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Dark tinted Nissan Patrol tailgating and flashing right behind you on the left lane, but takes the very next exit on right side after you give way.

People who let their kids jump around in the car with no seatbelts. Bonus points for the woman in the passenger seat bouncing a baby on her knee. The above is my number one but I could write a full essay on this and I don’t want to breach the character limit.

Invincible 5 lane cutters in 1 sec to catch an exit - Biggest fear and threat to all road users. Tailgating you on slow lane when you are cruising on perfect speed limit - 80 on 80 road, 100 on 100 road. When you slow down to stop on orange light, but guy behind you want to play Need For Speed.

Hi @Gaurav, this is indeed fun-tastic news. First of all, I like the idea of not just shooting at the cars but also at the tracks.. So many more possibilities for a fascinating storytelling. Great suggestion! Second, you are right, now that we have a first idea of the subject, the whole challenge will be about conceiving the screenplay / storyboard, i.e. detailing each shot setup and camera movement and then planning the drive so that we get at the right place by the right time to get the perfect light. Your experience in storyboards will be key! I'll be soon sharing some hints about some most powerful drone shot types, so everyone can widen their horizons while developing some thoughts about where, what and how to shoot. It sounds so cool..

1. Taxi with a green light on top with no passengers 2. Old Corolla or sunny in 2nd lane , at 70 kmph on a 120 kmph highway 3. You yourself , sometimes unknowingly end up doing all listed here🤣

Must have 1. Front skid plate with radiator bracket whatever design or color ( 8mm or 10mm) 2. Front two and rear two recovery points because at intermediate or advanced you are more involved in these recoveries and acts as back up in case one fails or bends. Also helps to secure your shock absorbing support rope (Yato climbers harness at speedex) 3. Abs kill switch 4. Off road all terrain high profile tires ( Best and easily available at good price is Yokohama AT G015/ Cooper if you can get, BF Goodrich are expensive )

My list in no particular order is as below: 1) indecisive or unpredictable drivers - you can never tell when the person will brake, turn or stop. 2) tailgaters on the slow lanes 3) distracted drivers - most of the time the person will be on the phone What are yours? Good to share so that we can avoid some bad habits that may endanger other road users.

1.Suddenly and from no where a delivery motorcycle comes In front of you! 2.confronting a completely invisible vehicle in a foggy day like today morning with a running lights only ( lights not even in auto mode ) and rear No , train accident was about to occur 🤭 3. some one comes in front of you suddenly in a busy long waiting lane in either direction ! 4. Last and not least most what annoys slowing downs to watch an accident when just happened and even not the same side to the opposite side 😡

People on the left line under the speed limit.

I hope authorities will conduct frequent patrol and fine those who litter at wadis, picnic and BBQ area. Once all the fines are imposed, it will not completely eradicate the problem because it is down to awareness but it will be a strong deterrence.

Littering here is out of control. I have never seen anything like it and I’m constantly appalled by it. I don’t blame the authorities for taking action, we have a very fragile eco system here and they’re trying to improve it .

I should've referred to Traction Control for sideys. The control system will reduce engine power and apply the brakes to specific wheels that may be slipping. Whilst performing a sidey the car is extremely sensitive to any change be it momentum or direction The resulting change can cause the car to move suddenly when side sloping and that's very dangerous. ABS stops the wheels from locking and allows us to steer, on a normal road, but we're on sand, and sometimes gravel. Sand and gravel under the tires act like tiny tint balls when you step on the brakes. As a result, there will be very little friction/traction between tires and ground. Therefore, all four wheels want to lock up immediately. ABS would keep them from doing so. You will keep rolling on and on and on and on.

As someone who has worked in garages in Dubai for the last 5 years, I can say that 9/10 cars I have repaired have been either front or rear end damage, ie damage from tailgating. Rarely do I see cars that were involved in other types of accidents other than a parking scrape here and there. Also f**k people who like to tailgate and bully other cars just because they are smaller. Everyone has the same right to be on the road and we are all just trying to get somewhere. Having a bigger car will never add 2 inches to your appendage. I used to love my 10k Sunny company car. Yeah your big 4x4 is worth 200k but you want to try me? I’ll put us both off the road and it will cost me a lot less.

1. Drivers who do not merge in turn - this really grinds my gears! They inch forward by 2 inches acting like they've just conquered the New World. If they would just merge in turn (when there's a lane closure or whatever) then traffic would keep moving at a faster pace. 2. Inconsiderate drivers - those who sit in the inside lane when there is an on ramp ahead thus forcing the driver trying to merge with the main carriageway to slow down to a snail's pace to get on and then having to floor it. Just move to the middle lane!!! 3. Incondierare drivers part deux - they hog their lane when you have had your indicator on for a lifetime trying to make an exitr or whatever , again....MOVE OVER! 4. Tailgating - the tailgating that occurs here is the worst I have ever witnessed. The police should focus their resources on stopping this incredibly dangerous practice. I would love to know the stats re the number of RTAs caused by tailgating in Dubai.

1. There was an article a couple of months ago that kids below the age of 12 don't need to take the COVID test to enter Abu Dhabi. But the rules might have changed so I am not sure. 2. We are all doing drives because there are no symptoms, but in case the test is positive and you are asymptomatic I presume you will most probably have to be in quarantine in Dubai. That's why they say sometimes ignorance is bliss. 😁

The wrong sized battery was installed by the previous owner. I don't think it was due to wrong size battery as else I would have noticed this problem in the first 6 months of ownership. It more is a case of a bad battery.

@Emmanuel drive has been updated to fewbie , if you all are interested there are some places available @muzamil hussain @Vineeth John Joseph @Luca Palanca Falsini @Rizwanm2 Thank you @Chaitanya D signed up for the drive. 🙏

@Emmanuel drive has been updated to fewbie , if you all are interested there are some places available @muzamil hussain @Vineeth John Joseph @Luca Palanca Falsini @Rizwanm2

Thank you for the explanation 👍

We have a lot of Xterra users in our team. We don`t have a thread putting together all the must modifications for Xterra. Lets discuss them here to have these documented all together under one thread. - Skid plate Since the radiator is sitting too low at Xterra this is one of the must to do modification to protect your car. What to be careful is to have one with radiator brackets. - Towing Points Many people are mentioning original towing points are not strong enough. Is anyone done this modification can explain what to do what to be careful? Is front and back both needs to be changed? Last leaders lead my back towing point bent a bit and touched to the bumper. I am willing to change it with something heavy duty. - Kill Switch I personally don't have one. I am just closing the traction control button when i start off roading and i haven`t had any issues so far. Many says this is essential, why? I haven`t had any difficulties so far.

Congrats @Jun Zamora!

Thanks @Frederic ! remembering your first briefing during my first newbie drive one foggy morning.🙂

Thanks @Rahimdad I really miss those days when you, @Gaurav , @Frederic , @Srikumar and @Wrangelddo briefings in the open where all of us listen intently from a legend's advice to make sure we will not get stuck. Yes i still remember your warm hugs in the morning during those winter drives in Qudra where you gave me the chance to be your second lead.

@Chaitanya D hope you have registered for the test.

UPDATE #2 After the last update in June, the car started fine on first attempts for a month or so. After that it would take always 3-4 attempts to start the car. Tried it with the duplicate key but to no avail, the problem still persisted. A few days ago, my battery died and I got it replaced. At the same time it was noticed that the battery was not of the right size, so we changed it to a correct sized Amaron Battery. The issue of not starting on the first attempt has completely disappeared. Looks like it was a case of a faulty battery like @Frederic suggested.

Hi everyone, We have decided to change this drive from fewbie plus to (regular) fewbie level due to the low number of sign-ups. There are 3 spots left for fewbies who haven't found one yet in other drives. @andy_macdxb I added you, please let me know in case you couldn't attend.

Thanks @Srikumar for being too patient with me during those days. You did a demo on the proper shovel technique with my Murano. Thanks Doc @Chaitanya D

For many offroaders, navigation looks like a scary thing, and finding your way in the desert used to be a daunting task with old obsolete maps, navigation with sun or stars, and many other old tricks of crossing the deserts. Until 5-6 years ago, companies like TomTom and Garmin were ruling the navigation software and hardware, until our phones became smarter and smarter, and nowadays there are tons of free or paid navigation software programs available which are tailored for hiking, offroading, cycling, or other outdoor activities where you would like to record your tracks. In this post i will give some basic essential advice on how to get started with navigating by using GaiaGPS, which is an amazing app that allows you to: 1) Create routes at home via your desktop/tablet through the GaiaGPS website. 2) Use different types of maps like topographic maps, sattelite maps, to find your perfect route you'd like to explore. 3) Save and manage all your tracks, waypoints, areas. 4) Automatically sync all this data with the GaiaGPS Mobile App that is being used to record your track or follow the route you have created beforehand. 1) Registering for GaiaGPS account https://www.gaiagps.com/membership/ You can choose for a FREE account, which works fine for basic topographic and sattelite maps, but will not allow to use them offline. The PREMIUM membership is recommended for around 3.3 USD per month. Once you have become a member, you can head over to Gaiagps.com, login with your account name, and have a look at the basic functionalities. I've posted a short video below that gives a small demo on how to use the GaiaGPS website functionalities. As you can see in the screen, there are many tracks i've recorded with my phone that remain saved in the website. You can remove these, or hide them. The red zones i have marked are called "areas" where you can identify tricky areas that you would like to avoid. They will appear on your phone app as well so you can easily avoid them. Waypoints Waypoint, or pins, could be points of interest, landmarks, entry and exit points, or any place where you want to mark the location and save for later reference. They will appear as a "pin" on your map. You can assign a color to them as you like. This might be useful as you can categorize them. Next to the classic PIN icon, you can choose different other ones, like fences, skulls, forest, or anything that will help you in identifying the waypoint. Sattelite Images Having crisp detail in the sattelite images you are looking, is essential so you can create a route which focuses on the nice bigger dunes instead of the small technical or bushy areas. Gaia comes standard with the Mapbox "Sattelite with Labels" Imagery which is not bad, but the best one i have found so far is the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Below you will find some information on how to add custom maps. The map called "WORLD IMAGERY" in the Premium version is the same as the ESRI Sattelite Imagery Map. Which phone ? Gaia GPS will work on any smartphone that has a decent GPS antenna built-in. In my case i purchased a separate dedicated Android phone which is mounted in my car that i solely use for navigation. This allows me to keep using my own phone as backup device. That dedicated phone has the offline maps downloaded on it, so i do not need cellphone coverage (no sim card). App functionality On an Iphone, this is how the app looks like. The buttons like "RECORD" and "PICTURE" are customizable, and by keeping your finger on it you can select something else you would like to see on the home page. The Magnifying Glass allows you to enter coordinates. You can copy them from within Google Maps. this button toggles between full screen or normal screen. The crosshair button is very important. Click on it once and it will appear green and bring you to your live location and follow you while keeping NORTH up. Click on it again and another logo appears, looking like two reversed triangles. This is the mode that keeps your live location but constantly rotates the map based on your direction. You can experiment with both modes to see what suits you best. I like to stick to the first mode because it allows me to see in which compass direction i am heading. The + Button contains all your other useful functionalities, like adding a waypoint, creating a route, download an offline map, or create an area. Once you hit the record button, the app will start recording your track. Once you finish, click again on it and select "Finish Track" It will then be saved. (and also appear on your GaiaGPS website once you have synced). On the bottom, you can see your trip details, open the list of saved tracks, or go to your settings. Note: In the settings you can put your units/distances in miles or kilometers (whatever you prefer). You can also enable or disable the autosync function, but better to keep it on. So as soon as you have Wifi/Internet on your phone it will automatically sync your tracks between the app and your GaiaGPS account (website). These things will take a bit of practice, and i can recommend you to use your Gaia mobile app for a while on your daily commute, and experiment a bit with the settings until you have tailored it to your own needs. Exporting Maps Most navigation software use .gpx or .kml files which you can import in Google Earth / Maps or any other navigation program. On the GaiaGPS website, and also on the app you can choose to "export" your track. It will create a .GPX file that you can share with fellow offroaders or import in the Relive app Adding Custom Maps for the GaiaGps app users, the Google Maps like Satellite, Terrain, or Hybrid, are not standard built in, but can easily be added by using the GaiaGps website. This is the procedure to add for example Google Terrain. 1) While logged into Gaiagps.com, add a custom map source via TMS here: https://www.gaiagps.com/mapsource/add/ 2) Fill in this TMS URL to get Google Terrain: https://mt0.google.com/vt/lyrs=p&hl=en&x={x}&y={y}&z={z}&s=Ga 3) Give it the name "Google Terrain" 4) Set the Min and Max Zoom level on 4 and 19. 5) Click on "Add this Map Source" The next time you will login it will appear in your mobile app. Some other map links. To add them, follow the same steps as above: Google Maps: https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=r&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite:https://www.google.cn/maps/vt?lyrs=s@189&gl=cn&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Satellite Hybrid:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=y&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Terrain:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=t&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} Google Roads:https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} ESRI Sattelite Imagery:https://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}

@Christian Andras no I didn’t. Unfortunately this drive is full now, sorry. Hope to see you another time.

@Emmanuel Did u remove my name from this list? I am 100% sure I was on before...

Congratulations 😉

@Emmanuel drive is now updated to fewbie drive, some places there if you are interested @Sreejith Sreenivasan

This is really fun-tastic idea to explore the offroad tracks and cars from different angle and vantage point and make them look interesting and amazing even for ourself, let alone new eyes. I have had an experience in doing storyboard for corporate videos and happy to contribute here with the same and see how it unfold for this epic video and leaders challenge. Love the initiative, concept and can't wait to see the final output. Thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher

Hi @Srikumar, yes sure... October 2nd, 3.30-4.00am. When I told my wife she couldn't believe I could be so mad about off-roading.. 😂 😂

Now I am getting the car washed after 1 leaders lead drive I saw the original radiator protection of the car is bend. It can't be more clear why skid plate is a must for Xterras. https://ibb.co/zHpdD8P Below as well my rear tow hook. https://ibb.co/KbWS57n

@Asif Hussain @Emmanuel @Chaitanya D @Desert Dweller @Foxtrot Oscar @Mohamed Seidam @Rizwanm2 @Shamil. Time to add to this wonderful thread.

For those who have already signed up, please post a screen shot of the booking confirmation. The cost of the test is AED 50. Location for the test is provided below on E11. As its early on Friday morning I dont foresee any major rush for doing the test. Test results are provided on the spot, and you will be good to enter. Please carry a screenshot of your booking for the officials. https://goo.gl/maps/rVMUmdc7CEwFJmBWA

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi

Congratulations @Jun Zamora. From rags to riches or from Murano to Wrangler. @Gaurav bhai still reminds me of your introduction when we could gather around for the briefings. You said you were looking for a long time to a community you could belong to and you finally found it. Your never saying no approach is a testament to the way you feel. Love you guys, keep showing us the way to move forward.

Congratulations @Jun Zamora well deserved!!!

Thanks @Rinelle Sanaani can't wait to drive again with you as we did during our first newbie drive with @Frederic and my Murano.

please add me to the wait list

The easy express deflator gizmo wrecked two valves , tried the tyre repairers tool gizmo and it wrecked the valves too it was then I realised that it wasn’t the tools but me , over tightening the things .🤣 Learn from my mistakes , go easy on your valves , they’re more delicate than you realise 🙄😅

Hi @Frederic this is as ever a useful addition to the available info for drivers. Yes, I have a premuim edition of Gaia and 'invested' in this because there is a small element of added functionality - there's the ability to edit routes, overlay routes and if you're in North America it looks like it wil actually do the walking for you on the hikes.

Hi @Frederic, I also like topo maps to give indication of the gradient of some dunes / areas. With ESRI as base, which are your favourite overlays used? Saw the use of red areas in your post - I love that and will certainly use that.

Brillant ! I mostly use waypoints to identify play areas, and use the "create area" functionality to draw a rectangular around the soft patches and tricky areas.

Absolutely Fantastic efforts put together by @Frederic, this is real gold mine for many offroaders here. Especially to our new leaders in making, please invest some time and get familiar with this app, as MotionX (my fav) is slowly fading off and on the verge of getting discontinued. @sertac @Chaitanya D @Kalahari @Tbone @Brette @Vanessa8580 start using this app and start getting familiar, as from second leaders lead drive you will be required to do planning and leading with navigation app or stand alone satnav (if you prefer). Feel free to post your questions here, so that everyone can learn together.

With the summer coming closer, we will go a little deeper into the dangers of being exposed to the extreme heat UAE brings to us. During off-roading, some activities such as recovery work, replacing tyres, and dealing with pop-outs, are physically demanding, and many of us who are in office jobs are not trained to cope with this amount of heat. Luckily with the help of some basic things, we can minimize the risk of below mentioned issues. The following risks are identified: Heat exhaustion: Warning signs: A person may suddenly look pale. Heart rate will increase and the victim may complain of feeling dizzy and nauseous. A feeling of weakness is also common. What to do: Seek shade immediately and lie down, especially if you’re feeling lightheaded. Apply a cold compress to the forehead and remove extra layers. Heat Stroke: Warning signs: Heat stroke is a type of hypothermia where the body temperature is greatly elevated. If not treated immediately it can be fatal. Symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, along with nausea, headaches, hallucinations, difficulty in breathing, and agitation, What to do: apply cool water to the skin and place ice packs under the arms to reduce the temperature quickly. Preventive Measures: • Sip some water all day long, rather than just when you are thirsty. If you are thirsty it means you are already dehydrated. • Wear light clothing that can "breathe", but also wear sunblock and keep your head protected with a cap or hat. • Some fruit and vegetables can re-hydrate the body even more than water. Carry some in your cooler. • Water is important, but too much water can be dangerous as it can cause electrolyte depletion. Limit yourselves to 2-3 liters per day. • When recovering a vehicle in full sun, limit your exposure time and take some rest every couple of minutes. Because you are focused on the task at hand, you might completely forget the heat and become dizzy and exhausted. • If at some point you feel unwell, inform your club members immediately. When driving, inform immediately over the radio so the convoy can be stopped. • Keep an eye out for your fellow club members. It is relatively easy to recognize above symptoms in somebody else. Let them take appropriate rest. Please do share your tips, hints, experiences !

@Frederic Nuyttens thanks for posting a very interesting topic. Like @skumar83 I prefer the valve remover, as you rightly put it have to be very careful not to loose the valve. Unlike @skumar83 even after over 10 years of off-roading I keep my pressure gauge with me to use science instead of doing guess work.