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Rolled your rig lately? Tweak the frame? Not even a little sheet metal damage, huh? Good! You’re
batting 100.
Vehicle damage is a part of our sport but compromising safety is not. This Sept./Oct. newsletter
focuses on safety. I attended the Oklahoma Trailchasers’ Safety course on Sept. 7th and have a
brief write up on it. I also wrote up our near disaster at the Clayton 2001 run. This is not to
highlight the dangers of off-roading but to remind us (me) of them. Nobody wants our recreation
turning deadly.
On a similar note, the day after the safety course we had an on-pavement NDE
(near death experience). Well, not quite near death - but I did mess my shorts! After
several hours of dirt biking at Lake Draper (another endangered ORV area) my son and I were
headed home in the rain. The first substantial rain in several months. Coming up to a busy
intersection an anti-lock equipped pickup pulls in our lane and stops. My new disc brakes work
great but the 12.5 MTs were plane-ing on the water and oil. Emergency, panic, evasive maneuver
and we’re in the grass inches from a light pole. The dirt bike trailer clipped a fender of an
adjacent car but no injuries. While waiting for the police I wondered what part the tires and
for that matter the rig with 800lbs of trailer and bikes played in my loss of control. Well, for
what’s its worth, while we were waiting there was a three car pile up with injury along with a
dozen other skids, etc. In short, it was slick. Would I have fared better in a different
vehicle? I’ll never know. But a short wheelbase, high center of gravity, big tired and
strong-braked 40 is always going to require complete attention while driving on or off road.
Stay Safe – Greg B.
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