Hints for cruising on the street and offroad!

The rules in Tunisia are almost like the ones in Europe. The motorisation expands exponentially, the possibility to crash in Tunisia is very high.Defensive driving is necessary!!!!!!

City and Crosscountry driving on the asphalt!

Tunisia has a very good developed streetnet.The problem are footwalkers, scooter drivers, and donkeykarts. Be especially careful at night!!
The long driving times to the south (Tunis-Touzeur or Tatouine 1 day) really make you tired. Take enough breaks so you are not that tired and not get in an accident. Cities mostly have heavy traffic of all sorts..
 
 

On the dirtroad

In the south of the country,  the main connections are dirtroads. They consist of more or less hard sand. Terrible is the right word for the"Wellblech" roads, which are dirt roads that where made by vehicles who have chains instead of wheels.  The shaking might cause problems with the vehicle. Everything that didn't fall off on the way will fall off there. And because of the dust, you should keep your distance from the other cars. If you release air from your tires, you can travel more comfortably.
If you drive through towns  or inhabitated areas, always drive at walking pace, the flying dust will not make the inhabitants scream for joy. If children throw with rocks because of the dust, I can understand them.......

Offroad

Our austrian friends have good experiences with offroad and have some info about it at  www.gelaendewagen.at .
For beginners, a click on their site is suggested!!! (German language.....)
There are many possibilities to go offroad.

In Mountain regions: Tricky and mostly only visible at the last second, cracks in the road made by water running down the mountains.
In the low areas: In the south are sometimes strang plant on the dunes that are used to keep away the sand, please drive by.
In the sand  The main problem of the sand is the water from the rain that makes the dune look safe, but you need the the 4wheel drive. Solution A: Down with the airpressure. So always keep an air pump of some sort with you.  Solution B: Change the line. Whatever the person in front of you drives over, it can't get better. Solution C: If the vehicle is stuck, dig it free in front or back. Solution D: Sandboards under the wheel, not just under. every part of them needs to touch the ground.
In the dunes Danger 1: Falling of the vehicle to the side: Search for a good passage on foot, and try not to have too much weight on the roof.  Danger 2: Dunejump: The top of the dune has a "step" on which the car slips over or turns over. So search for a passage on foot. General hint: In offroad, driver and co-driver are working as a team: The driver drives and estimates the ground before him, the co-driver orientates and gives the driver directions.  Mark hard passages with flags!!