Are offroad parks the future?

 

More and more countries on the Old Continent are starting to raise eyebrows when it comes to roaming around in the truck. Countries such as Austria and Switzerland prize their nature so much that off roading is becoming an extinct form of fun. Not only that people who drive off road trucks are being met with a quantity of reticence, but the areas where they are allowed to drive are becoming smaller and smaller.

To begin with, there is a stigma attached to off road vehicles – pollution. Bigger cars tend to rely on great big engines for propulsion, which leads to high CO2 emissions. Compared to some other vehicles, such as small class city cars, which consume anything from 4 to 8 liters for 100 kilometers, the off road car has nothing but to lose. Larger town cars as well as sports cars can easily double that fuel rate. A reasonable truck such as a Land Rover Defender 110, Nissan Patrol GR or Toyota Land Cruiser 73/75 will average 10-11 liters for 100 kilometers, with decent driving. It’s unclear where the line is drawn but, from most opinions, the issue with off road cars is rather that of size of the car, which attracts preconceptions, rather than the actual fuel rate. With these sometimes misguided ideas about them, it’s only natural that there be reticence with regards to their roaming freely about the country.

With this in mind, throughout Europe, more and more private grounds are being excavated and transformed into valid off road tracks. This idea, which was long entertained by challenge lovers, is only now becoming a necessity. Forest paths, hill roads and green lanes are often sporting interdictions against off road vehicles, and not always for the wrong reasons. It is clear that, any and every decision taken has a good deal fairness to it. And the truth is, there are irresponsible off road drivers. Everyone who spends time off roading knows this, and they have at least one in their own group. Driving on private land or through crops, not using tree protectors when winching and leaving trash or broken car parts in the woods – all of these things are actively contributing to the negative image that off road is beginning to have.

Off Road Parks – Pluses and Minuses

For the better part, it’s a good thing that there are people out there with the financial resources and the necessary mentality required to design, build and sustain an off road park. It is clear that such a project is more than costly, but it is also a creative business idea. With prices as low as 30 Euros for a couple of hours of fun, they resolve an entire array of issues. To begin with, there is the problem of amateur off roaders having to deal with tricky obstacles, like in real life tracks. In a park, there are specially designed courses to suit all levels of difficulty, from beginner to extreme.

Along with this aspect, there is also the matter of recovery. Most parks know exactly where cars get stuck and thus set up recovery points, recovery vehicles and men to assist, if necessary. There’s nothing quite like casually winching yourself out by the crane of a JCB rig – off road safety at its very best. If no official park cars are around to help, the spirit of the off road will get the mud lovers helping each other in the blink of an eye. Getting social with other people in the park, over tea and coffee – something that in the real off road scene would be rather difficult and different, since everyone tends to go off roading with drivers they already know and trust.

What about adventure? What about going off the beaten path and all the things we said we’d do when we started modifying cars, turning them into go-anywhere roving homes? There is a need to go camping in the wild with the cars we love and the people we cherish. And off roading seems to be the best way to do it, every now and again. We are different, like the cars we drive. For those who like the thrill of side slopes, deep bogs and the sound of the winch, parks could be the way to go. They provide safe training ground for future competitions while also maintaining an exciting social environment. But there are those who build expedition vehicles and feel the need to roam, to explore, to sleep under the stars and see new places. For them, parks offer nothing but restraints and limitations. It’s them who enjoy the feel of the unpaved road leading to a great scenery. They are the ones who meet up for events like the Croisiere Blanche, tours across Europe all the way to the Polar Circle and so on.

The downsides of interdicting off roading and introducing parks would not necessarily affect the drivers’ performance. On the contrary – contained environments where driving feels safe give birth to daring pilots who learn to appreciate difficult tracks and drive accordingly. The issue here has more to do with discovery. The centuries old need for our kind to see new places, be somewhere else than home, with the aid of their cars. This can and will be done, but it requires a simple task: being responsible. Driving responsible, tending to camp fires so that they don’t spread, keeping the places tidy and last but not least: Respecting the wonder that is Nature in exchange for its help in finding ourselves through our travels …