |
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