Accidental Damage

Jasululu Overland Adventure

A vehicle does add a level of complexity to any expedition and with it, the threat of an accident, which can be in the form of a vehicle collision, higher speed than road conditions dictate and sometimes just bad luck... 
The Royal Geographic Society (RGS UK) recognises that vehicle based expeditions often have the highest accident rate of any expedition undertaken and as a result insists that expedition leaders are trained.
In 2005, whilst travelling through Morocco, I met a couple driving an Iveco 4x4 truck.  Luca and Sameena, two adventurous anthropologists, who love overland travel, engaging with indigenous cultures and have an Italian flair for fine food and excellent coffee, have traveled extensively through Northern and Southern Africa and are now heading across Asia with their two children.

Their current adventures are taking them across Asia and are currently in Pakistan.  Sameena blogs about her trip:

The problem is immediately obvious, although the boats crossing the river look stable, one would need two leashed together to take the load of our trucks and more importantly,  how to load them on? The road is steep and narrow and there is only a small space for manoeuvre at the bottom, fine for a car but not so for a truck…

And then a few days later, The Fall...

Is my glass half full or half empty? I juggle with this thought all day and all night. Of course it’s half full, but the truck nevertheless looks in bad shape…and I feel despair.

I won't expand much on the events that led up to 'The Fall' or how a 9-tonne truck was recovered except to say Read The Blog!

Accidents happen and when they do, the important element is how you handle the situation afterwards.

Additional Reading:

• Accidents and Bush Mechanics
• Safety and Security
• Expedition Medicine

Postscript: 

To my friends Luca and Sameena:  You are, and will always be, a couple who I admire and yearn to be more like.  I am very thankful that this misadventure occurs rarely and that the two of you, and your family are safe.  May your cup always be full.  Safe Travels