Standing water warning to Cornish drivers
12:48pm Monday 29th October 2012 in News
By Greg Fountain, Reporter/Photographer
A car squeezes past a van on Swanpool Road this morning, sending water cascading on to the footpath. Picture: Greg Fountain
Motorists are being warned to take care on the county's roads today as ongoing rainfall adds to the downpours we experienced last night.
On some thoroughfares, such as near the junction of Swanpool Road and Silverdale Road (pictured), the surface water has turned the road into a virtual river - with reports of "waves" lapping up against the speed humps along one section.
The news comes as the east coast of the USA hunkers down against what has been dubbed the "Frankenstorm" - a deadly combination of Hurricane Sandy and a winter storm that has caused mass evacuations in New York and the abandonment of the replica tallship HMS Bounty, which was off the coast of North Carolina.
Falmouth's Community Sergeant Gary Watts took to social networking website Twitter this morning, appealing for motorists to drive carefully.
"Lots of standing water on the roads around The Roseland, Truro and Falmouth this morning," he said.
Motorists can lose control of their vehicles if they drive too fast over standing water, as a layer of water between the tyres and the road surface causes a loss of traction through a process known as "aquaplaning."
