National 4WD Track Database

It will be a good place for those looking to close tracks to find info out. Brilliant idea.

Hasnt this been discussed on other forums already?

James

I am wracking my brain to remember when this subject came up and I think it was before the advent of the internet when I was still involved with the NT 4x4 Association and my mate was Chair of ANFWDC around the late 1990's

Its a good idea but it will be an enormous task.

ExplorOz promotes its Members and Visitors to submit Track Plots and it has quite a number of Track Files in its database.

I suggest you speak with David Martin, the owner of this site, as he might have some imput to your suggestion.



Cheers

I do not understand why the ExplorOz trek note system does not for fill some of the requirements of the land owners and general public. We have published detailed and updatable trek notes and a fully consolidated and WFS compliant road conditions system for near on 10 years why do we need another. ExplorOz has always presented the information for free and will continue to do so. We are about to implement a new feature and publish near on 400 new trek notes files in a method like your intention, why has no one spoken to us on this subject?

James an interesting site layout that will unfortunately see more people travelling our favourite tracks. I see a few problems with these track log data bases.
1. The popular treks with positive feedback become over run & camp-sites en route crowded. The extra traffic over time causes damage to tracks, dust problems, rubbish & toilet issues. (The Craig's hut area is a classic example)
2. The Track Difficulty Criteria has always been a contentious issue & something that could easily lead people astray. Just looking at the moderate rating one could be excused for thinking it wouldn't be too hard for almost any real 4x4. Recovery equipment is not even suggested.
("Moderate : Rough sections. Possible shallow water/creek crossings. Possible beach/sand driving. Minor elevation climbs. Great for the more experienced drivers/vehicles")
At no point in the classification is the time of year or the weather conditions taken into account. An easy route like The Mt Skene road in summer is 2wd but in winter the snow is 1m deep! In the High Country or even outback many medium tracks can turn into Extreme with just 10mm of rain.
Tracks over time deteriorate & then may be regraded making it near impossible to keep the hundreds of routes truly accurate meaning people may head into an area thinking a route is within their capability when it's not.
3. Listing Difficult & Extreme trips can & has led to inexperienced 'Gun Ho' people tackling tracks above their experience. If they don't know where they are there is less chance they will find them. The less these are advertised the better IMHO. Will be interesting to see when someone is killed on an official "Extreme" rated track if Parks will be forced by litigation to close all other extreme tracks on their list? I hope not.
Don't get me wrong I'm not bagging the site as I just don't agree with the "Parks"/4x4 Association philosophy of rating tracks.
Cheers Craig..........