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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/27/2025 in all areas

  1. As part of having available content for all new comers, I thought of creating the safety briefing in writing here. I have not re-invented the wheel but merely put in writing what the guys share in every drive, with slight inputs from my side. Thought it could help the newer members and maybe used as a link for all drives. I suggest all members to go through the below as key messages for every drive and for the more senior members to provide feedback if I missed out on anything. I will keep updating it through iterations based on feedback until it becomes a framework that we can use for all drives moving forward. Hope this helps @Carnity! The below safety briefing has been structured under different categories as follows: A- Vehicle and Passengers: All items in the vehicle are firmly strapped, always! Unnecessary items to be removed from the vehicle prior to the drive. Passengers to always have their seat belts on. We have seen passengers that get car sick, especially in Fewbie and above drives, so please check if your passenger(s) can handle the roller coaster feeling experienced in drives, prior to inviting them. B- Communication: Communication language is English, always. Use long and clear sentences while communicating as one- or two-words communications are not comprehensible in radio transmissions. Identify who you are by name, car number, car model and color or else the convoy would be visually looking at who got stuck, and this could be difficult if the convoy is between multiple dunes. Use the radio button wisely by making sure that you press the button 1 second before you speak, and you release the button after the last word to ensure all your sentence has been transmitted. It is critical to validate the channel being used for the drive and to conduct a radio check message prior to the start of the drive. As a safety measure, this is the reason why all leads call out the members one by one to form the convoy and to ensure that their radios are working properly. C- Flags: Flags are the ultimate visual communication between convoy vehicles, used to pass on the message on the difficulty of the terrain being tackled and the nature of the terrain whether flat or bouncy. Flags tell you everything you need to know about the inclination and the slope that the vehicle in front of you is going through, so make sure you always watch the flags. Shaking flags mean a bouncy terrain as one example! Flags are the best indicator for the location of the vehicle in front of you when crossing an obstacle. You would not want to enter a bowl or descend a dune if the flag indicates the car is still very close by. D- Gravity: “Do not Fight Gravity” is the sentence you will hear throughout your entire career in off-roading. This is the ultimate rule, and it determines the fundamental relationship between us and the desert. If your vehicle is telling you that it cannot climb anymore, please listen to it as the alternative, which is listening to your ego, might get you in potentially dangerous situations. Fighting gravity means trying to keep going up when the car is telling you to go down. Fighting gravity means fishtailing which is a sign that the vehicle has lost momentum and only some engine power is keeping the nose up. Avoid these situations as they are potentially dangerous in some cases. Gas does not get you across obstacles, but momentum does. Remember this statement! The further you advance in your off-roading career the more realize that gravity is either your best friend or your worst enemy. What differentiates one from the other is your ego. << Please remember this golden rule. >>> E- Vehicle Positioning: Do not overtake other vehicles in the convoy even if the vehicle in front of you got a refusal or is stuck. If the vehicle in front of you had to go down a dune to re-attempt, you follow the same track as the vehicle in front of you. If you cannot stop the vehicle in a safe manner and you need to come closer to the vehicle in front of you, always take the lower track and never stop above a stuck vehicle, the chances of slipping down on a stuck vehicle and having an accident is quite high with sand. When having to stop your vehicle, always calculate a smooth re-start point and do not stop on an incline as you will not have enough momentum to climb an incline and will probably end up digging yourself in. Sudden braking on the sand would only dig you in, with time try to find the braking balance to make sure you get the vehicle to a stop in a smooth manner. Braking on a slope while the vehicle is moving down might result in a pop-out situation especially at lower tyre pressures. Try to avoid sudden and strong brakes when descending and improve your steering and throttle skills while going down. You would be surprised what little gas does to help you steer slight left or right while going down F- Driving Etiquette: For every obstacle, try to leave the dune as best as you found it. It is always good for pictures to step on the gas and see the sand splashing, but this only makes the track more difficult for the vehicles behind you. This is a typical scenario for the high-powered vehicles as they can plow the dunes if they want to. Just Enough Power: With time, try to challenge yourself as you advance to overcome obstacles with minimal sand splashing or wheel spinning. The optimal entry and exit of every obstacle is to flow through it with minimal to no disturbance to the sand. This is easier said than done, but try to challenge yourself, drive after drive. When you see a recovery situation, it is part of good team spirit to help whether it is through shoveling or any other task that can help the situation, aligned with the support and lead members’ instructions. When your car is stuck, it is always courteous to go down and give a hand to the members trying to help as they are trying to help YOU at the end of the day and the sight of staying in the car while everyone else is trying to help is not a good one, as part of appreciation. G- Aligning with Instructions: As part of a convoy, when the lead and/or the support are trying to manage a recovery situation it is always important to have all vehicles stopped and to minimize any vehicle movement unless critically important. In a recovery situation, the terrain must be clear for the lead and support members to act efficiently and effectively. The instructions being communicated in a recovery situation are an opportunity of learning for all members, and this is why leads and support members always communicate through the radio for everyone to benefit from the situation. It is always good to be at a safe distance from the situation and observe every recovery situation and use it as a learning experience.
    4 points
  2. Always fun to drive on the dunes , yet a continuous learning. Big thank you to @JeromeFJ and support team for keeping us safe , nice to see again some of the fellow drivers always a pleasure, nice to meet new joiners. Looking forward for the next adventure. Sharing few pics of the beautiful dunes and some of the cars in the convoy…
    4 points
  3. Thanks @Mike M. for taking the initiative to write down these points. As our briefing is regularly getting updated for Team Carnity, we will be using some of your nice words and approach of explanation for effective communication. Thanks for your valued contribution to thinking and looking beyond the drives, to keep everyone safe.
    2 points
  4. @ChrisW happy to learn that you reached Alain driving with no issue , on the other hand I wish soon recovery for your wrangler . And yes day or night and especially night drives we are bound with limited visibility and following the lines is of at most important. … see you soon my friend . Take care 🙏
    2 points
  5. Thank you, @M.Seidam - that was a really impressive drive…finding lines that are sweeping, flowing and clean at the speed we made is truly impressive driving. I had great fun. Also some good news/bad news from my side…good news was I drove back to Al Ain with no issues, and sent the car on the truck to the garage this morning…bad news is I did manage to bend my front axle housing (a known weak spot for the Wrangler). To share for everyone’s benefit: - I think I took a slightly different line coming out of some soft sand, and crossed a ridge that was sharper than I expected. The nose of my car hit the ground somewhere around the bumper/bash plate, with the front tyres taking a lot of the force. - The initial impact winded me and took me by surprise. I turned the engine off, called on the radio that I had stopped, grabbed my head torch and radio, and hopped out to inspect the car. The car was fine to drive out. I was also fine to drive it after giving myself a few minutes to settle again! - A few learning points from my side…firstly if you have a problem get on the radio, having Luke et al come to assist was greatly reassuring. Secondly having everything strapped down and secure paid off…nothing inside the cabin moved. Last point is - and this is especially for a night drive - far better to stop and think carefully about coming back to the line (and potentially ask for help in doing so) than to press on. All in all it was a great night drive, and happily the car can always be fixed…potentially with some upgrades too! 😉😂
    2 points
  6. Good morning, I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to make it on time. I overslept. I was looking forward to this drive. Will see you all again next weekend.
    1 point
  7. Hi all, please look into the gallery as I posted some pictures from the drive. https://carnity.com/gallery/category/2284-fewbie-vertical-limit-tazi-nazwa-to-super-bowl-sharjah-25-apr-2025/ @Mei ling @Johannes Roux @lucas amat @Humi @vinayak n @Senthil Kumar @Martin M @Nicolò @Vijaya Kumar Doppa
    1 point
  8. All of us got an awakening moments climbing big dunes at Ramla Sweihan Grid. yesterday drive as Luke mentioned was a true adrenaline pumping straight from the beginning 🚀 and I have to say I expected more of hick ups than usual . However your attention and focus and passion helped me a lot synchronising the rhythm. very well done everyone one . @Luke K P thank you a lot . Your presence in the back gave me a peace of mind that we will end the drive the same number and no one was missed as well as you operational clear command helping and guiding was outstanding. @Glenn W you were as perfect as the situation dictated as a second lead . Pleasure having you in any drive . @ChrisW thanks for anchoring coherently the middle of the convoy . all the remaining great driving , great accompany and amazing night drive we shared all of us . And see next time soon inshallah. Cheers Seidam
    1 point
  9. Thank you for joining the drive today. We had a great time in the sand in a very nice desert environment. We started progressively with nice rolling dunes, adding a few crossings to get the sensation of coming to the ridge, not seeing what is below on the other side, and feeling the car tilting and pointing down. Then a few bigger climbs, to really push the engine, and understand the capabilities of our cars. Some steep descents in the soft sand, keeping the car straight and controlling the speed. Finally a small portion of technical dunes before crossing a sabkha and a last run on smooth dunes. We had a few refusals, perfectly normal at this stage, @SAMAR TARIQ got stuck 2-3 times, again nothing bad for a first NB drive. The stucks were solved under the guidance of @Ishak, with the enthusiast shoveling effort from the rest of the team. @SAMAR TARIQ congratulations for your first drive, you have gained assurance during the drive itself. Try to get the feeling of when your car will become stuck to steer down and drive downwards while your car still has momentum. @Fenya, well done for a 2nd drive. Try to anticipate the movement of the car in front of you and adjust the distance accordingly. @Ana nice improvement since your last drive. Continue working on the anticipation to avoid sharp breaking or changes of direction. @Chrismayer very nice control of your car in all the situations today, well done. @Kirill K, @Myrko progressively building experience making the most of your powerful cars. Very well done. Keep learning at FB level, and don't come over-enthusiast too soon. @Zsolt @essam ibrahim very well done today. Always a pleasure to have you in the drive. @Giacomo and @Johannes Roux thank you for assisting me with shared 2nd lead and sweep roles. Well executed in both combinations. And @Ishak, a big thank you for changing your plans and assisting me today, providing guidance as required from the inside of the convoy! You can post your feedback here, and your photos in the gallery. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and see you soon !
    1 point
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