Krrazzy driving tips

You’re thirteen years old and you’ve never driven a car but the below information may well help you later in life when you are on some kind of adventure.

Most drivers, first time out in sand, get royally stuck. When you start to get bogged in a dune the natural reaction is to rev up. This just digs you in. Instead throttle back and creep out. As long as you are moving forward, even very very slowly, you will escape. If you cease moving stop immediately and let air out of the tyres.

Getting stuck in sand usually happens through driving too slowly across the stuff. At low speeds sand is sticky, but as you pass the magic 30mph barrier it starts to fly by with you skimming its surface. If you can let your tyres down to half their normal pressure, do. It works wonders. You can let tyres down to 10psi and if you drive carefully it will be fine.

Driving up sand dunes it’s best to get up lots of momentum. Roar up those hills of sand! Check out the top first though so you don’t fly over the lip like a stunt driver. Driving down a sand slope put the car in first gear and simply coast in a straight line. Don’t go at an angle to the slope or you’ll roll. If you start to slide sideways accelerate to correct, rather than brake which will make the slide worse.

Snow is slippery but sand isn’t. Snow compacts under pressure, sand doesn’t. Both respond to lower tyre pressure. You benefit from deep treads in snow but they aren’t needed in sand. Wheel spinning in snow may dig you down to a layer where you can get a grip but this doesn’t happen in sand. Wheel spinning in mud can clear the treads so it isn’t such a bad thing to do as it is in sand.

Traversing water without a waterproofed engine and snorkel tube requires two things- constant but low speed and reasonably high revs to keep the exhaust clear. You want to stop a big splashy wave dousing the electrical parts and you want to avoid a float. If you get the slightest sensation of drifting and you know or suspect deeper water ahead then brace yourself for a ride. Sometimes the spinning wheels act like propellers and get you across the bad stuff- more usually you end up stuck in a tree downstream. You could try reversing but usually water floods the exhaust pipe unless the revs are kept high. If in doubt wade the stream with a stick as a support and depth measure first.

If you drive too slowly through water at too low revs you will stall- and then it will be very hard to start again. But too fast can be equally disastrous. Slowly with high revs is the way.

Mud, snow and sand can be crossed at high speed as long as there is no turning to be done. Avoid braking to a halt in these conditions as you will dig in. Then you will get bogged when you start again. It’s better to coast to a halt with the clutch disengaged.

If you drive through mud start your wipers before the crossing as the build up may stop them from working once you are halfway.