Drive and Recover a 4WD Vehicle Low Range Sand Course

For most of us, finding out about how to use a product is just part of the many challenges in life. Sometimes we are able to work it out for ourselves and sometimes we are either not able or have not got the time to spend nutting out the details. But when you or your family’s life is put at risk, is it really worth it?

Driving a 4WD vehicle to most is yet another challenge. To drive a 4WD or off road capable vehicle efficiently requires skill and in order to develop such skill there are techniques that need to be practised. The use of incorrect techniques develops into poor skills and improper practices. Poor driving habits in either a two-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicle can unknowingly increase your maintenance costs considerably, but in the case of the 4WD, the repercussions can be expensive, and at most - life threatening.

To drive a vehicle off road requires a set of entirely different skills to those required to drive on road. Ideally, to travel off road reliably, the vehicle that is most effective is a four-wheel drive with a low range gear in the transfer case. This enables the vehicle to be driven at a very slow pace allowing for the suspension and tyres to cope with the varying conditions.

Today greater emphasis is placed on the ‘duty of care’ that the driver of a motor vehicle, whether two- wheel drive or four wheel drive, must acknowledge, be it in a domestic situation, in the workplace or in recreational activities. Passing your driving test to get your license demonstrates that you have an appreciation of the road rules and that you are able to operate the vehicle for which the license is to be issued. However when it comes to operating a 4WD vehicle in off road and often varied environs ,a different type of Course is required to teach you how to handle most potential off road hazards.

Below are just five driving hazards that as a driver we are not equipped for just because we hold a Driver’s License –

Vehicle - Tyres (blow/out/puncture)
Load (incorrect distribution)
Speed
Mechanical (oils, suspension etc)
Road -    Dry Roads
Wet Roads
Graded Roads
Gradients (ascents, descents, cambers)
Traffic -   Volume (size, speed, direction)
Weather -Dry
Wet
Wind
Light-     Day
Night
Dusk/Sunrise

For this reason undertaking a post License Driver Training Course is the next step to take. The Course will cover much of the above and those that undertake such courses clearly demonstrate that they are taking a responsible approach to the privilege of holding a Drivers License.

Post License Driver Training is being undertaken regularly and timely by many Government Departments and in Industry generally today by the operators of all types of motor vehicles as their genuine commitment to safe work practices.

Motorists who drive a 4WD vehicle are operating a vehicle that is anywhere between 500-1500kg heavier, wider and much larger in size, with a higher centre of gravity, than a two -wheel drive vehicle. A post-license course for the 4WD owner will provide a better appreciation of the vehicle’s capabilities as well as the drivers own. It will develop an understanding of driver responsibility and Bush Defensive Driving techniques. It will encourage you to drive in such a way as to prevent being involved in an accident regardless of the action of others or adverse driving conditions. Too often, vehicles (and people) are damaged due to inexperience or lack of appreciation of potential hazards.

A well planned post-license Training Course in off road defensive driving techniques will explain the reasoning behind the techniques and methods taught, and should include –

Drivers’ Responsibilities
Obstacle awareness ( recognition and negotiation)
Wheelprinting (being able to judge where the tyres need to go to maintain traction and then being able to place the tyres where you want - both front axle and rear axle
Stall Recovery
Hill ascent and descent
Vehicle maintenance
Trip preparation

An Off Road (Bush) Defensive Driver Training Course will allow you to progress through a series of obstacles that will gradually build your range and level of off road driving skills. This will offer you experience in a variety of difficult conditions under instruction without endangering you, your vehicle or the environment. Undertaking such a responsible approach to owning a 4WD will save off road travellers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over future years of travel.

At Australian 4WD Driver Training Centres, ‘off road’ Courses are conducted regularly. The Course undertaken has been designed and written by Australian 4WD (the first such course to be written and registered in Queensland) to meet the needs of the fast growing 4WD Industry. The Course is Nationally Accredited and complies with every aspect of environmental issues together with Workplace, Health and Safety requirements. The Course is available to all facets of the Community. It provides a common sense approach to off road driving enabling the 4WD operator the opportunity to build confidence in his/her own ability, and that of their vehicle.

The refinement of our Training Procedures and the success of the Course content has encouraged Australian 4WD Driver Training to expand across Queensland to Centres in –

Brisbane South (Kooralbyn)
Brisbane North (Dayboro)
Gold Coast
Rockhampton
Mackay
Townsville

To provide both theoretical and practical training to learners engaged in 4WD off road driving
To provide a structured learning program that is competency based and flexible in application
To provide a progressive introduction to the mechanical workings of a 4WD vehicle drivetrain and how that applies off road.

Obstacle identification
Accident prevention,
Safety procedures around four wheel drive vehicles,
Care, maintenance and the use of four wheel drive retrieval equipment, including total vehicle retrieval.

All in all, undertaking an Off Road (4WD) Defensive Driver Training Course is an investment in your future. Your vehicle will last longer; the driver will have less stress to deal with during the performance of his duties ; and the damage rate and down time rate will be considerably reduced. And saving the cost of just one tyre being damaged has paid for the Driving Course?