Severe Penalties

We recently camped at Mutawinji National Park (north of Broken Hill), while waiting for the Silver City Hwy to open. The ranger told us it was $10,000 per wheel, mainly to deter commercial operators who used to factor 'fixed fine' into their overheads. Fortunately the road opened the next day and we were able to proceed to Tibooburra. Cheers.

If no vehicles travel on the road when it is wet, it will dry out in the same condition it was in before the rain.

If vehicles travel on the road while it is wet, they slip and slide around bit and leave great ruts in the road when it dries out.

We all know that there is rarely a grader on the roads nowadays because of the great cost for maintenance, so that is why they close the roads.

It can be really dangerous driving along and getting caught in someone else's wheel tracks. If those tracks are wandering from one side to the other, what's your chances of getting caught in those tracks and perhaps a rollover will result.
I have seen it happen.

What would you say if you finished up having an accident because you got caught in someone else's tracks. Bear in mind, if the road is closed, and you have an accident, none else will be along shortly to render assistance.

Road closures are just one of the things you have to factor in if you go bush.

They will open the roads as soon as possible because there are graziers and all manner of other people whose existence relies on the road systems.

Dave

A cobber of mine was out back NSW on a black clay road, when he noticed rain coming in from the horizon.
Heading back to the bitumen, with only a few km to go it started to rain, the road got slippery and the clay started clinging to his tyres and getting flung up into the wheel arches.
He was very pleased to get off the clay, did little damage to the road or vehicle, but said he could see the potential for major problems if he had to continue for many more km.
cheers

Sorry KK, I wasn't aiming the reply at you personally..
It's a good subject you brought up, and I didn't address your question.

I have heard that penalties include the cost of repairing (regrading) the sections damaged by vehicles travelling the closed road. So, if that's the case, the penalties could be variable.

I emphasise that I have only heard that though.

Councils and National Parks Rangers probably have authority to administer fines/penalties in their own areas.

Sometimes it is not hard to catch the culprits.
There they are, bogged to the doorhandles where they have slid off into the tabledrain.

Dave

Maybe the penalty is similar to going on a mine road without permission.

Have an accident and no insurance.

Serves them right If its closed its closed, stay away.

Unfortunately there is always the d***heads that think the rules dont apply to them.

I remember a few year back when the Simpson desert was closed. some people travelled to William Creek and found all roads were closed. They decided to head out to Roxby Downs even though the road was closed. The people at the William Creek pub were asked to ring the police if people ignored the road closed signs.

when the vehicle arrived near Roxby Downs, they were fined $300 per wheel (I think it now $1,000 per wheel). They tried to tell the police that they didnt know the road was closed, but when the police told them that they had spoken to the William Creek pub and they had advised them that they were advised not to travel, the fine was imposed.

I also know that drivers cheat the system when it rains. Roads are normally closed the following morning at 10am, so when it rains hard on a particular day, some drivers don't stop overnight as they know the road will be closed the following day, so on they drive through the night. As you can guess,, these roads are a mess when they reopen. In this situation, the driver hasn't officially broken the law, but they have no care for the people who want to travel on the road when it re-opens.

Found this on a NT Gov site Site Link

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Hi Ray,

Just had a 'Google' and found this;

"Warning: Most states now have large fines for driving on closed tracks. The South Australian unsealed road network is one of the state's greatest assets. These roads are often closed after rain to prevent damage and to ensure the safety of road users. New legislation has increased penalties for motorists travelling on closed roads. The fine is $1250 if caught travelling on a closed road."

Applicable to South Australia but I guess most states would have similar penalties.

-when are you due over the 'mainland' again, and are you heading Flinders way at all??

Cheers
Michael

I'm not sure of what happens in other states but in WA the system is fairly simple.

The offender, when caught, incurs a fine (reputed to be $1000.00 a wheel) and may also be required to pay ALL costs incurred in restoring the closed road to newly graded condition.
This can be a significant dent in your travel budget.

Also be aware that driving on a signposted "closed road" automatically invalidates your insurance policy. So does driving on private roads without authority.


Disco.