{"id":3648,"date":"2019-08-05T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/?p=3648"},"modified":"2019-05-08T05:58:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T05:58:53","slug":"how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"How to drive safely in a desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re heading overseas to America<\/a>, the Middle East<\/a> or Australia<\/a> it’s possible to drive in a hot, dry desert, but you’ll need to be prepared as every year numerous people get into trouble being underprepared for making their way by car or motorbike through these arid landscapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Touring motorbike in the desert. You can’t take as many supplies as with a car and you also have nowhere to shelter from the cold at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
  1. Tell someone where you are going<\/strong>. They should know who to call if you don’t check in with them by a certain time<\/li>
  2. Charge your devices<\/strong>. Keep your cellphone charged using an in-car charging cable or take a spare battery pack<\/li>
  3. Check the vehicle’s fluids – water and coolant<\/strong>. When the outside temperature is 45 degrees Celsius, your car or bike will struggle to stay cool<\/li>
  4. Inflate your tyres to the correct pressure (and don’t forget the spare tyre)<\/strong>. Under-inflated tyres generate much more heat. Add the heat from the road<\/a> and you can see fast tyre degradation leading to delamination and punctures<\/li>
  5. Take a sun visor<\/strong>. Some kind of shield to block your windscreen while you are parked will help keep the inside of your vehicle cooler<\/li>
  6. Take a tarpaulin<\/strong>. They are useful for covering the whole car, creating shade or sitting on (great for areas where they might be stinging ants)<\/li>
  7. Take basic repair items and tools<\/strong>. A knife, some spanners, a bottle of radiator sealant, some rubber gloves, some rags, some oil and other items will cover you for minor emergencies.<\/li>
  8. Take plenty of water<\/strong>. Water to drink and water for the car.<\/li>
  9. Take enough food for a couple of days just in case you get stuck<\/strong><\/li>
  10. Wear the right clothing<\/strong>. If you’re riding a motorbike you’ll need protective riding gear<\/a> which is good for the road but doesn’t make you overheat. In a car, you have more choice but remember that in deserts it gets very cold at night<\/a>, so taking some blankets is a good idea<\/li>
  11. Deal with fatigue<\/a><\/strong>. Get plenty of rest before you start and take breaks along the way.<\/li>
  12. Plan your fuel stops<\/strong>. Do you have enough fuel to get between petrol stations? Fill up when you can as it can be a long drive between supplies<\/li>
  13. Park in the shade<\/strong>. The interior and exterior of your car or motorbike will heat up very quickly<\/a> and can actually burn your skin<\/li>
  14. Everyone out of the vehicle<\/strong>. Never leave children or pets in the vehicle when you leave it as the temperature can spike to more than 30 degrees more than the outside temperature within a matter of minutes. That means 70 degrees if it’s 40 degrees outside. Opening the windows doesn’t make that much difference.<\/li>
  15. Watch for slippery patches<\/strong>. Tar bleed, where molten tar rises to the surface, is treacherous. Areas of light dust on hard surfaces can be slippery. If it rains after a long dry spell, the road will lose 50% of its grip.<\/li>
  16. Dust storms<\/strong>. If you can outrun a dust storm, do it, but if you get caught in one, it’s best to stop and wait for it to pass. Motorcyclists should seek shelter if possible. Driving in a dust storm pulls dust-laden air through the engine.<\/li>
  17. Flash floods can occur when the land is dry and hard-packed<\/strong>. Don’t camp in dry river beds. If you come across a raging torrent, evaluate whether you need to cross as a car can be washed away in as little as 30cm of fast flowing water<\/a>.<\/li>
  18. Breaking down<\/strong>. Pull over to the side of the road, open your boot and bonnet and call for help. If your cellphone doesn’t work, wait with the vehicle unless you can see a house less than a few hundred metres away (dehydration can come on extremely quickly in the desert and people have died<\/a> trying to walk from their broken down vehicles.) It’s easier for rescuers to see a broken down vehicle.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Read some extra tips for riding a motorbike in hot weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    A good four-wheel drive with plenty of ground clearance is helpful for desert driving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you’re heading overseas to America, the Middle East or Australia it’s possible to drive in a hot, dry desert, but you’ll need to be prepared as every year numerous people get into trouble being underprepared for making their way…<\/span><\/p>\n

    Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to drive safely in a desert - Highway Code Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to drive safely in a desert - Highway Code Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you’re heading overseas to America, the Middle East or Australia it’s possible to drive in a hot, dry desert, but you’ll need to be prepared as every year numerous people get into trouble being underprepared for making their way…Read more ›\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Highway Code Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-05T00:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/desert-land-cruiser.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darren Cottingham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darren Cottingham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darren Cottingham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5035e20b782db0f2d6f2466549452e48\"},\"headline\":\"How to drive safely in a desert\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-05T00:00:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":705,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/desert-land-cruiser.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mocktheorytest.com\\\/resources\\\/how-to-drive-safely-in-a-desert\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to drive safely in a desert - 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