Clean City 4WD in the bush

[Mervyn]

I have noticed that when you meet a clean city 4WD in the bush on a single car gravel /dirt road they may be reluctant to move over. We all drive on thin gravel / dirt tracks to get to the parking area for the NP so that we can commence our walk. Often these are single lane gravel / dirt roads. I drive a 10 year old 2WD commodore. I avoid 4WD tracks for obvious reasons. When you meet an oncoming vehicle the 'normal' practice is to keep your right wheel on the gravel and move your left wheel onto the rough side of the verge. Common sense really. What else can you do! On several recent occasions I have met an oncoming clean city 4WD that will NOT move over. We have both stopped. I have waved to indicate that they should also move to their left. They shake their head NO. A stalemate occurs. In all occasions so far I have been able to squeeze past. They have all been part of the grey set, note I am grey also. I work with several fishing enthusiasts who travel thin gravel / dirt tracks to get to the special spot, they have all experienced the same circumstance, clean city 4WD who NOT move over. If an inner city person retires and sets of in a clean 4WD they may have NO experience of thin dirt / gravel tracks. Of course they have every right to be on the same tracks as us. My message has two points, firstly have others experienced the same circumstance and more importantly BE WARNED if you see a clean city 4WD coming at you that does NOT move over.

[Strider]

Easy. Get out. Swap cars. Drive away

This drives me insane also. Particularly on forestry roads where it is common practice to announce yourself over the UHF, and some idiot comes tearing round the corner like he's the only vehicle on the road.

[neilmny]

Oh yeh Strider, that's the one that really gets up my nose.
They get out in a little bit of bush and must think they are in the outback
where they wont see anyone else. They scare the @!@#$% out of me.

[photohiker]

Haven't seen this behaviour in these parts yet. Pretty hard to get a clean 4WD into the bush here and keep it clean

I did see this in the US though, driving up to ski fields people coming down the hill would stay in the middle of the road in their tanks. Solution: lights on high beam and drift, they couldn't get out of the way soon enough!

[gayet]

They get out in a little bit of bush and must think they are in the outback
where they wont see anyone else.

I think its more concern about scratching the duco on the scrub at the side, or perhaps throwing up stones that may chip something. Any narrow road sees the same behaviour from some people, in a city or the bush.

[Strider]

They get out in a little bit of bush and must think they are in the outback
where they wont see anyone else.

I think its more concern about scratching the duco on the scrub at the side, or perhaps throwing up stones that may chip something. Any narrow road sees the same behaviour from some people, in a city or the bush.

Maybe they should trade in their softroaders for pushbikes? Nothing lasts forever.

[Pteropus]

I have done a fair bit of driving around western Qld where sometimes you have a thin bitumen strip down the centre of the road and gravel on the outside, and vehicles generally have to pull onto the gravel when passing. I found that most people passing in the opposite direction will pull to the side, but the ones who didn't were mostly from mining or gas companies...maybe because they are always in a rush and don't want to slow down...but it’s not actually that bad, simply because if they stay on the bitumen and you end up on the gravel, they are less likely to spray your vehicle with rocks, whilst your vehicle will potentially throw up a rock that cracks their clean windscreen or scratches their nice paint work

[nickerr]

You could just play the bullbar game and nudge them from the side as your squeezing past they wont be as worried about it next time.

[north-north-west]

Solution: Drive a large 4WD with a massive bullbar. It works just fine until the idiot coming towards you has an even bigger 4WD & bullbar . . .
Or until the total moron has a bigger 4WD, with an even wider caravan, on a road that is clearly posted as being unsuitable for trailers, caravans and buses. (Like the really narrow twisty bit of the Suggan Buggan road, between Hamilton and Ballantyne Gaps. And that idiot didn't stop moving until I clearly signalled him to.)

But what really gets up my nose is the totally inexperienced and out of their depth SUV drivers who think they can drive bush tracks because their vehicle has a 4WD setting. You then get stuck behind them, doing 5kmh or less, on an unsealed road I could do faster in a 2WD. And they won't get out of your way until you turn on the high beams and the driving lights. And lean on the horn.

[Hallu]

Yeah I've seen this behaviour everywhere in VIC, although with regular 4WDs, not just "clean city" ones. Since I often drive on unsealed roads (usually with a small rental vehicle like a Hyundai i20 or a Toyota Yarris), I see them all the time. It's obvious that since they've got the biggest vehicle they think they can do anything.

I'm also surprised that a common rule applied in Europe on mountain roads isn't applied here (maybe it exists but I haven't found it anywhere) : the vehicle going uphill should have priority, and the one going downhill should give way, simple because it's harder to get going on a steep uphill road. I've even seen the opposite rule, at the Jaccobs Ladder in Ben Lomond, Tasmania : uphill vehicles were supposed to give way... How stupid is that, especially since it's one of the most dangerous roads of the state...

[andrewbish]

You then get stuck behind them, doing 5kmh or less, on an unsealed road I could do faster in a 2WD. And they won't get out of your way until you turn on the high beams and the driving lights. And lean on the horn.

I guess it's all about knowing your limits. Coming back from Mt Howitt on (unsealed) Howitt Rd a few weeks ago I nearly cr@pped myself after fish tailing the Patrol on a tight s-bend.

[north-north-west]

You then get stuck behind them, doing 5kmh or less, on an unsealed road I could do faster in a 2WD. And they won't get out of your way until you turn on the high beams and the driving lights. And lean on the horn.

I guess it's all about knowing your limits. Coming back from Mt Howitt on (unsealed) Howitt Rd a few weeks ago I nearly cr@pped myself after fish tailing the Patrol on a tight s-bend.

You can drive any way you like, honey, but people should be courteous and sensible and get out of the way when someone faster gets stuck behind them.

[andrewa]

Andrewbish wrote:

I guess it's all about knowing your limits. Coming back from Mt Howitt on (unsealed) Howitt Rd a few weeks ago I nearly cr@pped myself after fish tailing the Patrol on a tight s-bend.

Upgrade to an Audi. They're almost impossible to fishtail. And if you keep it clean, everyone will give way to you interestingly, I haven't come across this problem of failure to give way, but most of my narrow bush track driving is to Bogong, and generally everyone is going the same way on Fridays and Sundays. I also thought the rule was that the car coming downhill gave way to the car going uphill.

My "Patrol" is actually a Ford Maverick ( thought the younger members of the forum would have no idea what a Ford Mav was ) and they came with the most piddly little tyres. You would almost fishtail every time you took off from the lights, and everyone knows how poorly they accelerate.

A

[andrewbish]

You then get stuck behind them, doing 5kmh or less, on an unsealed road I could do faster in a 2WD. And they won't get out of your way until you turn on the high beams and the driving lights. And lean on the horn.

I guess it's all about knowing your limits. Coming back from Mt Howitt on (unsealed) Howitt Rd a few weeks ago I nearly cr@pped myself after fish tailing the Patrol on a tight s-bend.

You can drive any way you like, honey, but people should be courteous and sensible and get out of the way when someone faster gets stuck behind them.

Awww, you called me 'honey'

[whiskeylover]

Actually the give way on Ben Lomond is for a very good reason. This road is most used in the icey winter months when vehicles travelling down hill may get into difficulty if they touch their brakes, so they need to select a low gear and drive especially carefully, due to the very steep gradient, big dropoffs and hair pin bends. A vehicle going uphill can more easily adjust their speed to allow the downhill vehicle to continue unimpeded - it doesn't mean you have to stop, just give way. Otherwise, yes I was also of the opinion that the vehicle travelling down hill should give way. On narrow roads it is also wise for smaller vehicles to give way to trucks, as they have trouble stopping if they are travelling downhill and getting going if they are travelling up hill - It's polite and they're bigger than you so don't argue with them - you'll come off second best.

[Hallu]

lol if you're lacking traction on an icy road it's even more dangerous to stop when you're going uphill... The guy going downhill can use his engine breaks, the other one cannot do anything if he starts sliding backwards...

[flatfoot]

I sometimes drive my teeny tiny hatch down some pretty rough tracks to access walks. I find it ironic to encounter clean city 4wds going at a snails pace on dirt ( often they are so timid they are driving at half the safe speed ).

I do miss the practicalies of a 4wd. My last 4 vehicles were all diesel land rovers ( Defender/Discovery/Defender/Discovery ).