Trip Leader Notes - Sydney Jeep Club (with COVID-19 precautions)

Trip Leader Notes - with notes for COVID-19 Social Distancing Restrictions in [Bold]

These notes are applicable for all Club Trips:

Determine & make clear the type of Trip Leader. Either
1 Take full responsibility for navigation AND the Technical aspects of the trip, or
2. Take responsibility for Navigation, and appoint or arrange an experienced driver to take charge of the Technical aspects, including advising drivers of lines, and overseeing recoveries as necessary.
[Ensure that the total number of participants, including the leader, is no more than 20. This includes all passengers.]
[Ensure all those registering on the Forum include their name and the names of any passengers]

Pre-Trip
Be at the Meeting Point 10 minutes before the planned meeting time.
Advise participants as they arrive the distance to the planned air-down point, to give them the choice to air-down at the meeting point, or wait until reaching the air-down point.
Have all participants sign the trip register. [This requirement is suspended during COVID-19 restrictions - the Forum is deemed to be the sign-on sheet]
Confirm the UHF channel for the trip. The default is Channel 15.
Describe the trip - approximate time, distance, distance to air-down point (or off-road start), grading of trip.
Appoint or agree on a Tail End Charlie (TEC). If TEC is changed during the trip the leader must be informed.
Advise of flexibility (or not) of order of Jeeps in the convoy.Start of Trip
Optional - Radio check, running from front to end of convoy, stating name and Jeep type & colour. E.g. "Dave, 2nd, Black TJ".

During Trip
Advise of any transit stages, even on dirt, where drivers might choose to select 4-high rather than stay in 4-low (where appropriate), as sometimes drivers may think the transit is very short and leave their Jeep in 4-Low, but find they are doing 5-10 km at reasonable speeds.
Advise of the reason for stoppages - clearing track, checking the track for steep sections, tracked blocked by another vehicle, oncoming vehicles, etc.
Advise of oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
Advise of obstacles, which may otherwise go unseen.
On steep or difficult sections, allow participants to walk the section, or view other Jeeps. Allow change of driving order to suit driver needs. [When walking the track, adherence to appropriate Social Distancing is required.]
Leader should drive section first (or designate a temporary lead vehicle), then stop as soon as possible after the obstacle to oversee & spot for following Jeeps.
When driving sections one Jeep at a time, advise vehicles how far to travel before stopping, ensuring that parked Jeeps will not block later convoy vehicles from clearing the obstacle.

If vehicle recovery is necessary If you have appointed a Technical adviser, ensure that they are involved.
If you have taken on this task as a trip leader:
a. Ensure driver to be recovered is aware of what will happen and is agreeable.
b. Ensure overall safety, including dampeners on snatch straps and winch lines, spectators at a safe distance, recover points being used, etc.
c. If the recovery is beyond the collective ability of those on the trip, call for advice and/or assistance.
d. If a Jeep is to be left behind for later recovery, either by the Trip on it's return, or a specialist team, at least one operational Jeep should remain with the disabled Jeep.

Authority on the Trip
The trip leader is responsible for the actions of those on the trip. If trip participants ignore the reasonable requests of the trip leader, the leader can ask them to leave the trip, whilst being mindful of any associated safety issues. If this leads to any conflict, the trip leader should immediately cancel the trip, and report the circumstances to the Committee of the Club.

First Aid
Each Jeep should have their own First Aid kit.
If anyone requires First Aid beyond their own resources, provision of equipment and self administration is the first option.
If someone is incapable of administering first aid to themselves, the next option should be an adult occupant of the same Jeep.
If this is not possible, the Trip Leader should take control, but be very cautious about administering First Aid beyond your ability.