Thread: 7 injured in 4WD rollover on Fraser Island - Here we go again...

Some times... stuff happens.

Thats why those fruitcakes that believe that any fatality is avoidable and unacceptable are in dreamy land.

**** they look bad... any idea how they happened?

Originally Posted by catfishman

It's a tough call to start banning everything, where would you start and finish ?

Saw this on the Lasseter Hwy last week, The Toyota drivers were both Aussies (the prado guy was from Brisbane) and the Defender was rolled by a lady on Sandy Blight Junction. She, her husband and 2 kids walked away with scratches and then drove the Defender a further 400k to Yulara.

It's hard to legislate against bad luck, accidents and peoples stupidity, but seeing the effects of that head on certainly slowed me up and made me take a little bit more care - perhaps showing gruesome pics to ppl who hire 4wds on fraser is a start?

Originally Posted by rmp

Every time this happens the people involved are described as morons or similar by others who are experienced offroaders and cannot imagine how anyone could not know how to drive safely on a beach, because it's so obviously just a case of lack of intelligence. Presumably, smart people could work out how to beach drive without being taught, or have worked it all out from a quick briefing and a read of a manual.

Don't confuse ignorance with stupidity.

It's easy to criticise a complete newbie when you've grown up in Australia, been driving here for years and know your way around 4WDs.

What's obvious to you is not obvious to, say, Europeans. It works both ways, I've seen Aussies try and drive on German autobahns, or handle Parisian traffic or parking. Hopeless until they learn how. In this case it seems the drivers were Aussies, but the same principle applies, beach driving is a skill that needs to be learned. Sometimes experts forget how far advanced they are.

Try learning any new physical skill with an element of danger and see how long it takes before you do something "stupid" out of ignorance. Having spent a lot of time teaching flying and driving, I suggest it won't be long.

The real solution here, as with almost any road safety issue, is better driver training. That'll drive up costs and reduce the number of people who self-drive, but rather that than more bodies strewn along a beach.

I totally agree...these things can just sometimes also be accidents and unfortunate circumstances.
Ian is a fairly capable off roader he has been doing it for years on various different terrains from sand, rocks, mud snow and Ice to wet grass and dirt roads....he is a very safe slow and cautious driver most of the time.

But for anyone that followed my story in LRE we very nerly rolled our new defender it was VERY close....on the gove track and we were doing less than 60kph

So just cause someone rolls a car doesn't mean there morons or tools they could of been just as experienced as you guys but got caught out at the wrong time by something out of the ordinary.

Can happen to anyone of us AFAIC.......no body is invincible from accident or injury..just some of us do better at avoiding for longer

Originally Posted by JamesH

If you want some photographic evidence for what RMP is on about, feel free to visit my gallery. My beach driving lesson cost me 9 grand, nobody hurt thankfully. I had read the threads here, googled, had my recovery gear, lowered the pressures and was tootling along at nice speed in low third. What happened was my wheels weren't set straight ahead and all of a sudden I got more front wheel grip and turned straight into a rock.

I'm not saying I'm not stupid I'm just saying I didn't know I was being stupid at the time. I wasn't cutting up full of grog and ten mates in the back, I was tootling and did a silly thing out of ignorance.

CDL was in ?

I have been to Fraser a few times now and my family and I are always suprised at how the rented out troopies full of back packer drive around. They show lack of respect for other drivers and there surroundings. Yes accidents happen but when you see how these back packers drive there is no excuse. Yes not all back packers are the same and there are locals that do stupid stuff also but I feel there should be a limit on people per vehicle. A troopy at the best of time is a mission to drive , let alone full of screaming tourists and a roof rack full of gear. Last time I was there I helped out some of these backpackers that were bogged and found that his tyres has 40psi. He was told not to lower them unless he had to. He didnt know how to use the provided tyre gauge.
More traininng, less idiots per car and lower speed limits .
Thats my opinion....shoot me if Im wrong

Originally Posted by Noki 3.9

More traininng, less idiots per car and lower speed limits .
Thats my opinion....shoot me if Im wrong

So, if they are idiots, what makes you think that if you lowered the speed limit they would abide by it and slow down?

Why not make them 20kph then? Surely no one would be injured at that speed?

The problem is inappropriate speed for the conditions/skill level, and I really think unless you make the speed 20k and enforce it with the hand of Zeuss the same things will keep happening. Oh - except people that are capable of knowing how fast to drive will then have to crawl along and take twice as long to get anywhere. Aaargh...

Originally Posted by Noki 3.9

Last time I was there I helped out some of these backpackers that were bogged and found that his tyres has 40psi. He was told not to lower them unless he had to. He didnt know how to use the provided tyre gauge.
More traininng, less idiots per car and lower speed limits .
Thats my opinion....shoot me if Im wrong

You're not suggesting this guy was an idiot for following the instructions, which were wrong, or not knowing how to use a pressure gauge?

I said More training, less idiots per car and lower speed limits . Not......
[QUOTE=Captain_Rightfoot;1066825]So, if they are idiots, what makes you think that if you lowered the speed limit they would abide by it and slow down?

The real danger is the overloaded backpackers that dont have a clue and are driving rusted out top heavy troopies with roof racks full of gear and at least 8 or more passengers.

Morton and Stradbroke dont have the same problems as Fraser.