New to this need a question answered,.

[Mike c]

Hi guys .
Hope you can help,without unneeded comments.
I am thinking of getting involved with my son, he is 15 years old in some kind of off road activity, he is "vision impaired", but having lost his sight as a 10-11 year old he was driving karts etc, I still take him on occasion to commercial kart tracks, he can see shadows and shapes and can get around with less or no crashes than most.But because of OHS some of these places will not allow him to drive if they know he cannot see very well.
He is at the age now were there is talk of getting his drivers license, (this of cause will never happen)this is the reason for my post, he needs an outlet for this , and driving off road may be his only option.
His question is ,and frustratingly I can't help him with this..
Where can an individual in the South Waikato area or near by take an Off Roader, without at this stage being involved in a club.?
Any help would be great.

[wopass]

wow thats a tough one, i would say a farmers back paddock or the beach where no one can get hurt if it turned to custard.

having said that, if you had a vehicle with fiddle brakes the navi would be in a sence controlling the steering anyway so would be all good, in fact might make it better as the driver cant see the shit thats about to happen and button off, you just keep saying PIN IT!! and he will

but yea, dunno

[Jerry]

Welcome aboard...

The most realistic option for him driving that I can see is for private trips, which would involve getting an offroader and getting the use of some land.

From a trip organiser/trip leader point of view the issues would be the fact that any club event would be insured and most insurance cover would be dependant on drivers having drivers licences (learners to full), an example of this is the insurance cover provided thru the NZFWDA Assn to their Affiliated club members, Non NZFWDA clubs who have their private insurance would have similar underwriting requirements.

So if its an organised official event then there may be issues if your son is unable to get a licence.

With a commercial offroad place the owner has ACC, OSH and Liability issues. (Clubs and persons organising trips have this as well to a degree).

An option may be to join a local club and then get involved, when we see new members we get to learn their capabilities. maybe he would be keen to try out a Navi seat (maybe somone is keen to have him along for a trip or 2).

Maybe see if the local ORE lads are keen to help out by giving him a seat on a trip etc?.

[flyingbrick]

I agree with Whoopsie

Fiddle brakes sound like a great way for you to be involved in keeping him safe while still allowing him to feel in control- and plus fiddle brakes are fairly normal in the sport so he does not need to feel like he is in a special car.

Of course you could get a car set up with dual controls and (money depending) would be my pick. When I we had driving lessons at school the tutors car had two sets of controls and it removes any chance of trouble.

The beauty of 4wding is that you do not have to go anywhere or put yourself into any situation unless you want to and you do not have to drive fast to have loads of fun.

[Cleary]

Another suggestion - not quite what you are looking for - is for you to drive a vehicle with fiddle brakes and let him work them. Then you can tell him when to pull which lever and he can have some control over the vehicle.

I could imagine that a visually impaired 'navvy' could actually work by feel - eg. pulling on the level for the uphill wheel as you go along a steep sideslope - ppushing the drive to the downhill wheel and keeping it moving smoothly.

Not what you were asking, but a compromise maybe?

[Mike c]

Thanks for the replies guys , yes a tricky one I know .He is very independent,and sometimes this can manifests even more than a normal teenager, hence my aiming more at this stage a non club setting and more just somewhere we can go without being shifted on.
As for the type of off roader I have not given it much thought, a buggy type with easy access to the engine, something he can spend time on,plus cleaning ,painting , taking panels off that type of thing.He would be working on it so something not too technical,not like the stuff you guys are talking about at this stage at least. He can and does strip his mini bike down,respray (which can be interesting as he has no colour vision) rebuild it, he also does bikes up so this is more than just driving thing, its to keep him busy which he likes.
Well I guess it a matter of keep on looking.
Thanks again guys.

[Jerry]

What about something like this?
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 854922.htm

If he's into offroad racing then maybe check out a local club?
http://www.worc.co.nz/

4wding is a bit different to offroad/kart racing....

[basics]

you sound like a cool dad for trying to put all this together, buy a cheap surf of somthing and take him to the beach/farm paddoc some where he can have a rip.

pick surfs up and yoff TM cheap as chips and there common so parts a easy to come by.

if he enjoys that then take the next step and work your way up to a rally truck.

[Pedro]

you sound like a cool dad for trying to put all this together, buy a cheap surf of somthing and take him to the beach/farm paddoc some where he can have a rip.

pick surfs up and yoff TM cheap as chips and there common so parts a easy to come by.

if he enjoys that then take the next step and work your way up to a rally truck.

if he is going to drive a vehicle which for him would be bloody great, full roll cage and harness's, 4wd can turn to shit real quick and if he cannot see terrain clearly it will happen, there is a 4wd trial on in mercer next weekend, bring him along and have a look, am in vehicle 403

cheers

pedro

[Mike c]

you sound like a cool dad for trying to put all this together, buy a cheap surf of somthing and take him to the beach/farm paddoc some where he can have a rip.

pick up and yoff TM cheap as chips and there common so parts a easy to come by.

if he enjoys that then take the next step and work your way up to a rally truck.

if he is going to drive a vehicle which for him would be bloody great, full roll cage and harness's, 4wd can turn to shit real quick and if he cannot see terrain clearly it will happen, there is a 4wd trial on in mercer next weekend, bring him along and have a look, am in vehicle 403

cheers

pedro

Thanks Pedro, he is in the STh Island at the moment on a friends farmlet, driving their paddock car, I will keep an eye out for next time.And I agree it does need a roll cage of some type.
I had his drivng ambitions satisfied at one time , a friend had a farm in Matamata and would let him ride his mini bikes around the place, but it was sold .
In reality like his push bike rebuilding , he spends more time in the shed than riding , like wise with the motor bikes, but he is about 6ft and 100 kgs , so the mini bikes are getting a little small , although he has repowered one, so like any teenager whats nexts in line.
Thanks for the post I will keep it in mind a good idea.

[Mike c]

you sound like a cool dad for trying to put all this together, buy a cheap surf of somthing and take him to the beach/farm paddoc some where he can have a rip.

pick surfs up and yoff TM cheap as chips and there common so parts a easy to come by.

if he enjoys that then take the next step and work your way up to a rally truck.

Yes just what I was thinking ,but never thought I would have so much of a problem finding a place he could take it without it being a big deal, we have a reserve just over the road which is frustrating, but he is not allowed there.
Thanks for the post

[Pedro]

you sound like a cool dad for trying to put all this together, buy a cheap surf of somthing and take him to the beach/farm paddoc some where he can have a rip.

pick surfs up and yoff TM cheap as chips and there common so parts a easy to come by.

if he enjoys that then take the next step and work your way up to a rally truck.

Yes just what I was thinking ,but never thought I would have so much of a problem finding a place he could take it without it being a big deal, we have a reserve just over the road which is frustrating, but he is not allowed there.
Thanks for the post

if you get a rally truck and compete i think you will find that he will not be allowed to drive in comps for obvious reasons, as for sitting in the silly seat, it would pay to get hold of the assoc and talk to them about him navigating, some in the 4wd world of comps can be rather anal (cautious) a few years ago we had a navigator that had MS, he had no end of grief with reasons like he rolls into water he cant get out etc etc, personally i think it great he did it, and you want to get your son involved, but talk to assoc and see if you can get PC police to agree with ya. also talk to local clubs about the situation and what you want to do, clubs have to cover thier arse for legal stuff and as you are finding it becomes a issue, if a group gets involved and it is controlled and he is not a lunatic, then anything is possible

good luck

pedro