Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Mark Cunnington from the NTES about some reminders for driving in Wet Season

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Katie spoke with Mark Cunnington from the NTES about some reminders for driving in Wet Season · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now, over the last few weeks, you will have noticed
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  Speaker 1: that we've caught up a few times with my next guest.
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  Speaker 1: His name is Mark Cunnington and he is the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory Emergency Services Regional Manager of the Northern Division. Good
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  Speaker 1: morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Mark, morning Katie. Good to be back.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, good to see you. And obviously we've been catching
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  Speaker 1: up really to make sure that territorians and those visiting
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  Speaker 1: the territory as well or who've maybe just moved here
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  Speaker 1: are quite prepared come wet season and cyclone season. And
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  Speaker 1: one of the things that you know that we've got
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  Speaker 1: to make sure that we are prepared for is that
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  Speaker 1: flash flooding, the slippery roads and some of those quite
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  Speaker 1: wild things that happened I suppose, or happen on the
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  Speaker 1: roads as a result of the wet weather.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and look, we've had a couple of really good
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  Speaker 2: storms in the last week or so, last Friday and
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  Speaker 2: last night even around the Darwen area yep. And yeah,
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  Speaker 2: something I really noticed on Friday in particular was just
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  Speaker 2: how soapy the roads were around, so very slippery.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, what course is that? Is it because of just.
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  Speaker 2: Oil and stuff coming off cars? Yeah, just a gunknet
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  Speaker 2: that gathers up over the dry season and it takes
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  Speaker 2: a couple of heavy showers to wash it away and
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  Speaker 2: so on, but it makes the roads very slippery. So
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  Speaker 2: checking your vehicle is ready for the wet season, making
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  Speaker 2: sure your tires are good, that they're at the right
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  Speaker 2: inflation level. New wipers on your windscreen. I religiously replaced
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  Speaker 2: mine every year, regardless of how good they might see.
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  Speaker 2: But you know, giving yourself at least a chance to
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  Speaker 2: make your way safely through some of their heavy rain
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  Speaker 2: we have up here is a good start to the season.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, And it's always a good reminder to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that people do know to do all of those things.
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  Speaker 1: Have there been instances like I know that yesterday, for example,
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  Speaker 1: I was dropping the kids out to Marra to sport
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  Speaker 1: and then got caught up in that heavy downpour. And
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  Speaker 1: you do notice that on the road sometimes you end
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  Speaker 1: up with those quite large patches of water that they
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  Speaker 1: do go away pretty quickly, but it certainly changes the
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  Speaker 1: way that you drive.
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  Speaker 2: They can do that, and look, you've really got to
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  Speaker 2: keep an eye out for that sort of stuff, for
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  Speaker 2: water gathering on the sides of roads, in particularly near
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  Speaker 2: drains that may have a bit of rubbish in them
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  Speaker 2: they haven't been cleared out as yet, and sticking away
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  Speaker 2: from the edge of the roads, reducing your speed so
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  Speaker 2: that if you do happen to hit these spots, you're
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  Speaker 2: less likely to be dragged off and into traffic or
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  Speaker 2: into the side of the road or something like that.
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  Speaker 2: We're just slowing down, taking it easy, putting your lights
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  Speaker 2: on so people see you. It's phenomenal the amount of
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  Speaker 2: people that just don't put their lights on in heavy rains.
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  Speaker 1: I was going to say, it sounds like real common
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  Speaker 1: sense stuff, and it's something I've spoken to the police about. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: that's right. It doesn't happen as often as you think,
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  Speaker 1: and it is something that we just need to be
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  Speaker 1: mindful of to make sure that the vehicles around you
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  Speaker 1: can actually see you. Now, with some of that flash
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  Speaker 1: flooding you know, obviously was talking about on the roads there,
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  Speaker 1: but then you go a little bit further into the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the territory environment and look at some of
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  Speaker 1: those flooded waterways. It's something that we do see quite
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  Speaker 1: a bit over the wet season. Throughout the tear have
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  Speaker 1: there been situations where emergency services and indeed even our
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  Speaker 1: fieries and police, I would guess, have had to go
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  Speaker 1: out and rescue people from those floods.
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  Speaker 2: Invariably every season we will in the territory conduct you
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  Speaker 2: probably two or three rescues because people have made a
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  Speaker 2: poor choice, and that poor choice is driving into a
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  Speaker 2: flooded road. You've risked so much by doing that. Fifteen
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  Speaker 2: centimeters of a light moving water will lift a car up.
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  Speaker 2: A fall will drive not just a little Hoyundi type range,
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  Speaker 2: but a fall drive can be lifted and moved by
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  Speaker 2: fifteen centimeters in depth of water. So you're taking your life,
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  Speaker 2: the lives of your friends, family, or otherwise into your
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  Speaker 2: own hands. If you think you're going to get across
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  Speaker 2: a creek crossing or something of floodway safely, just don't
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  Speaker 2: risk it. Most of the water we have up here
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  Speaker 2: drains away very quickly once the rain's go on, So
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  Speaker 2: wait half an hour or so, have your hazard lights
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  Speaker 2: on while you're waiting, and just wait before proceeding past
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  Speaker 2: the point like that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say, what is the advice
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  Speaker 1: like if you are at a at a creek crossing
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  Speaker 1: and you think, oh, I'm not one hundred percent sure
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  Speaker 1: just how high that water is. You know, what is
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  Speaker 1: the advice? Is it better to just be safe than
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  Speaker 1: sorry and not cross?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely? Look, really, just take a breath, take a moment.
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  Speaker 2: If you have to turn around and find an alternate route.
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  Speaker 2: You may find that that crek crossing might be going
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  Speaker 2: out for a little while yet, but in particular around
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  Speaker 2: the day oen air, the water drains off very quickly,
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  Speaker 2: so you're not going to be there for very long,
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  Speaker 2: if at all, so be a little patient. Wait, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: you could affect everything from car insurance to losing your life.
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  Speaker 2: It's just not worth it.
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  Speaker 1: And there has been not so long ago actually in
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  Speaker 1: Alice Springs there, what's that situation where our police, I believe,
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  Speaker 1: our fires and our emergency crews we all had to
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  Speaker 1: hit out there. Yeah, all the volleys had to go
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  Speaker 1: out and rescue that man in Alice Springs who was in.
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  Speaker 2: The flooded hYP So that was a nine hour rescue
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  Speaker 2: just because somebody made a poor choice to drive into
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  Speaker 2: a crossing that was obviously flooded blatantly. So and I
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  Speaker 2: understand possibly even when around people who are putting up
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  Speaker 2: signs blocking the road off. So it puts our people
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  Speaker 2: at risk. It's not an easy job to do. It
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  Speaker 2: takes a lot of planning, experience, training and equipment to
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  Speaker 2: safely rescue somebody from one of these situations. And just
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  Speaker 2: don't put yourself there in the first place, and take
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  Speaker 2: a breath, wait five or ten, whatever it takes, and
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  Speaker 2: you just don't go into flooded.
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  Speaker 1: Roadways, drive to your capabilities, and don't drive across across
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  Speaker 1: those areas that do have plenty of water.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, so cars don't go particularly well underwater, and water
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  Speaker 2: moves so fast, so powerful. This it's phenomenal the amount
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  Speaker 2: of force you have there. And it's just so easy
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  Speaker 2: to get yourself in trouble.
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  Speaker 1: Well. And look, I know that a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: listening this morning who've maybe lived in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: for a long time. It's common sense in a lot
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  Speaker 1: of ways. But then to a lot of other people,
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  Speaker 1: whether you're talking about younger people who maybe haven't had
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  Speaker 1: their license for a long time, or those who have
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  Speaker 1: moved here from interstate, all those that maybe don't sort
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  Speaker 1: of get out of the urban centers very much, it
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  Speaker 1: is actually info that.
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  Speaker 2: You've got to know absolutely, and you know, just look
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  Speaker 2: around the country. Now we have situations in both Queensland
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  Speaker 2: and New South Wales where there's heavy weather, there's flooding.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they've had somewhere in the region of one
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  Speaker 2: hundred and fifty rescues and it's of people who have
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  Speaker 2: decided to drive into flooded conditions. We've had fifty odd
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  Speaker 2: deaths here in the territory, almost all of which have
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  Speaker 2: been because people have decided to drive into flood water.
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  Speaker 2: It's what more can you say? That may seem like
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  Speaker 2: it's a common sense type thing, and you know, there
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  Speaker 2: are all sorts of studies around the country on this
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  Speaker 2: sort of stuff as to why people do things, but
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  Speaker 2: just take a breath, set back for a moment. Don't
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  Speaker 2: drive into floodwaters. Yeah, I can't say it enough. Don't
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  Speaker 2: drive into floodwaters, turn around, don't drown. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Good advice, Very good and sound advice. Mark Cunnington, I
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  Speaker 1: really appreciate your time and your time over the last
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  Speaker 1: few weeks. Love to say that we might not see
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  Speaker 1: each other for a while, but no doubt as the
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  Speaker 1: we may well, but also as the I'm no doubt
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  Speaker 1: that as the wet season really cranks up as well,
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  Speaker 1: and as things get busier as well for emergency services,
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  Speaker 1: we're probably going to hear from you more often than
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  Speaker 1: we have for the last few months.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and look, I'm certainly glad to help and giving
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  Speaker 2: me a good advice that we can to keep people safe.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Mark, always good to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 1: We will catch up with you again once more before Christmas.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time today.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Cattie,