[Arsenic]

The Environmental Impact of Irresponsible Off-Roading - and how you can minimize your impact

Thank you so much D-BHPian tejas@perioimpl for your valuable input for this thread!

Introduction:

As off-roading becomes a more popular activity with every passing year in India, thanks to the launch of great new 4x4s like the Mahindra Thar and the Maruti Jimny, it is important that off-road drivers are aware of their impact on the natural environment, especially when they perform off-roading irresponsibly. With this goal in mind, I and a group of classmates at my school set out with the aim of spreading awareness and promoting education about the environmental impact of off-roading - and how recreational off-roaders can minimize their impact. As part of this project, we were keen on gaining valuable first-hand input, and interviewed D-BHPian Dr. Tejas Kothari (tejas@perioimpl), who is Asia's only I4WDTA-certified off-road training instructor. His input was key to this thread and our project and we are extremely grateful for it. And so, let's begin on some of the impacts and how you can minimize your impact.

Stick to the trail!

When driving off-road, always stick to designated trails and paths. They have been marked out for a reason. When you deliberately veer off a trail, not only can you cause damage to the animals and plants that live on natural land where there is little human intervention - but you can also risk getting yourself lost. Environmental impact aside, this is a brilliant entry under the 'Dumb Ways to Die' list. But veering off-trail isn't just stupid - it's also a great way to damage the environment. There is absolutely zero reason to step into undisturbed land inhabited by other creatures - it shows an utter disregard for the fact that these species that are often displaced by human activity. Also, there is the possibility of even venturing into someone's farmland or disrupting the road used by bullock carts and livestock - which can potentially land you in a LOT of trouble. If you do accidentally veer off-trail, do not continue to explore further - make returning to the trail your top priority. It happens to the best of us at times - just remember that getting back on the trail should be your only focus in these situations.

Avoid Littering

Thankfully, Team-BHPians and most recreational off-roaders in general are well-educated and hence are much less likely to deliberately litter our surroundings and fill natural land with waste as if every square meter of land could be converted into a landfill. With regards to deliberate/regular littering, Dr. Tejas was keen to point out that it is often just non-enthusiasts who end up doing these sorts of activities (seasoned off-roaders are a lot more careful), bad-naming off-roading as an activity in the process. As a suggestion, it's not a bad idea to have a trash can a la Volvo XC40 or at least a few trash bags in your 4x4 when you go off-roading - that way, you're helping ensure that you leave the place almost untouched in terms of polluting the environment. During camping/overlanding trips, this should actually be a requisite - or else future generations may not have any non-polluted land to use for off-roading and overlanding.

No donuts wherever they shouldn't be done - please

As fun as drifting and doing donuts is, it's always better to either engage in it on-road (preferably at a track) or do it in a designated donut zone. Donuts and drifting can, at a larger scale, cause a lot of damage to the soil in the form of erosion to the topsoil that can make soil less fertile and usable but also potentially raise water levels. At Learn Offroad, Dr. Tejas' off-road training academy in Maharashtra, off-roaders can only drift on a small quarter-acre designated patch of land - nowhere else can off-roaders perform drifting. If you do wish to drift or do some donuts off the asphalt, Dr. Tejas recommends doing so only on private property that is demarcated specifically for drifting - and this way, we can contain the environmental damage that drifting causes.

Learn Offroad! (wordplay intended)

I cannot stress on how crucial proper off-road training can be for first-time off-roaders. if you're planning to give off-roading a try - do it, by all means, but not without training. For Bombay and Pune based BHPians, Dr. Tejas' academy is definitely my recommendation. After you're educated about the consequences of irresponsible off-roading, you'll be a lot more conscious about all the dangers of irresponsible driving on the path less taken - not just the environmental consequences. When first-time off-roaders are trained properly before going out into the wilderness, they aren't just more educated about what to do and what not to do. However, they're also more equipped to handle dangerous situations on the trail - and overall, they're also more responsible humans who can help keep the off-roading hobby alive for future generations.

Remember - your Jeep does not run on miracles

Off-roading is an awesome activity. The thought of tackling tough terrain in a massive 4x4 all day sounds like the sort of stuff the cavemen probably dreamed of. However, always remember that off-road cars (even future electric off-road cars) do not run on smiles (they do leave them on your face though ) - and as a consequence, while I am NOT saying that you should never gas up your 4x4 or even drive a 4x4 (that is terrible advice that only a non-enthusiast can give), it does help to be conscious of the emissions your vehicle produces. Very few of us on the forum can claim to be role models for net-zero-adjacent living - but together, if we're more conscious of our actions, we can help make our favourite automotive activities more sustainable, enabling future generations to enjoy them in all their gassed-up glory.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[am1m]

Great thread!

Not just off-roading, but any activity that goes into already shrinking natural surroundings could benefit from such guidelines.

This is something that is going to cause some debate, but after participating in several outdoor activities, we've seen that the best way to balance out what we get out of an activity and our impact on the surroundings is to engage in the activity in smaller groups.

That means 2-3 good friends doing the activity together, as opposed to organized events with tens or even 100s of participants. That also reduces the chances of pissing off the locals and getting the activity banned altogether. Think about it, for a long time people would go on treks to several spots. When did the forest dept start cracking down? When various clubs and organizations started organizing these treks in bulk. For decades Turahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore was a great spot for various activities. When did the forest department bar entry to the public? After several 'fitness' service providers started organizing things like group zumba classes (with music!) there.

It's going to be very hard to convince most people about this- we love crowds and melas! And once something becomes popular, corporate interests and tour operators will jump in...because they love the outdoors, of course, money has nothing to do with it!

But if you really think about it, small footprint is the only sustainable way to do these things in the forest or natural surroundings.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by Arsenic

Learn Offroad! (wordplay intended)

Thank you for this thread. In my opinion, this is the most important point for Indian off-roading scene at the moment. All of sudden quality 4x4s are available to people at an affordable (relative) price point .

My inference is based on lot of videos I see from Indian YouTube auto influencers who think power and momentum is the way to off-road. These people have many many followers and they too learn the same incorrect way to off-road. Very rarely I come across a video which talks about the right tyre pressure or taking the right line which keeps all 4 wheels on the ground. You can often hear the cheering from spectators to go fast and hard when wheels starts spinning.

I am not an off-road expert, but all the experts I interacted said that if I have to really depend on momentum to clear a track, then I will not get too far. Tracks gets deteriorated very fast with tyres spinning without traction.

[Oppanna]

Great thread.

I have been a fan of off roading for long time now but want to stress on the point that "Responsible Offroading"

I am a part of small off-roading group of two wheelers and used to hit trails almost every weekend. We never litter the place nor venture out too deep into the vegetation at all..

But like mentioned above there are many social media influencers who does off roading irresponsibly for all the likes, comments and shares!

[Thyag]

Saw a thread yesterday about some off-roading campaign in our forum, you can see clearly the trees in that area has been cut, before that area has been burned (still stumps are visible). It was due to this offroad campaign arrangement or not, we don't know but it hurts. When we plan a trip, my kid packs dozens of seedballs in his bag first, don't know what we are going to leave the coming generations - maybe more pollution & uncurable diseases !

[wheeledwanderer]

Some responsible off-roading pictures on my beloved FJ cruiser

[DirtyDan]

I was born in the United States. Yanks have polluting corporate greed to fight but the average citizen often has an enlightened attitude towards the environment. It is common for motorists to be fined 40,000-80,000 rupees for throwing trash out of their vehicles. Police are strict about this. I was appalled at seeing the paths, trails and parks at the front range of the Himalayas just deluged with trash everywhere. I did not expect this from India, India who leads the world in so many things including the wisdoms of the Upanishads and Prajnaparamita Sutras.

Here is a very famous government sponsored AD done by a red Indian gentleman by the name of Iron Eyes Cody circa 1970.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0sxwGlTLWw

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

I was appalled at seeing the paths, trails and parks at the front range of the Himalayas just deluged with trash everywhere.
I did not expect this from India.

Here is a very famous government sponsored AD done by a red Indian gentleman by the name of Iron Eyes Cody circa 1970.

We Indians are nose deaf & litter bugs in equal measure....

Indians are mostly Brown, haven't seen a red one, ever...

[Keneida]

So, I had a Hyundai Terracan for a day or 2.




Took it to a dried marsh / saltpan. Performed some crazy Donuts. A few months later was casually looking for some location on map. And behold, the donuts were captured by a satellite.



Back then there were no etiquettes for safety or an afterthought for a tire blowing and car toppling, fortunately it was not damaging to the landscape as the place is meant for monsoon flood water to accumulate. But cant deny the fact that if it were a trail, the damage would have been too bad for soil. Now after getting educated on technicalities, the respect for off-roading and trail discipline has increased 10 fold.

[dhanushs]

Thank you for this thread. With the highest number of 4x4 vehicles being sold in India it's critical that we set up the right precinct for offroading.

I'd like to suggest a couple of points.

Safe Recovery.
Offroading will mean you will get stuck, and probably use winches and use the help of a nearby tree. It's important to use the winch the right way and preserve the tree/vegetation.

Respect Water Sources
In most cases, the underbody of our 4x4's leak oil, diesel and what not.. Unless absolutely necessary dont enter water. It will pollute the water and/or damage your car as well.

Leave No Trace
This should be an ideal case scenario when entering in remote vegetation. To do this. You should be well prepared with all equipment's like trash covers, recovery gear etc.., you even have to make sure your vehicle is in top shape and not leaking oil/diesel etc..

Be Fire Safe
Your activities in grasslands should not be a cause for further fires.

That said.. Make sure you enjoy the time spent off-the-road. Either enjoying the nature (Like my wife and daughter does) or enjoy the experiments on your 4x4's capability.. Like I do.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by Thyag

When we plan a trip, my kid packs dozens of seedballs in his bag first, don't know what we are going to leave the coming generations - maybe more pollution & uncurable diseases !

Very good thought and teaching but just my 2 cents, hope you take it positively.

The impact of the seedballs are overstated. Just throwing balls of seed any time of the year will not get any growth from the seed.

We are into agriculture and in the process we plant saplings, cover it, manure it and water it and still there is a 10-15% death rate in those after all this care, so expecting a seedball randomly thrown in nature to suddenly flourish is being overly optimistic.

After care post planting is very very important and needs to be stressed a lot for folks to get it. We have seen ngos and pvt individuals organized a planting drive to plant saplings within forest areas in our district but after 5 years, there is no visible impact in that area.

[niruvrs9669]

IMO, this whole off-roading propaganda is unnecessarily over rated and hyped which only aids and supports in marketing/advertising that fractional functional aspect of a 4x4 suv.

In the last 25 years of my SUV usage which goes from Mahindra Jeep - Qualis - Scorpio - Endeavour - ML - Q5 - X5 - Innova, apart from the rural and mountainous areas with patchy roads and no bitumin which required better ground clearance for better ride comfort, I don’t remember using the vehicles for any real off-road activity.

No offence to the off-roaders and trail blazers, but I didn’t see a point in testing a 4x4 on a trail for the least use case scenarios (atleast in the urban parts of India) let alone the environmental impact created by this hobby which satisfies one’s ego .

[Amrik Singh]

Read it very carefully and enjoyed it thoroughly.
An important thing that was missed out, yet done in India is to watch the environment while off roading through Car Skylight. Not just a word, but whole sentence against this habit of letting kids heads stick out of Skylight instead of being in their seats with safety belts across them.