Your car can't swim!

Since it finally started raining again in Tucson after a week of wondering whether the monsoon would ever return, the fire department has been involved in two swift water rescues, one that saved a woman's life, one that was unable to find the victim.
Every year when it rains there are spectacular accidents when Tucsonans go hydroplaning out of control because they don't realize the effect that a thin layer of water has on a previously-dry road that is covered in oil and particles. It turns the city into a slip and slide. Then trucks go speeding by, banking on 4 wheel drive and sheer jerk-fueled power to save them and the rest of us are left drenched by walls of water, or swerving to get out of their way.Some people seem to refuse to turn on their headlights during the 'day', regardless of how dark and cloudy it gets.
And some people drive into washes.
It just seems to me that if it's rainy season, you should be really careful in low-lying areas. If you're driving as slowly as you should be when approaching a wash, you will be less likely to get stuck. In both cases where the TFD had to go out and try to save people, the barricades weren't up. You can't rely on the city to go out in the middle of the night and put a flashing sign next to rivers so that you won't drive into them. Unless you have a James Bond car that turns into a submarine, keep your eyes open.