There have been a number of high-profile road accidents involving grey nomads recently, and so a new safety campaign aimed at those driving in outback Queensland is well timed.
The Stay on Track Outback campaign was developed by police and councils in south-west Queensland to highlight the challenges grey nomads face on remote roads … such as road trains and kangaroos. Sergeant Dominic Richardson told the ABC that many single-car crashes involving caravan rollovers in the region were caused by driver inexperience.
“They are not used to some of the hazards that are unique to some of our roads,” he said. “Road conditions are one, and there is wildlife, bushfires and smoke hazards that are posed by that. A lot of our travellers coming through have never experienced anything like cattle road trains or wide loads carrying mining equipment.”
He said that every accident involved some sort of personal tragedy for the people involved.
“Most of them are retirees, recent retirees, and you can see they put months or years of planning into their holiday dream for retirement,” he said. “It’s a real personal tragedy for them because their beautiful new car and their beautiful new van, which are in great condition prior to the accident, are just literally in pieces.”
Have you had to learn the hard way about the challenges of Outback driving? How well did you prepare for your driving ‘marathon’? Email us here with your thoughts on this story.
