SXS SAFETY TRAINING - "Make-it-Home" with Spare Tire/Tools

Student on Exercise 4 - Backing and Turning

Fouts Springs - Mendocino NF

SXS SAFETY TRAINING - "Make-it-Home" with Spare Tire/Tools

QWR wants to congratulate members of the Mendocino National Forest’s recreation and resource team who completed the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) ROV Basic DriverCourse (RBDC) taught at the Fouts Springs OHV Area near Stonyford, California on December 7 and 8, 2022.  Fouts Springs is on the Grindstone Ranger District of the Mendocino National Forest.

Sign Up Area for ROHVA RBDC

These ROHVA classes were offered in recognition of the long-standing partnership between OHV stakeholders and the Mendocino National Forest and in support of the CA Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division’s work to improve/update important safety measures to address the rapid growth of ROV/UTV/SxS use on public lands.

 

Search, Evaluate, and Execute (SEE) remains one of the many important themes stressed by ROHVA in both the online E-Course and field training.   SEE is a common sense yet powerful decision-making process where a driver looks for various factors such as trail difficulty then evaluates the risk level of the situation and subsequently executes an action such as turning around and taking another route.

Student on Exercise 4 - Backing and Turning 

Fouts Springs - Mendocino National Forest

Protective safety gear is also another area that is highlighted during online and field education process.  Wearing a helmet, using eye protection, gloves, long sleeved shirt/jersey, and over-the-ankle-boots with non-slip soles can help the driver have a safe and fun trail experience.

QWR believes another important safety axiom - that is also a key motto within the Forest Service - is having staff ensure they make it back home at the end of a work day by working in a safe manner.  One of the many safety discussions that occurred was about how to “make it home” and those talks centered on  outfitting your SxS with a spare tire, tire jack, portable 12v air compressor, and lug nut wrench per chance you get a flat tire. 

QWR Basic Spare Tire Kit - Used Many Times on Trail and Research Projects,

Post Fire Recovery, and Trail Rides

 Having a puncture flat is a fairly common occurrence in the West on routes with sharp rocks, old nails, or pointed branch stubs that have fallen off trees damaged by wildfires.  Being able to change a flat tire just might be the difference on making it home safely before dark or spending the night in the wild.

 

As a ROHVA-certified DriverCoach, QWR’s Don Amador, states, “It’s great to help train agency staff about how to safely operate a ROV/SxS on designated road, trails, and areas.  And, to have them learn about the import of outfitting their ROV with the proper tools to ensure they are able to drive home  at the end of the work day.”

 

Since many federal/state agencies, cooperators, and non-profit partners have increased the use of ROVs for recreation/resource management and fire suppression activities, QWR offers the RBDC course for agency or cooperator staff that need to get certified or recertified before operating a government or corporate SxS/ROV.

 

QWR is a strong supporter of the focused safety efforts by our partners at CA State Parks OHMVR Division, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, ROHVA, Tread Lightly!, and the CA Outdoor Recreation Foundation to address the rapid growth of ROV/UTV/SxS use on public lands.

 

LINK TO ROHVA (Go ahead and take the free online ROHVA E-Course)

http://www.rohva.org/

 

*If you are interested in having Don teach a ROHVA ROV Basic DriverCourse, contact him at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com