VideoToowoomba floods. Parking lot wiped out

Watch all five minutes to get the full effect including the dude who looked like he might win an Einstein award.

very impressive

That is very impressive. The lady talking in the back ground was saying that the guy was letting the air out of his tires,if I'm not mistaken, I think that he was locking in his hubs. I wonder why other people didn't save their vehicles, surely they had to hear that it was flooding at the back of the building?

Wow, the pile of cars at the end was shocking.
-Blast

More flood coverage

He's not even a runner-up candidate; the water wasn't over his quarter panels yet. I think he did good. He could have moved it earlier, but he was definitely not pushing the capability of his Rover.

Six inches of rain in half an hour... Toowoomba, a town sitting in the caldera of an ancient volcano...

Personally, if I'm trying to get my Rover (or whatever) out of that situation, I'd forget the umbrella and messing with the tires, and just GET OUT! Releasing air from the tires may give better traction, but it also lowers your chassis deeper into the flood waters, so it's more likely to stall.

It Won't Happen Here.
It Won't Happen to Me.
Sure, I Can Get Across the Flood.
If I Hit It Fast, the Momentum Will Get Us Across.
Are the Kids Strapped In?

Twelve dead, so far.

Sue

IMO he was locking his front wheel hubs. Releasing air would have taken more time and since he wasn't in mud it wouldn't really buy him anything. Going to 4WD was a smart move. IMO, FWIW. . . $.02

His Car has a snorkel Thing on it there for im sure he knew abit more about what he was doing since he most likely goes threw water often enough to need a snorkel.

Yea, it only makes sense that if your vehicle is unwillingly leaving the road you would definitely want all four tires pulling, so I'm thinking the guy had his head in the right place. Even if he was letting air from his tires he let about a Hummingbird's poot worth.

When they review the tape up in the booth I am sure they will conclude he was locking in his front hubs.

It was a Nissan Patrol and he was locking the hubs. If here were a little bit late he would have no chance to walk up close to the vehicle as the water was very fast and rising more than ankle deep.

That vehicle will not float easily, but we should not compare this situation with casual off-road wading or fording. There is a huge amount of fast moving water involved.

He used his chance to be there on time and do the right thing to save his vehicle. 30 seconds later the black BMW next to his Nissan began to drift slowly by the force of the flood and the two other cars that strated pushing it.

I often cross moving water with my Land Rover and it can be very tricky to keep control of the vehicle while doing it.

Yeap, the guy in the Nissan is locking his hubs so he can get into 4WD. Very close call though.