The Victoria Napolitano Bookstore THE DRIVING COMPANY WORKBOOK | Seite 4

By taking the time to understand how your 4-wheel
drive (4WD) vehicle works, you will be able to think
your way through problems and negotiate terrain ef-
ficiently rather than trying to force your way through
and damaging your vehicle. Once you know the ba-
sics of your 4WD system and how to use it to drive
off-road, you will be able to get where you need to
go when performing your job duties. You will also
be able to venture to beautiful and exciting places
you never knew existed. The modern 4WD is a very
capable off-road vehicle. You will be astonished at
where you can take it. Unfortunately, manufacturers
allow advertisers to show these vehicles driving in a
manner that makes you cringe. Who would want to
drive their expensive vehicle in this manner, risking
damage? With the right knowledge and attitude, you
will drive in a manner that will not damage your ve-
hicle, your nerves, or the environment.
Driving with “mechanical sympathy” simply means
to treat your vehicle with loving kindness. You will
find that you often run a greater risk of damaging
your vehicle driving to the store than when driving
off-road.
OFF ROAD DRIVING
SAFETY
Safety is the most important consideration in any
risky endeavor and driving is a risky endeavor. Con-
trary to what many lawyers and civil juries think, it
is not possible to eliminate all risk from our lives.
Operating any type of vehicle is a dangerous activity.
Your job is to manage the risk by learning as much
as possible about the operation of your vehicle and
taking reasonable precautions. If you encounter a sit-
uation or obstacle that you are not sure about, then
get out and assess it before proceeding. The saying
we use is, “When in doubt, get out.” This is how you
should manage your risk. The only way to eliminate
risk is to simply not drive. Because this is not an op-
tion, let’s continue.
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