Posted in Defensive Driving, Safety
Alice Springs 4WD Training After Rain
Alice Springs recieved some welcome rain and by chance we were running a 4WD course so we had water on the road and a few mud holes. The best bit no dust and the rain had flattened out the corrugations so the roads were pretty smooth, but lots of flies.
Let’s face it, driving in the NT is exciting! It is the freedom of the open roads and the challenging road conditions. But you are not a racing car driver and it isn’t what your work vehicle was made for. Pot holes, corrugations and wandering stock don’t make for good racing conditions. So if you do have racing car driver fantasies, leave them where they belong, as part of your dreams.
Unfortunately as the website http://transport.nt.gov.au/ tells us ‘road crashes are the most common cause of work-related fatalities, injuries and absences from work. In the Northern Territory, 32 per cent of work related deaths were traffic incidents.’
It is not all bad news, you can do something. As an employer you can put together a straight forward safe driving policy to protect your workers. As an employee, follow it to keep yourself safe. At Train Safe NT our safe driving policy is about these five things.
- Preparation. Got it? Check! Working? Check!
- Communication that works, always! Where are you? Phone home!
- Laws, follow them. Don’t be a bloody idiot!
- Alert and Assess. Stay on top of the conditions. Check out that river crossing. Don’t take unnecessary risks. Watch out for fatigue. Take mandatory scheduled breaks.
- Respond and Report, in the unfortunate event of...
An important thing is to know your vehicle. It pays to get refresher training. There is always something new to learn or something to brush up on. Check out 4WD courses in the NT Or get in touch if you would like a copy of our safe driving policy. Hope to see you soon. Stay Safe!
If you are driving a 4WD around the Alice Springs region you will encounter plenty of sand, sandy roads or bush tracks. Watch this 12 second video you will learn allot about sand driving. The trick is to put the vehicle in 4WD and keep the momentum up, stopping or cornering will increase the chance of getting stuck. Keep your revs at about 2000-2500 in maybe 2nd gear, if you get stuck you can drop your tire pressure to maybe 20 PSI but do not drive greater than 40km/h with this pressure. Slow down for corners but keep revs up. The tires may get hot so check them every 15 minutes if they feel hot rest the vehicle.
Barkly mud near Tennant Creek.