Off-road response

Specialist skills. Shared purpose.

DSRT Tavistock covers wide areas of open moorland and farmland, where casualty sites may only be reached by off-road vehicle. The team has two Land Rover Defenders to reach incidents and bring personnel and equipment as close as possible.

Around 16 team members are trained to Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW) off-road driving standards, including three of the country’s 15 instructors. Drivers complete the MREW Advanced Driver Training course to learn how to prepare and operate vehicles safely on and off the road.

Vehicle preparation

• Safety procedures, including jacking, and vehicle knowledge.
• Differentials, four-wheel drive systems and hydraulic coupling.
• Transmission wind-up and how to prevent it.

On and off-road driving

• When and how to engage four-wheel drive.
• Driving with a load and handling rough tracks.
• Safe driving on sand, mud, ice and snow.

Returning to the road

Drivers also learn to disengage four-wheel drive systems correctly and clean the vehicle before rejoining the road.

Every specialist is part of the wider rescue team. Regular training helps volunteers bring their skills together when a call-out takes them into challenging terrain.