Off-road vehicle owners urged to take safety course

A day out at a West Auckland beach ended in tragedy for one family in July.

Soon Sung Yim, 49, and his wife, Myeoung Heui Kim, 43, from the North Shore, were killed when a 1987 Landcruiser rolled seven times and came to rest on its side, 33km north of Muriwai.

Insoon Son, a 70-year-old woman visiting from Korea, also died.

None was wearing seatbelts and all were thrown from the vehicle.

Two survivors, who suffered broken bones and were flown to Auckland Hospital, were wearing seatbelts.

The injured driver told police he was travelling at 80 to 90km/h. The stretch of beach has a speed limit of 70km/h.

That accident, and several others with less tragic results, sparked a number of calls for special training for drivers of four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Auckland Four-Wheel-Drive Club president Graham Pike said people were driving the vehicles "completely unprepared".

He urged drivers to take a course, especially before going to beaches and forests.

Road safety commentator Clive Matthew-Wilson went further. Drivers of the vehicles should be specially licensed, he said.

Mr Matthew-Wilson, publisher of the Dog & Lemon used car guide, said drivers of off-road vehicles should be required to have off-road training.

Before people could legally ride a motorcycle or drive a large truck they required a special licence. The same should applyto off-road vehicles.

"Any vehicle designed for off-road use will handle completely differently from a vehicle designed for the road."

Mr Pike said most four-wheel-drive accidents were caused by people "hooning", and they shed a bad light on off-road driving.

Every weekend, club members at beaches and forests rescued people who were completely unprepared for the conditions.

"When you start to do four-wheel driving you learn what can go wrong. I can't stress enough to people to do a driving course," Mr Pike said.

Land Transport New Zealand spokesman Andy Knackstedt agrees with suggestions that drivers of four-wheel-drive vehicles undergo a course.

People had to remember that the vehicles handled very differently off-road, particularly on a beach, he said.

"Just because you're going off-road doesn't mean that you don't take the same safety precautions that you do on road, and the biggest one is wearing seatbelts," Mr Knackstedt said.

Unfortunately, in many crashes at beaches, people were not wearing seatbelts.

"Maybe it's because they're in holiday mode, or maybe they just let their guard down because they're not on a typical road, although technically the beach is still considered a public road and therefore all the traffic rules apply.

"Really we're just saying if you're going to go off-road just use a bit of common sense and make sure that you're buckled up so that you don't ruin your holiday."

People should apply the same rules as if they were driving on the road, he said.

"We're not saying don't have fun, but it's no fun if people have a crash and end up injured."

Mr Knackstedt said he would recommend that people have driving courses, particularly if they were going off-road.

"There are several organisations that specifically train people in off-road driving, and there's clubs that you can join where you can do those courses and do it in a bit of a safer environment."

Even when people were driving a four-wheel-drive on the road, they needed to realise they were not driving a passenger car, he said.

"What they're driving is more akin to a light truck and it handles differently, particularly in corners.

"They've got a higher centre of gravity and you need to take corners more slowly because they have a propensity to roll over.

"That's where you end up with a lot of the particularly nasty injuries, like spinal injuries and head injuries."

- NZPA