{"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

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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

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    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"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3648"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4210,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3648\/revisions\/4210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mocktheorytest.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}