Almost4x4

Not too sure if this specific forum is only for rips organised through the group, but I wanted to share some experiences on the GNFD 2012.

The biggest observation or lesson learnt is that the desert can be ruthless for the not so careful! During the trip a car in our convoy was involved in an accident, through NO fault of his own. A member of the public (not part of the organized GNFD drove recklessly over a dune, went airborne and smashed into my friend. What an unfortunate incident, let alone the inconvenience caused. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Seen a car that had rolled over couple of time as well as one that burnt completely. There was also a lady that had to be air lifted due to injury from a popped airbag..... Hope she is doing well.... My son had the task of counting the number of bumpers left along the track and he counted 9.....

The big lesson learnt is SAFETY FIRST and don’t show-off unless you know what you are doing... when you show-off, that’s when accidents happen.

Also got a chance to meet Al-Shamsi who demonstrated that he is indeed modified and not just his car J

Overall a good trip with some challenging dunes but not as much as I would have liked. I guess because it was LIWA, I had very high expectations. Spent lots of time driving on really bumpy gravel roads which tested my dashboard mountings!

Looking forward to meeting more people and work my way up the ranks at Almost 4X4

For others who were part of the GNFD, please share your experiences.

Hi Riaz,
You are absolutely right, I did notice people showing off and rushing as though they are participating in a rally and not following the convoy. Marshals did their level best to help out many participants, but it was very difficult.

I feel it was a difficult drive for a first timer, coz I saw cars driving without deflating!!

All the lessons learned with ALMOSTERS helped me to complete all the stages WITHOUT GETTING STRUCK!!!!!!.

was looking for you guys but couldn't see any with the club sticker......

I don't know about the rest, but I am a strong believer that in the desert, there is no safety when driving in large numbers with a mixed crowd who neither have the training, the equipment or the discipline to drive to enjoy. There is a limit to how many cars a marshal can take care of, and not all marshals are as capable or dedicated as ours for sure.

[quote=Desert Lizard;6658]I don't know about the rest, but I am a strong believer that in the desert, there is no safety when driving in large numbers with a mixed crowd who neither have the training, the equipment or the discipline to drive to enjoy. There is a limit to how many cars a marshal can take care of, and not all marshals are as capable or dedicated as ours for sure.[/quote]

You got that right my friend, as I've seen one of the so called GNFD Marshals and I tell you some of our newbies are better drivers than him lol,
For me GNFD was an absolute chaos, at least judging by the VIDs and PIX i saw.