Fraser Island

Any crash is a tragedy but when the amount of roads, usage etc are taken into account is the crash rate any where else than the country. I suspect that it will actually be less or or at least on par - I obviously don't have the stats though.

Given the creeks and washouts, I am actually surprised there are not more accidents - we all see idiots but most people (maybe not the tourists) are aware of the hazards and drive accordingly.

No doubt the do-gooders will get on the band wagon and use this as an example to try and have the area restricted further or closed.

Garry

We came home from there yesterday. There was a lot of soft sand driving, and I actually reflected to the wife that you have to be really on your game for this stuff. I mean even getting out of the ruts can be dodgy - too much wheel deflection and when it does happen you would be history.

Even in my week up there there were at least a couple of moments when I was quite busy keeping it all going along well and as intended. It really is quite challenging driving.

I don't think it's a problem with the cars so much, but clearly some would be less prone to it than others.

It really doesn't surprise me this has happened and keeps happening. I just think that it's too much of a skill to be given a lecture on it and thrown in the deep end. We've seen them showing each other how to change gear! Clearly they often lack the experience for this type of thing.

From a quick glimpse of the scene on the news a minute ago it didnt look like a Troopie. May have been a GU?

Edit. Its actually a 100 series

Another sad loss of life...

While a heavily loaded Troopie is going to have a high centre of gravity - as has been pointed out, any 4wd can roll. From my experience with sand driving (1000's of k's) I believe the danger is that it seems so easy...almost anyone can drive on sand with little experience. The problem is that sand isn't a predictable surface - it can be well packed and safe to drive on at 80km, yet only 200 meters on it can only be safe at 40km. Inexperienced drivers, I've observed, get lulled into a false sense of security and don't know how to react when the sand goes soft or there's a hidden washout - and then you have a disaster waiting to happen.

Well I think this is a business issue. If I was one of those hire companies I'd be introducing guides/drivers before they get shut down. It will add to the cost, but employing a youngster who is at least in part there for the lifestyle when spread across 8 backpackers might be doable. I'd bet their vehicles would last better..

Just watched the news and as pete just stated it was actually a 100 series - not a troopy, swerving to avoid a washout, so it looks like it comes down to driver ability rather than the troopy idea.

Shamo

i know how every always sees and talks about the backpackers in there troopys getting bogged but they are not alowed to let there tyres down and the hire company leaves them at 34psi
crazy i no

Bloody hell boys - jump on the bandwagon and make presumptions before we knew the story :)

Quoted from Overlander:

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The last incident on the island was a rollover of a privately owned 200 series driven by a middle aged man

Is your toyota dealer required to ensure that you can drive on a beach before you buy a new 200 series??

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I agree with the above. The company they hired from is one that actually does their best to do everything right. I'd quite happily hire a vehicle off of them if I ever needed too.

Sometimes we're just as bad as politicians jumping on bandwagons ;)

Sorry about the wrong number of fatalities but that was what was reported on one of Brisbane's radio stations.Irrespective, on the TV news some shots of other FWD's were shown and what was on the roofracks certainly looked to make them heavily overloaded....a recipe for disaster on sand.As for getting stuck in ruts that are deep, in the days of no power steering I have seen one driver have a wrist broken when his front wheels were snapped back into the ruts.Hopefully that sort of thing will not happen with modern 4wd's and alloy rims.I will attach of pic of my baptism to sand driving and Fraser.This was taken over 30 years ago,cost me 50 bucks ( lots in those days) to get towed out but taught me my first lesson about beach driving and I'm still learning.
Cheers, John
Disco 44

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Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

Well I think this is a business issue. If I was one of those hire companies I'd be introducing guides/drivers before they get shut down. It will add to the cost, but employing a youngster who is at least in part there for the lifestyle when spread across 8 backpackers might be doable. I'd bet their vehicles would last better..

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Years ago, the wife and I went with a guide and two other couples on a tour from Rainbow, we were safe in the knowledge that we didnt have to worry about driving, and could just relax,, and we had an absolute ball, got shown alll the right places/history etc (day trip only),, Bonus,,got offered a job there on the same day, as as a "lifestyle" type job, would have been awesome,,, too bad I had to much debt back home to worry about,,:(

I work with a factory full of various Asians, and its extremely difficult to convey information to them, and some have been here for over 20 years. I have one or two main guys which I use as interpreters to ensure instructions are adhered to. Its a very hard proccess, and with tourists, I would expect it to be even harder.
Its a complex thing to teach someone how to drive a 4x4 on the sand,,, and remember, they probably only drive a small rice burner in their home country, if they even drive at all. Just because they have an international licence, does not mean they can actually drive, or have had much experience at driving on made roads, let alone sand.

Chops