Don't Drive on the Beach- Your rig will sink

This is why trip planning is important.

OCEANO, Calif. - The Oceano Dunes attract drivers of almost every type of transportation, both on wheels and hooves, but even still - many frequent visitors are surprised to see video of a semi truck from a produce company stuck in the sand.

"That's pure insanity," says Sandra Taylor who has lived in Oceano for over 30 years.

"April Fools on him.. that's the wrong way to go," says Frank, an Oceano local.

"It's definitely a vehicle that should not have been on the beach in the first place," says Jacob Bosley who works on the dunes.

In one of the videos, you can the semi being towed out by another truck. On-lookers say this was the truck's second attempt to pull out the semi, after the first attempt broke the strap they were using to tow it.

A representative from the California State Parks Department tells us the truck driver decided to drive onto the beach to turn around from the dunes' kiosk. The driver then jack-knifed the trailer trying to turn around.

We reached out to the General Manager of OK Produce in Fresno but he did not return our calls.

Park rangers say the truck being out on the sand was perfectly legal.

For longtime Oceano resident Sandra Taylor, she says videos like this make her nervous because of some of the horrific accidents she's witnessed on the beach.

"I know people have died out in the dunes from going over dunes and not seeing what's on the other side and crashing into other people who are crashed. I was there one time when a person died," Taylor explains.

Dunes visitor Faride Khalaf on the other hand says driving a semi truck might be one of the safest options out there, telling us: "The more wheels you have, it would be like wearing snow shoes instead of high heels if you understand the pressure on soft ground principle. So I don't see anything wrong with it."

If you are going to head out on the sand, ttour driver Jacob Bosley says deflating your tires might actually make you less likely to get stuck like the semi did. "You can let the air out of your tires, it'll increase surface area and reduce the chance of sinking in the sand," Bosley says.

There are no exact specifications for what types of vehicles are allowed on the dunes but park rangers are starting to close certain parts of the park near the creek during high tides as the area becomes dangerous for any type of vehicle to drive through.

http://www.keyt.com/news/san-luis-o...uck-at-oceano-dunes-shocks-visitors/380136580