Blue lights and scalies
Page 44
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month instead of my I Cross Channel page, Is Simon Greenly of the mental Freight Drivers' ,tam looking further I — down under en Yorkshireman Gordon erill, a CFDC member, took g break to visit Australia, I I him to let us know first what it is like trucking s that country from east to Imagine a trip from Lon Afghanistan completed in days. Impossible if there any French Customs Posts iss through! Let Gordon ip the story.
'as Friday at 6.30pm in Can
when I received a phone -am my friend Darren. If I ml a trip east to west across alia, I should be at the truck m the next day.
as one of the coldest 5 I had encountered in Ausand I was glad I had taken ieepskin jacket. The rig was 3gnificent Kenworth 6x4 rer with a Detroit 500bhp e pulling a tri-axle fridge ien Darren arrived we :d our bags in the locker, ifter he fired up the mighty e he checked round to en II was OK. We were off.
engine had no trouble in g the loaded rig up hill and dale as we headed up to lume Highway" then down ss before heading west New South Wales, ride and handling of the was comparable to a lux3r with a better view. It falter on any of the gra; the turbo would just a a little louder as the fuel gust into the big bore en in NSW ht time fell as if someone led off the lights. But with ight came the cold. From rig shorts (stubbies) and T now donned shoes, socks, jeans, T-shirt, shirt, polosweater, sheepskin jacket, ut a blanket round me and till freezing.
cues and hotplates ving New South Wales for ia for a short while, I saw )ach state has weigh staor agricultural checkpoints all trucks and buses Must They call the weigh sta Into the sun We were headed due west, just as the sun was setting. It was spectacular to see the sun directly in front on the horizon. It made it a mongrel for Darren to drive towards. If we could have driven off the edge of the earth we would have hit the sun dead centre. It slowly sank from view making it easier to drive but not yet dark enough to use the headlights. You can see for incredible distances across the landscape, which is unobscured by mist or smog.
The roads in South Australia were the best I had encountered. For the most part the bitumen is laid straight onto scoured ground as it is so solid, with a scoured unsealed section on the roadside as a hard shoulder. This also helps as a tolerance if a wide load is travelling or a vehicle breaks down, The rough parts were near water which got under the bitumen and created hollows which would cause a nerve shattering experience when crossing, especially if a section was frequently washed out.
A pile of hard core would be dumped onto the submerged section to enable vehicles passage albeit VERY SLOWLY. On many occasions the drivers' judgment would be critical if the mirrors were at the same height as oncoming vehicles'. Several times I was convinced that the mirrors would touch — luckily this never happened!
Refuelling at Penang for the desert When the saddle bag tanks, the trailer belly tank and the fridge plant tank were full, we had taken on 2,860 litres. Total capacity was in excess of 3,000 litres.
We were now ready to cross the Nullabor and Hampton tablelands the Great Victoria Desert). The speed limit in the desert is 90km/h, but 100 is tolerated. The motor was capable of pulling a full grossed rig in excess of 140km/h.
Wild camels The signs on the road side showed kangaroos, wombats and even camels, yes, wild camels. Was this Saudi Arabia? I wasn't dreaming.
When an oncoming vehicle's lights came into view, Darren would dip his lights but it would be a good ten minutes before passing as the light travels so far unobscured. We pulled in at the Eucla Roadhouse for provisions, Coke and Mars Bars (Stubbies and Munchies), screenclean and yet another check round.
The last stage Heading north now for Coolgardie near the gold mines of Kalgoorlie past what I took to be salt water lakes. On the roadside was a sign stating speed checks carried out by plane. At intervals there are white lines painted across the road. A pilot high above in his plane times the vehicle between the two points. The pilot then contacts a patrol car to stop a suspect vehicle. As we proceeded along, Darren was very aware of these patrols, alerted by the CB. The 52-band monitor was working, set to intercept the closest signal to it. We had heard some "blue lights" talking when we came upon a slow moving car, and we pulled in front. Over the monitor came a voice saying that the offending truck was approaching the dogleg by the church. As we rounded such a curve a plain car did a U-turn in front of us.
Out leapt a police officer who held up his hand to stop us. He climbed up to look at the clocks. He then returned to the car where he did a vehicle licence check with base which I could hear on the monitor. Darren was fined 40 dollars for exceeding the speed limit between 2 and 10km/h. Across the airways the pilot said "Was he a bit upset?" The car driver replied "He wasn't very pleased".
Darren fired up the engine and pulled off the shoulder. We had gone about 200 yards when we heard a voice say "There's the truck!" It was the Weights and Measures. They carry portable scales in estate cars to make checks on the road
"Scalies" said Darren and pulled up. He stopped on the road for two reasons: firstly the shoulder was a 450 angle, and secondly, they have to weigh off on the road. However, he did not open the load as it had Federal Seals, and there was no one present to witness it.
We were reaching the end of our 3,000-mile trip to Perth. In a few days we would be travelling east with a return load. We had driven right over the weekend — Australian truckers have their weekends when there is no work. Otherwise it is 364 days a year; the day off is to get wed so you have a wife who can drive for you!