Give road trains plenty of space ... especially in wet weather.
A Northern Territory truck driver has warned that travellers such as grey nomads need to be more ‘accommodating’ on the roads, particularly during the Wet Season.
Gary Rooks been driving road trains throughout Australia for decades, and says in that time he has seen people try to do some very silly things.
“Most people understand how long a road train is, but the tourists don’t,” he told the ABC. “They seem to try to overtake you in the most stupid places. You have to hit the brakes and let them go, otherwise they’ll get killed.”
While there are a lot less grey nomads up north during the Wet Season, Mr Rooks said those that are there do tend to be more careful … and so do the truckies.
“We do drive a bit slower,” he said. “We understand that, in the wet, it (the truck) won’t pull up as quickly if something happens.”
But, on the plus side, Mr Rooks said that driving in the Top End at this time of the year was truly beautiful.
“Everything’s green, the rivers are flowing,” he said. “It’s good to see.”
We hear a lot about the challenges faced by professional drivers and having been a professional driver myself (Not road trains) I can fully understand and appreciate the challenges, time schedules and frustrations faced by these hard working professionals on a daily basis..
There are times however when I wonder about the attitude of some of these people and in particular those driving larger trucks and road trains. Do they actually have any idea how much dust and rock they throw up, or how high a bow wave they create when driving through water for example?. Answer, enough to create serious damage to windscreens, vehicles and caravans or flood engines when they pass in the opposite direction.
We all have the right to use the road and In the end we all need to share this very limited space. Common courtesy should go both ways and size does not give you the right to force the issue as happens far to often and I to wonder at times if they actually give a dam about other road users.
Eddie
As a retired truck driver getting around Oz motorcycle and trailer most caravan towers wouldn’t have any idea of what they are doing and if they had to get a artict lincese wouldn’t be there in the first place