FLEETDRIVE
Not only can a flood damage your vehicles on the road but inside the facility too. If you have an indoor facility for your fleet, make sure to disconnect all electrical equipment and remove them, if possible.
The Flood Itself
There’ s not much of a difference between driving an EV or petrol engine into a flood— still, it doesn’ t mean cars are invincible to floods.
Generally, it is not recommended to brave the floods with a car, but there are instances where there is no choice. As much as possible, don’ t approach water that appears more than 4 centimetres tall, especially if the water is moving.
Proceed with caution and drive as slowly as possible. Floods obstruct a clear view of the road ahead, meaning you won’ t be able to see bumps, small animals, road depressions or debris while moving forward. Driving slowly also lowers a vehicle’ s risk of aquaplaning across a wet road.
Post-Storm Care
If a fleet vehicle has been flooded, do not start the engine immediately. The vehicle’ s engine may have been flooded. Starting it, electric or not, could harm you or further damage the vehicle. If you’ d like to restart it, make sure to do it under the supervision of a trained technician.
If your facility or office has been flooded, allow it to be drained of any flood water before entering. Stepping in flood water in a building can put you at risk for falling or worse, electrocution.
Assessing The Damage
Document any damages incurred to your vehicle or facilities. Be meticulous with this step— more details and information can help you recuperate your fleet more effectively. Consider the height of the flood water, missing or broken parts, and even discussions with the equipment’ s OEM or your preferred mechanic.
Each vehicle model is unique, so make sure to contact your fleet’ s manufacturer to help your team of technicians assess and fix the damaged vehicle properly. You’ ll also want to check with your insurance company to see what they can cover in regard to your fleet.
A Cycle of Safety
Of course, the job is never done in terms of safety. There’ s always something to improve on. Take what you learned from a scenario, regardless of its success, to build and enhance your disaster response plan. Evaluate what went wrong or right, to what degree, and how you can better prepare for those circumstances in case they arise again.
Heavy rain and storms are becoming more common with the rise in the world’ s temperature. Floods can happen any time and can devastate your fleet overnight, if you’ re not prepared.
ISSUE 53 JUNE 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU 31