Safety and basic driving rules....

[yoshi]

I thought it would be good to post a topic for all the new people to the forum that are also new to rails. There are alot of hazards in our sport and this will be a good topic for anyone to post information to help those who don't know. I will start a few and feel free to add anything that you feel is inportant....



1st. a few basic driving tips

Watch out for the quads and motorcycles, altho you are in a vehicle much bigger than they are, chances are they don't realize that and more often than not they head right into your path.

Never drive fast within 150 foot of camp sites. Besides the obvious dangers of hitting someone, there are obsticles around some camp sites like broken glass, firewood, or the dreaded kiddy tracks.

Never go over a hill fast if you don't know what's on the other side and/or don't have a spotter.

when going over a hill, go at an angle so as not to high center the rail.

If your wheels start to dig a hole and it's obvious your not moving, stop, your only making it harder to dig yourself out.


2nd. is basic stuff for your rail:
Carry some tools for your rail including wire tape, zip ties, cotter pins, flashlight, tow rope and other common items like screw drivers.

Make sure you check your connections and lines before each ride, things vibrate out.

Check your cv bolts, make sure your filter is snug, check your oil. Take care of your rail and it will take care of you. Take it from me, it's alot quicker to check 1 bolt on a filter than it is pulling your toy back to camp full of sand. Lot of wasted time and money, not to mention lost weekend, over a 15 second check of something.

Check your lug nuts every chance you get. I made it back to camp on 1 lug nut for my right rear wheel. The other 3 that were impacted on just 2 hours before the ride now have a permanent home at my favorite ride spot......







shootin fir uh sticky



:wink:

[diirk]

You have to have a flag. Legally, it needs to be orange or red. If you ride at night, a lighted whip is in order. I have a Livewire Whip, and it's great at night.

Ride with others. It's always good to have an extra hand or a tow when needed.

[KingGlamis]

Yoshi,
Don't forget to check ALL suspension bolts/nuts every weekend (I check them every morning), and go over the frame for cracks once in a while (especially after a hard landing or other hard hit).

Also check your wheel bearings for slop.

[yoshi]

My wife is much smaller to check under the rail for cracks, 16 inches is hardly enough room for a man with my chest size to be under.....Now that I think about it, my wife has problems under there too....... :mrgreen:

[yoshi]

It doesn't hurt to keep extra bolt for suspension, cv's, pedals, etc. A few extra heims wouldn't hurt either.

[diirk]

I carry one of the emergency ATV bolt kits. It has a good selection of nuts and bolts in a very compact package.

[Glamisman]

I hope this will make it to the #1 driving safety rule.

1. At a MINIMUM a 5-point harness is installed correctly. NO sewn together lap-sholder harness units either. I prefere the clip style harness's as opposed to the wrap around mount. I have no scientific evidence for this preference, I just prefere them.

2. If you are not uncomfortably tight in your harness... YOU ARN'T TIGHT ENOUGH.

3. If you car does not have a metal roof above your head, put one there. Soft sand and 1.5 tubes dont give much floatation and the possibility of the frame sinking to the point of your neck breaking are real.

4. Wear a helmet... it could save your life. Are there any pillars or supports located in such a position that if during a violant rollover you could hit your head and be knocked out... Our group drove by an accident scene in the dunes last season and saw a guy "sleeping" in the dune buggy. When we got back to camp, one of the guys in the group that saw the guy sleeping, made a comment on how could someone sleep in a dune buggy like that. When I told he him that he was dead, he stared at me like I was crazy. I assumed that he broke his neck from either contact with the sand or the "B" pillar. I did not C.S.I. it to find out what the cause of death was. Would a helmet have saved his life, we will never know. For less than $100 I dont want to take a chance.

[yoshi]

If you are gonna wear a helmet you "must have" a neck brace as well to keep your head upright otherwise you may be making the situation worse. People get their necks broke because their head gets thrown around, the added weight of a helmet only makes the problem worse. Also, without a neck brace, if you flip and your car has no roof, the helmet can hit the ground sooner than your head will and compress your neck a few inches farther than not wearing a helmet. EVERY RAIL SHOULD HAVE A ROOF REGARDLESS. I am only making this statement about sandrails with full cages inside them, you should always wear a helmet on a quad, bike, or any vehicle without a full cage around and above you. I wear a helmet to keep the sand from other buggies from blasting my face, if that weren't an issue I would prefer to not have the extra weight of the helmet on my head and have head movement restricted from the neck brack. IMO...

I don't see the problem with the sewn in harness. Every harness has to be sewn together at some point. There was a recal on sewn belts due to a recent accident at the dunes where a rather large man was thrown from his car in a violent flip. This is the first i've heard of this. I've seen plenty of high speed flips and rollovers without a seatbelt issue, some of the cars were alot worse than the funco where the guy was killed. The most important thing is that it's snug. Make sure your seat is secure, if the seat bends, or the belts are loose, the effects of your body being slammed against the belts is enough to break even the best belts out there some times. Either one of these reasons could be the cause for the failure.

[Bugpac]

i have a good example of a helmet without a neckbrace, even on a quad.

two years ago, i was a dumbass and tried to show off a bit by hammering it thru 2 small water puddles, little did i know the second one was not a puddle it was a hole, when the front tire hit the second puddle i believe my suspension was just starting to compress from momentum, the tire decided it was going to stop, it planted itself and threw me over the left front corner, i landed square on my side and shoulder, didnt even bruse my shoulder, but from momentum my head went side ways also, and when my body stopped my head probbaly gained speed, anyway the lower ridge of my helmet made contact with the center of my collar bone and remove a piece the same witdth as the helmet, it was extremely painfull and now airports do not like me.i think if i would have had a neck support on i probbally would have shook it off and continued to ride. instead i took the ambulance ride out and ended up with a 10" scar on my body.

[stew6371]

what was the situation with the funco buggy that the guy died? just curious about cause so i dont repeat it.