Another Area of Stupidity

[Tats]

How Much We Can Learn . . . Always

There's a fair bit of wisdom in all of this. Some time back I was involved with three 4wd clubs at the same time - it was very busy. I owned and drove a Rangie at the time, and one of the clubs suggested that we all go out to Oran Park and take advantage of the Advanced Driver Training programme that was operating there. Having only recently done a 360 on an icy patch on the Jenolan Caves road and very nearly putting the truck over the side, I was particularly interested. I'd driven all sorts of stuff for more years than I could count, and really thought I was bloody good. But this proved I was only having myself on. The course was great, and we learned so much and came away feeling far more responsible and proficient in the way we drove. What was interesting was that we were mixed up with normal sedans. The course finished with a few circuits of the track at whatever speed we felt comfortable with. Rangies are very quick, and it was incredible to see the looks on the faces of the sedan blokes as they diced with 2 tonne 4 wheel drives cornering at high speed and "burning them off" on the straights. Yes late model 4bees can easily keep up with the traffic. My little diesel Cherokee can accelerate very quickly, has a reasonable top speed, is steady on its feet, has good braking, and can tow up to 2.8 tonnes. I'm happy, and I don't need to prove anything!

Tats

 

[Tats]

Nice view from your yard Tats..may need to improve the road with some home made speed humps..

We've already got them, Mate, they're called "roundabouts", but you must be careful 'cose some have a strange looking post in the middle of them with reflective stuff for some reason.

Tats

 

[grit]

............Then I found out that 3 other people had had similar 1st impressions from him. Some people just don't learn. U shoulda seen his face as I shook hands with nearly everyone else.

I don't condone his actions nor the reaction. As a friend of either or both parties I would not have allowed you to hit him nor allowed him to get away with anything less than a real apology. There are laws and regulations regarding the use of PWC's within 200M of the shoreline (atleast here in NSW) that refer to irregular driving which means they are to drive generally in straight lines within those areas.

Generally people only stop doing the wrong thing when they accept ownership & responsibility & are held accountable for their actions.

 

[grit]

Nice view Tats... Some of our more scenic drives incorporate "slow points", though I agree you will always get the guy that sees them as nothing less than a challenge.

 

[Tats]

A Price to Pay

Yeah Grit, I suppose in some vague way its similar to the challenge of climbing a difficult rock ledge, or burrowing through a boggy track, but I suppose I'd like to think that we achieve this with relative safety and respect for the environment and those around us. I flipped a Rangie once in Dingo Dell while going up one of the short, sharp and slippery hills that is, or used to be, there; part of the reason was because another 4wd had come to the bottom of the hill and had started up behind me, and blocked my escape route. Had I tried to descend in reverse I would have badly damaged his vehicle, he didn't move, so I tried an alternative action with a terrible result. I guess we all do stupid things, and that was mine! The bill of $10k and a terrible drive home in wet and rainy conditions with no glass in place and a badly crushed in roof was a hard lesson to learn. Not to forget the feeling of panic over the wellbeing of my bride - but she was ok. It made me wiser I hope!

Tats

 

[Sharky]

I don't condone his actions nor the reaction. As a friend of either or both parties I would not have allowed you to hit him nor allowed him to get away with anything less than a real apology. There are laws and regulations regarding the use of PWC's within 200M of the shoreline (atleast here in NSW) that refer to irregular driving which means they are to drive generally in straight lines within those areas.

Generally people only stop doing the wrong thing when they accept ownership & responsibility & are held accountable for their actions.

Oh he got the idea. Next time he might realise the ownership & responsibility thing before he acts. Normally I wouldn't have wacked him & I don't condone violence either but his arrogant reaction & intimidating body language made the name calling the straw that broke the camels back.

It was a PWC area & we have an 8knot freestyle exclusion zone within 50M of shore over here. If I had done something to that effect I would IMMEDIATELY give a voluntary apology. No crap man he SOAKED everyone & everything in a 30m radius. Not to mention the 5 or 6 children under 2y/o that could have been hurt.

Anyhoo......it was just a similar experience on another vehicular topic.

 

[Sharky]

There's a fair bit of wisdom in all of this. Some time back I was involved with three 4wd clubs at the same time - it was very busy. I owned and drove a Rangie at the time, and one of the clubs suggested that we all go out to Oran Park and take advantage of the Advanced Driver Training programme that was operating there. Having only recently done a 360 on an icy patch on the Jenolan Caves road and very nearly putting the truck over the side, I was particularly interested. I'd driven all sorts of stuff for more years than I could count, and really thought I was bloody good. But this proved I was only having myself on. The course was great, and we learned so much and came away feeling far more responsible and proficient in the way we drove. What was interesting was that we were mixed up with normal sedans. The course finished with a few circuits of the track at whatever speed we felt comfortable with. Rangies are very quick, and it was incredible to see the looks on the faces of the sedan blokes as they diced with 2 tonne 4 wheel drives cornering at high speed and "burning them off" on the straights. Yes late model 4bees can easily keep up with the traffic. My little diesel Cherokee can accelerate very quickly, has a reasonable top speed, is steady on its feet, has good braking, and can tow up to 2.8 tonnes. I'm happy, and I don't need to prove anything!

Tats

The rangies have too much horsepower & not enuf low rev torque. That coupled with their susp geometry does make them dizzy wizzy easier than other 4x4's.

Like u Tats, I've driven or raced many things. I know my limits & I know I can out drive 98% of people. But even the best of us make mistakes......an unforseen occurence in a split second can wipe u out. It's when u r not prepared for it, u don't have time to think of the right reaction. I've done 2 advanced driver courses, 1 was a 4x4 course 2 yrs ago that taught me nothing I didn't know, the other was a skid control & high speed handling course when I was 17 that taught me a lot of principals that I've applied to all kinds of driving.

 

[Tats]

Do The Course

Yeah Sharkey, the course that I did covered braking, skid control, you know, the usual that also teaches handling at high speed how to avoid clowns (hats) on wet roads, etc., there was no 4wding at all, only blacktop stuff. It was way back in around 1985/86 (when Haley's comet whizzed close to earth) we had set off along the Jenolan Caves Road very early in the morning on our way to the camp site out near Oberon. I suppose I may have been travelling a little too fast, but, well, I was in a Range Rover (tut-tut old boy, etc.). The road was intermittently covered with ice and was very slippery. I came around a bend, hit the ice, reacted badly and spun out of control. The only thing that stopped the car from going over a very long drop was a short, fat, white post (God bless it!). It grabbed the passenger side of the bullbar and stopped us in our tracks. I think it was about a week or ten days later that I booked in for and started the course (from memory it went over 2 or 3 weekends?). I don't care how good people think they can handle a car, or what sort of vehicle they drive, it should be a must for all to do one of these courses. The sobering thought is that I could have killed myself and my wife and kids that day, and yet I'd been driving all types of vehicles for around 30 years! And I thought I knew it all. ALL YOU OTHER EXPERTS OUT THERE - DO THE COURSE, you won't regret it and it might save your life and that of your loved ones. The spin off is that it actually helps with your 4wding as well!!!

Tats

 

[4X4]

Good advice Tats.

 

[grit]

I'm constantly amazed at the number of guys who compare themselves as 'better drivers than most out there' and state that they are self taught and not needing any additional training. Its not always our ability to control a vehicle, but knowing to expect the unexpected. Cater for the errors of others and always have an escape route (although as Tats has shown above, you can't always rely on the intelligence of others to keep that option viable). I have mentioned on this forum previously that on one occasion I had to simply stop and walk back to a vehicle descending too closely behind me to educate him of the dangers. He was in a soft roader with a car full of kids and by the expression on his face in my mirrors, he was clearly out of his depth.

 

[4X4]

Good point you make grit. I have found with novices, they try to keep up to see what is going on. Yes, you can learn by watching others but it is much safer to travel at a speed your comfortable with and keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

 

[Tats]

In the beginning . . .

When our kids were learning to drive, the bride and I made a decision as to what type of vehicles they were allowed to own until we were satisfied that they had acquired some competence behind the wheel . . . slow, solid old 4wds. These vehicles kept them alive through a number of skirmishes on the hi-ways and by-ways, and they also learned the proper approach to 4wding and environmental preservation in the bush. This doesn't mean that they were angels though, but it preserved them.

Tats

 

[grit]

I got the bits to build my first bike from the tip... cost me nothing.

Paid $32.00 for my first car with 12 months rego & 4 new tyres - used the rego up and sold it for spares. Well the mechanical bits - The advance driver training course we set out on the farm had taken its toll on all body panels including the roof. The body was almost unrecognisable.