Holiday Driving.

[GasoLane]

Seeing as it's the silly season on the road I thought I'd drop a few hints on how to get where your going with the least amount of drama. (After 39 years interstate driving you tend to notice these things)

The comments below are written from a Truck Drivers point of view and relate mainly to country single lane roads but could still be applicable to dual highways

The main thing to remember is that the idea of driving is getting from point A to point B without impeding anybody else progress. This will save us all a lot of paperwork



# If you breakdown (or have to stop) get off the road as far as possible. Don't just pull up anywhere, there might be a parking bay or farm driveway a little further on where you can get further off the road.

# Keep away from the centre line, the enemy is on the other side and might like driving close to it as well.

# Carry a torch and a triangle (in case you break down) city folk tend to forget that country roads don't have street lights.

# After dark if you can see headlights or tail lights in front of you, your lights should be dipped. If your driving a lot at night you'll appreciate this.

# After dark don't drive with your fog/cornering/aux lights on into oncoming traffic. The same goes for the high intensity tail lights.

# Don't overtake Trucks and then cut back in sharply, it makes us nervous.

# Take a handheld CB in case you need to ask for help or how far to the next petrol/roadhouse/pub. But if you call a Truck (Ch40) talk normally, 10-4 good budgie type conversations will only be met with silence.

# If your travelling with mates a CB is invaluable (they might find the pub first!) but don't use Ch40, this is only used as a highway channel. Any long term conversations are usually 'off channel'.

# If you're towing a trailer or caravan and want to sit on 80-85 kmh fine. Most Truck Drivers are fine with this as long as the speed is constant.
Varying your speed makes it bloody hard to judge if we have enough room to do the job.

# Regardless of your speed if you are about to get overtaken by a Truck, back off a bit until he gets past, flash your lights when he's clear then resume your speed.

# Don't be impatient. If you see a sign saying overtaking lane ahead, wait until then if you cant see what's ahead. (I'm constantly amazed how many people behind me can see around the corner when I cant)

#If you pull up for a sleep in a parking bay be aware that there might be Trucks pulling up all around you in the middle of the night. The best place is to pull up right at the end of the bay