Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Introduction Many licensed drivers have never driven on gravel roads or are inexperienced and unprepared for the unique challenges when doing so. This inexperience and lack of safety awareness result in too many fatal crashes and injuries on gravel roads in our rural areas. We must equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills required to adjust our driving behaviour when moving away from tarred roads to gravel roads. What is a Gravel Road? To consider safe driving techniques on gravel roads we need to start with a better understanding of the nature of gravel roads. Gravel is a small, broken-down rock material. It can be obtained from a number of sources, such as rubble from a quarry, or from naturally occurring deposits in the earth. Particle size is generally no bigger than 2 cm in diameter. It is used as a base material in the construction of roads, buildings and other structures. On less trafficked roads, it is not viable to seal the road with bitumen, concrete or other...