Off-Road

The term off-road refers to a driving surface which is not conventionally paved. This is a rough surface, often created naturally, such as sand, gravel, a river, mud, snow and others. more...

These terrains can sometimes only be travelled on by vehicles designed for off-road driving (such as heavy-duty trucks and equipment, SUVs, ATVs, snowmobiles or mountain bicycles) or vehicles that have off-road equipment. Notable examples of vehicle manufacturers that specialize in off-road vihicles include Jeep, Hummer, and Land Rover.

In some countries, off-road activity may be prohibited in many areas and even where allowed, may require special permits or licenses.

Vehicle off road activities have been criticized by those concerned with environmental damage. The continued use of an area for off road activities can lead to deforestation, loss of top soil, and silting of local waters. The off-road community, however, points out that most off-roading is done responsibly, and that the people who create most of the damage are not conducting themselves responsibly. They argue that the entire off-road community should not be labelled by a few irrisponsible individals. Little can be done about this however, as most see the off-road community as a single collective entity, which further leads to problems in this area. To many extents, this argument will continue in similar cateogories as logging or urban sprawl debates.

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