Whilst a comprehensive tool and spares kit is very helpful in a lot of situations, there are those moments that outside help is needed.
After a fair few years of doing recoveries on a large area of the Kimberleys, A lack of communication is the biggest problem.
So far this year out of a couple of hundred calls only two had a sat phone. Most information is passed on down the track by word of mouth.
If you don't have a HF or a SATPHONE at least have a pen and paper. Write down if you are a member of a club and which one and your NAME, Rego Number, Location, Number of people in vehicle and are you towing anything, Type of hitch and lastly what your problem is although that isn't really an issue.
Next is do you need accommodation, and what type arranged for when you get here, easier to do during the day. ( remember the people helping also work a full day and do need some rest)
The lack of information can at times delay a recovery for days but it is silly to send a truck out on a recovery that can take anything from two hours to three days with out the right equipment to do the job. ie:- the equipment needed to recover a van is totally different than to recover a vehicle, another vehicle may be needed because of too many people for the truck to carry.
The other thing to remember is
Darwin is a small city and the next nearest one is
Perth 3500 klms away so repairs may take some time.
This year a lot of the roads are graded fairly
well which is leading some people into higher speeds, but the same grids, rocky outcrops, sharp corners and flood ways are still there and to add to them people seeing them to late have created bull dust pits before and after due to heavy braking as they see them at the last minute and rip through the hard surface layer of the road. BEWARE.
But most of all remember the pantene ad, It wont happen overnight but it will happen.