My last words on the recent CR-V incident.
Hindsight is as they say “20/20 vision”, so with the benefit of hindsight I’ll try to look at a few mistakes.
First, as many have said there was the poor information provided by the person requesting assistance, There’s a great deal of difference between the first message of “I’m stuck near Swansea” or the next indications saying that he had a Honda CR-V and he had dropped off a track and a 4x4 should be able to pull him out and what transpired as his vehicle was not just off-road but off-piste and at the bottom of a 45 degree drop, not just a slight incline. As the requester had said.
Which brings me to the first couple of mistakes:-
- Taking the requester’s version of events as the truth
- Assuming that the requester had already walked the route when he first left his vehicle and informed me that it was OK for my Disco, this included such “advice” as “It’s just over this little dip”.
- Assuming that anywhere that a CR-V could go, a Discovery could go. As it happened, getting there was the easy bit.
That brings me to the subject of preparation.
First off, everybody is going to think that this is about the vehicle, and yes, primarily it is but not just the health of the vehicle and the state of the available equipment, but also the health of the driver. Like so many people, I still refuse to grow old, but as the events showed, I’m not as fit as I used to be, being totally honest, I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk the entire route, or keep my feet had I tried. So before I attempt anything like that in the future would somebody please slap me across the chops and remind me of this incident.
Another mistake by me was to assume it would be a quick in and out, and based on the available information, that’s how it looked so I wasn’t prepared with wet weather gear, just a pair of trainers and jogging trousers, which did get wet resulting in me having to sit in the vehicle for longer than I have ever done before with my legs just feeling more and more uncomfortable from the cold. So when you’re considering your preparedness for an incident, consider whether you are physically able to handle the job, obviously I was not.
I have turned out in the past to Disco owners stuck for a fault which could be cleared with a Nanocom, and I will continue to do so if ever I’m asked, likewise I’d turn out to help convey people to a warm and safe environment while the recovery of the vehicle is handled by others. I might even turn out should a member requiring assistance with a "vehicle anchor" for winching, but considering what my Discovery is equipped for and what it’s capable of, I don’t think I’ll ever think of turning out as the number 1 vehicle on a recovery again.
