Good Driving Ethics Help Keep Trails Open For All

Last Updated (Tuesday, 17 June 2008 14:31) Written by Tom Severin Tuesday, 17 June 2008 14:16

Summer is here, and for many off-road enthusiasts, that means spending even more time on the numerous trails and paths available to us. This is a good time to review the code of ethics that all conscientious drivers live by. Sometimes we become a bit complacent, and forget the fundamentals that have guided drivers for years.

Read more: Good Driving Ethics Help Keep Trails Open For All

A Difficult Extraction

Last Updated (Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:39) Written by Tom Severin Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:34

It was a wet Sunday in March. From time to time snow squalls would blow through coating the vehicles but melting as soon as it toughed the ground. Occasionally the sun would peek out. Normally hard-baked clay trails with traction like slick rock had become slick and greasy. I had been picking the more sandy trails for my class of new enthusiasts. It was about 3:45 PM and I had just shifted to 2WD in preparation to lead the beginning class out of the Park when the last vehicle in our group was intercepted by a vehicle looking for help. A Toyota land cruiser had flipped over. Fortunately no one was injured.

Read more: A Difficult Extraction

The Desert Is Not Your Personal Sandbox

Last Updated (Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:45) Written by Tom Severin Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:19

You’ve heard the old saying many times: Haul it in and haul it out. That generally applies to trash, but more places now require that visitors carry out their human waste as well. In some, you don’t have any choice. In the Moab, UT area and on the Rubicon Trail, for example, the ground is so rocky that it’s impossible to dig even a small hole.

Read more: The Desert Is Not Your Personal Sandbox

Hanging on Vehicles

Last Updated (Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:39) Written by Administrator Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:29

One of our beliefs is relying on your normal instinct to cope with off-road situations is generally wrong. You have to learn a new set of behaviors. We see it time & again: people instinctively grab onto or jump onto a vehicle to prevent it tipping or rolling over.