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31/10/2011, 16:30
By MURRAY HUBBARD
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There was more than a small amount of irony when the small jet landed at Mt Hotham to ferry us back to Sydney after a day of driving Nissan off-roaders on Victoria’s Dargo High Plains.
The jet was piloted by a young female in a career dominated by men. The exercise with Nissan was aimed at highlighting a recent phenomena: women who drive Nissan’s X-Trail in particular are seeking out 4WD courses to learn more about their vehicle, its capabilities and where it can take them.
Just like the young pilot who entered the male-dominated profession women are now no longer just happy to occupy the passenger seat of all wheel drive and four wheel drive vehicles. Nissan selected tracks near Mt Hotham which provided an excellent starting point to some of the most beautiful four wheel drive tracks - graded from easy to extremely difficult - in Australia.
Organising the event on the opening day of the Victorian Alps 4WD season was Four Wheel Drive Victoria, the peak body that represents four wheel drive interests in Victoria as a training, management, lobby and organisational group. Recently FWDV started Women’s 4X4 Driver Training, a course identical to the existing proficiency courses run by the body. So why have a course the same, yet specifically for women?
“We found that during driver training the women relax a lot more if their partner is not sitting in the back seat,” said FWDV CEO, Russell Sturzaker. “No one likes to make a mistake with their partner looking on, so this eliminates that potential pressure allowing the driver to concentrate fully on the course.”
FWDV started the women-only courses and was surprised to find that women who drove the X-Trail were enrolling. The X-Trail is an all wheel drive vehicle that normally spends the majority of its time as mum’s taxi or Saturday’s shopping trolley. It is one of the more capable ‘soft’ roaders with selectable all wheel drive and a body height that allows it to be used on many bush tracks without damaging the underbody. “ Women were ringing up saying ‘I have an X-Trail, does that qualify,” said Mr Sturzaker.
Nissan supplied X-Trail, Pathfinder and Patrol vehicles for the day-long exercise with the X-Trail given the job of getting us to the incredibly beautiful lunch stop at Talbotville, via the Dargo High Plains Road then dropping into the valley, including a couple of river crossings. After a hand-winching lesson and lunch we left the X-Trails and drove off in Pathfinder and Patrols to tackle some of the more serious tracks. Significantly, this was not a male-only motoring writer event. There were female 4WD journalist and lifestyle writers also along for the ride - and they were not content to sit in the passenger seat.
The exercise highlights more than just the concept of female four wheel drivers. With the increasing number of grey nomads and long weekender city-escapees it is making more sense to have two capable drivers in any one vehicle. Sharing the driving load reduces the chance of driver fatigue. So courses that develop skills for driving 4WDs such as towing, braking and handling add to the safety factor.
Secondly, in the event of the primary driver suffering an illness - such as a heart attack - or injury while in an isolated corner of this vast land, it may be necessary for the passenger to hop into the driver’s pew and head to the nearest hospital. Having completed a training course in sand-driving, winching, use of snatch straps, using low range transmissions, rock-hopping, key starts and stalls and then getting behind the wheel to put that theory and practical training into practice provides a back-up should things go pear-shape. That there are dangers in operating a 4WD off-road go without saying. When it is understood five people have been killed in Australia in 2011 from snatch-strap mishaps, 4WD training starts to make a lot of sense. A snatch-strap is a large, elasticised rope used by one 4WD to ‘snatch’ or spring free a second 4WD, usually bogged in sand. Accidents resulting in injury from snatch-straps are avoidable, but far too common.
For those wishing to know more go to 4WDV website: www:fwdvictoria.org.au. In other states most 4WD clubs and private 4WD trainers provide accredited training courses. mister-cars.com highly recommends these courses to everyone who has bought their first 4WD and intends to head off-road. |
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