Road trains and the LAW

Survival mate....give them room...live to fight another day....

Been traveling on road with huge road trains traffic and failed to see much problem. On the contrary – I found out that road trains drivers in general cooperative, polite and dependable. Just remember that they drive huge machinery with mammoth mass and therefore they cannot brake, accelerate and turn quickly. They work hard and nature of their work is far away from driving a car – it more like skipper of big ship. Be a bit respectful and cooperative – give them a bit more room and there will be no problem.

Cheers
Serg

I see a lot of roadtrains, but don't see road trains as any more lawless than others nor are drivers generally driven by fuel/time/effort considerations - they are usually paid for what they work, and someone else pays the fuel one way or another.
Why would the mental state of road train drivers be a problem more than other road users? The ones I talk to are pretty balanced, are working within log book restrictions and are couteous roadusers.

I work and travel with road trains all the time and never have a problem, give them plenty of room/signal your intentions early and remember that last trailer can move about quite a bit.

If they come up on you move off the road early and let them go, that way you are out of their hair and they are out of yours.

I move off the road automatically when one is approaching and give him heaps of room. If I want to overtake I will call and let them no I am on the way, sometimes passing them on the inside to keep out of the dust.

You may have struck a couple of bad drivers but 99% are good drivers making a living and trying to get home safely.

Not sure what you are talking about. I have found most road trains behave more courteously and are more likely to be doing the right thing legally than a lot of other road users. They are driving large vehicles often with heavy loads in difficult conditions. If I meet one on a dirt road I am more than happy to pull over if it looks like they need the room. Most are very cooperative if you wish to overtake even on the dirt. There are rules for driving times and speed and they are enforced. Most people driving long distance would be in far worse shape than the truckies. Just look at the number of single vehicle accidents. A large percentage are cars. Roads in Europe are busy and there are a huge number of trucks going much faster than any in Oz. From what I have seen continental drivers are very capable of being nutters. 140km/hr on the dirt road to Mt Dare for example. Reason for 140, vehicle would not go any faster!!

Steve

You need to get up north a bit more.

Its pretty simple physics. A. Is it easier for a 2000 kg 4WD to slow down, pull off the road and perhaps stop or is it B. Easier for 100+ tonne of road train trying to keep 3 trailers straight to do the same safely.

I pick option A. If you think you are that important that a road train and don't take second fiddle, then go ahead and play chicken, I know who will loose.

Its about common sense and safety, not the law or who owns the road or testosterone.

When I come across an on coming road train, I get on the UHF let him know he has the road, I pull over and stop. Its safer and less expensive than replacing a windscreen.

Its just the way it is, get used to it or don't drive where there are road trains.

David
sounds like you have had a bad experience - why don't you tell us about it instead of making wild accusations. You are using a very wide brush to paint a whole industry. I was in a convoy once when our leader, talking to a road train driver on the radio made the comment "go for your life, you're out here making a quid, we're only out here having fun!!!" I think that's a good point to remember. And as has been said above, those things take a lot of getting going and a lot of stopping, so if we "having fun" can make their lives a little bit easier by getting out of their way,why shouldn't we? There's one thing about them, at least you can see them coming!!!

tessa

A caravan with 80 is more of a problem than a road train with 120 .. especially when it rains.
have fun
gmd

David ..another thing to remember .....they are on the open road everyday .not just on weekends or vacation time...so they know a lot more about what's going on on these roads .than the tourist driver ...so give them a break...and the room.they need ..trying to pull up ...or go round some one that's hit the brakes or sits on the center line ...is hard and down right dangerous for everyone....these things can weigh...a great deal more than you would think..so .being in a car that's 3 ton max and a lot more manoeuvrable than ANY truck ...give them the road...see them on coming ::back of the right foot.sit your left wheel on the fog line .the more distance from them the better.....then they can see what your doing .and line themselves up as to keep it safe for both of you..:.that way we all stay on the black top....don't get dusted by rocks (cause someone's hogging the road)and the truck has to drop of the side ...which in itself is bad enough to handle.......think back to when we first drove a car with a lg caravan behind........scary ...hell yer .so triple that and then ...give them room ...................

Cheers Bundy

DAVID P; whats the hurry to get there when you are on holidays? last time i checked you didnt need a logbook to tow a van or go on holidays.try working in our industry, then you'de see on the other side of the fence,cheers.

most road train drivers are safer than the average person driving around town. They have only got their licence from very hard work and they are not just given out to anyone. They have strict conditions in which they need to drive and log books that ARE checked. So yes - authorities care.
Did you see the other night on telly about the coppa's stopping every single vehicle crossing the nullabor??? EVERY single one was stopped and sure about 12 truckies weren't allowed to drive for 12 hrs or so due to various reasons.

I really hope you dont trust everything that ACA ir today tonight or anyother show tells us. They tell us what they want us to know - that trucks are dangerous.....sure they are - if our stupid around them!

I every respect for trucks - whether its a little MR, right up to the road trains.

Hi David
I admire those guys and gals that are up at the sharp end of the road train.
I respect the skill and the patience and perseverance that they need to do their job.
Last trip coming back I stopped at Mitchell ,brief chat to some drivers and helped guide a dog into the trailer.
Did it because I know and appreciate the skills that those operator's have.
They are only doing their job to the best of their gear and ability.
GET TO HELL OUT OF THE WAY
The driver might have 2 decks of cattle on the rig, they will move a little until you are on the road for a while, and then will sleep or semi comatose state, get suddenly aroused by the driver having to react because of some silly bugger, cattle all move! trailer swings .
GET OUT OF THE BLOODY WAY.
Don't make it happen.
What are you skills like backing a single axle?

Love the guys.

Use my brain and the mirror, give 'em heaps of room.

I listen in on the uhf and know where the 'law' is, what their doing and always stop for a feed where they stop. Then you know the tuckers good.

Cheers.....Lionel.

Hi David,

I know you've just asked a series of questions but the nature of the questions implies you think that road train drivers are above the law. Have I got this right or are you just fishing?

I've always treated these guys with respect, perhaps more to do with common sense and self preservation. However last year I was involved in an engineering development program getting road trains operating on LNG. During this time I spent a lot of time in the LH seat (yeah the one without air suspension ... bugger) on bitumen and dirt roads. These road trains were big (2 trailers at 100T carting crude or 3 trailers at 140T carting iron ore). My experience is that the drivers of these rigs are very professional, courteous and lawful road users. As has been mentioned, the laws of physics as they apply to momentum, vehicle width, weight, etc do not allow for these rigs to be as readily handled as other road users. I can remember one trip there was a trailer tyre blow out on the Brand Hwy. Stopped to inspect but at 100T could not pull over onto gravel shoulder to replace and too dangerous to do on road, so had to travel 20kms to next truck bay at ~ 20kph. I'm sure a lot of road users were annoyed but anyone with UHF would have known that the driver could not have done a better job of explaining his predicament or being courteous.

I would recommend UHF and be courteous in advance. I think you'll find most truckies will appreciate the fact that you care to talk and respond with the same level of courtesy.

Regards,
Hugh

David,

There are so many strips of bitumin in western and northern qld that are road train rated I would be here till the cows came home to name them.

Many people drive these roads tourists, caravanners and the like, most do not have a hastle if they follow common scence.

As you know, don't frustrate others by your actions, you would come across this all the time in a bus. So if people get off the road the danger has been removed, if you can't get off call the truck and he will let you know where you can pull off for him or her.

Mate was pulling a double near Winton and a carravan overtook him, sadly when the van pulled back in he lost control and it went under the truck. Both killed. If they had waited a short time they could have overtaken with ease.

Have a safe one

I prefer to chalk up miles at night when travelling often I see no other vehcles than the truckies (its when they do mostof their tavelling as well). been doing it in slow vehicles that travelled under 100 and was often overtaken by the truckies and faster ones where I was doing the overtaking.
Since the early 80s I have NEVER seen an excessvly speeding truck
and I have
ONCE
had an incident (easily avoided by me) with a truckie and it was in the city very early morning where a trckie i guess didnt expect anyone to be around and changed lanes while ging through an intersection in Wingfield

Id suggest most people that complain about truckies are dangerous drivers that blame others forthere mistakes on the road

Mate I have to agree with the general theme of all the replies. I think if you put yourself in the position of what these professional operators have to do, the size of the vehicles they have to manoeuvre (which has to be done very slowly & takes a lot more room than a car), the stopping distance, the distance it takes to get up to cruise speed from a standstill, the idiot car drivers and caravan towers they have to put up with day in day out then I think they do a pretty damn good job. In my experience dealing personally with them and via UHF they are very professional in the main.
Should you wish to seek rational replies might I suggest you frame your question in a rational tone and just be forthright and come straight out with what your problem with them is instead of beating around the bush and not really making any rational point

I guess I better reply to this, as I have just come home from driving a road train 900Kms in the last 13 hours.
And I will do it again tomorrow and the next 3 days after that.
Over 80 tons gross,and some are going over 100 tons with 3 trailers.
It ain't exactly got BMW handling, I can tell you.
David P If you drive a bus, you should know the laws for heavy vehicles as far as speed limits and driving hours are concerned. Or do you drive a mini bus which doesn't measure much more than a family car.
What is the difference in handling your Jeep and a Corolla size vehicle up through hills and around corners and parking etc....
The Jeep would be like driving a wet sponge in the bath compared to a nimble small car. PLEASE, I don't mean to offend Jeep drivers, it's just a comparison.
Road Trains have a speed limit of 90 KPH and B Doubles can do 100 KPH.
It's quite frustrating when someone in front is meandering along at about 85 KPH in the holiday vehicle.
We just can't jump on the accelerator and slip past unless we can see a couple of kilometres or more in front. Acceleration is not a big ticket item.
If we are held up behind a vehicle for maybe 15 minutes or more, and it does happen on some roads, that might just be the difference between us getting to a rest area within our log book hours.
We get big fines for not taking the prescribed breaks at the appropriate time, and we can only safely pull up in the truck parking bays.
The authorities have heard every excuse under the sun as to why the said driver hasn't stopped for his break, and getting caught in traffic is not likely to bring a smile to their face, except when they hand you the fine.

Take a tip when you see a road train on an outback road too, there is probably more than 40 wheels spitting out all sorts of rocks and gravel and #$@# at you as you go past.
Give us a break and give us a bit of room.

We don't want to break your windscreen with rocks,and we don't want to put more chips on your car than you would see in a fish & chip shop.

And we are not above the law, there are about 4 different departments that can issue us with fines or strip our licence away from us.
A bit different to the average motorist just worrying about a speed camera.

I'm off to bed now for a sleep.

Dave

We must not confuse the road train drivers with the the truckies we see on our major hghways. The latter can be under huge pressure to deliver their load on time and any number of factors can frustrate that intention and their driving behaviour can vary because of this. A double B is hardly a road train!

My experience with road train drivers in the outback has been 100% positive. They are very aware of the 4WDer like me and having had a number of bad experiences themselves know how to drive when guys like me are around. My approach is simple. If one of these behemoths is heading towards me on a narrow outback road I pull over and stop giving the driver full advantage of all the bitumen available (or wel out of the way of the dirt he is kicking up). Where possible I use my UHF to tell him what I'm doing. I'd rather lose a few seconds than a few hours when, because of my lack of courtesy, I've forced his left wheels onto the shoulder kicking up all sort of windscreen shattering objects. driving with a shattered windscreen is no fun.

To sum up, it's nothing to do with threat - just road room. Don't giveway to him at your own peril for he has to take action to avoid hitting you. The last thing he wants is his multi-wheeler sliding off the soft shoulder. Do you blame him?

One of my most memorable exchanges with a road-train driver occured south of Katherine on the Stuart Hwy. We were heading south and after leaving Katherine I started to build up speed after road works. I was running the old 4.2TD Patrol with the Ultimate hangin' off the back. A lot of cars were overtaking to get ahead and then I came up behind a 2 trailer road-train doing about 75k/h. I soon realised that he was stuck behind a grey nomad in an old Kingswood and towing a large caravan.

I got him on the UHF and had a yarn to him. The road was windy and slightly up hill. After about 5klm of this, I saw that there was a straighter section of road ahead where I had clear vision for a couple of klicks. I asked the bloke if he'd like to go around the caravan and he responded that he didn't have enough room to build up to the necessary speed in the available space before the next crest.....he invited me to go around. I overtook him and c/van safely and managed to get quite well ahead to the top of the next crest. I saw that the road was clear for at least another 3 to 4 klm and advised the trucky of this (not knowing whether he'd trust me enough to take my word for it). He did and was able to safely overtake the old bloke, even though that meant that he was, at one point, on the wrong side of an unbroken line.

We continued to talk to one another for the 200+ klicks, until we decided to pull into Daly Waters for some tucker.

We got to know each other pretty well during that hour or so. I was conscious that maybe he didn't really want to be talking to some stupid tourist in a 4by and I asked him a couple of times if I was disturbing him. He was genuinely pleased to have someone to talk to on that long, boring trip.

It turns out he was on a Darwin/Adelaide turn-around, returning hire cars to Adelaide that had been driven one way etc. Even though he spent 6 days a week on the Stuart, he said that he'd had a few days off a week or so earlier. When I asked him what he did on his days off, he said he loaded up his young blokes off-road motor bike and took him down to Alice Springs to compete in a race!!! I said words to the effect that he MUST BE JOKING!!! He said he loves driving his truck down the highway, but doing it in the 4by with the motor bike trailer on the back was just plain hard work....!!!! hahahah

Anyway, I've long had a lot of respect for truckies in general. Sure, there are cowboys out there, but the same can be said for just about any job/career/profession you care to name (especially doctors and politicians etc....IE: white collar, so called "professionals").

Some of my best mates are truckies and I'd trust them with my life.

Roachie

David,

Advice given to us some years ago by a bloke who manages a road train base in Mt Isa was:

"Indicate that you're pulling off the road, or use UHF to do so, and do so well before you meet the road train." Whether you stop, or drive along the shoulder is up to you.

You only have to attend a road train roll-over, to witness all the dead, or injured cattle, to appreciate what these drivers' responsibilities are.

Its a bit hard to be a"cowboy" in a triple, that has worse acceleration than a Ford Anglia!!!!!!

Someone mentioned fines. How would we 4WD & car drivers feel if the cops started to fine us 3 points & $600 for being 15 minutes over our allocated driving hours?

Treat 'em with respect, and they'll do likewise to us.

Hooroo,
Bob.

David

Seems fairly unanimous from what I've read, despite your obvious objection to my comment about "forcing you off the road".

GET OUT OF THEIR WAY!

They may not do it intensionally but when I see 100 tonne road train come towards me and he isn't moving over on a road with steep shoulders, guess what you do?

Its a case of common sense not who is right or wrong.