Calls for a special license to drive 4x4s in Australia are growing as many drivers plough off-road on their outdoor adventures.
There are fears too many drivers are getting stranded on beaches, bushlands, and muddy roads, and outdoor enthusiast Pat Callinan has a solution.
He wrote in his blog that a new license should be introduced to educate drivers about the risks involved in going off-road in a 4x4.
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On Pat Callinan’s 4x4 Adventures, he said: “This can satisfactorily ensure that any would-be off-road driver has basic knowledge of vehicle dynamics off road, and hopefully a healthy respect for the environment they are driving in.”
Callinan said that while a license needs to be obtained for some heavy vehicles, it’s a ‘broad stroke of the brush’.
He added that national parks and state forests have trouble keeping track of monitoring cars that enter the land, leading to ‘unsealed’ roads.
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He said: “At the moment the Australian Bureau of Statistics doesn’t distinguish privately owned vehicles between road-oriented cars or heavily modified for off-road vehicles.
"There could be a dozen of us, there could be 300,000. Maybe a couple of million.”
He recommends Australia should introduce a new license tier to ensure that all drivers know how to navigate their environments when driving in difficult terrain.
“This can satisfactorily ensure that any would-be off-road driver has basic knowledge of vehicle dynamics off road, and hopefully a healthy respect for the environment they are driving in,” he said.
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Over the long Easter weekend, one Queensland company recorded 11 calls of drivers stranded off-road.
Director of Driving Solutions James Stewart told the Daily Mail Australia that purchases for off-road vehicles had soared post-lockdown as many wanted to travel the country while international borders were shut.
“There's more people travelling around Australia so the number of bogged vehicles is more visible,” he said.
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Stewart revealed that due to the new model of 4WDs, drivers were becoming ‘overconfident’ and were neglecting proper training for their new car before embarking on road trips.
“The cars [4WD's] are more compatible [with off-road terrain] now and it makes drivers more comfortable and overconfident. Eventually conditions are catching people out.
“They [drivers] then usually give us a call and think, 'Oh s**t, I wish I had done this course'".
Charisa Bossinakis