Thread: why dont they use rail?

Originally Posted by tony66_au

My coping strategy BTW when faced with a load that isn't doing 100 k is to sit back, relax and wait.

We also get a few oversize loads heading to the coal or forestry and the Straz is 2 lanes (One each way), twisty and has some steep long pulls with no overtaking lanes.

My regular journey takes 17 mins at 100 ish, behind a slower vehicle be it car or truck it takes 20 - 21 mins and because I always have some time up my sleeve knowing this is a possibility I kick back, relax and work on my right arm tan......

Im also a driver trainer and although this isnt what I do for a living it gives me pause for thought at the sheer amount of bad car drivers around me on and off P plates.

So next time you get stuck? Relax, kick back and watch the show....

Plenty of brown undies moments just waiting to happen on the roads these days and tragic though they may be they are **** funny to watch.

Or maybe im just a grumpy old bugger?

Tony

Your not allowed to use that, SWMBO has reserved that for me.

How long is it going to take one B triple to overtake another B triple going up hill at 55kph and the the overtaking vehicle doing 55.01kph. It is bad enough now on the Hume with semis and B doubles trying to overtake each other up hills (I guess it has to be there as even the slowest goes quick down hill) and cars have to sit behind twiddling their thumbs waiting, waiting, waiting.

Maybe a call on the radio to the slower truck to slow just a little to let the faster truck pass would be helpful to other road users.

Garry

Originally Posted by BMKal

Never ceases to amaze me the number of muppets driving up the road with instructions to call them up on Channel 10 or 18 or 23 or whatever stuck on the back of their vehicle (especially caravans). Do they honestly think that anyone else is going to change channels just to call them up.

I didn't think that they had that information on the back of their caravans or motorhomes as an instruction to advise them on that channel about road conditions.

I thought it was just a friendly invitation for anyone who was interested in a bit of a natter about any topic (except religion and politics of course. ) I had assumed that they deliberately chose a different channel so that they could have a discussion about the meaning of life without being interrupted.

However that is merely an assumption on my part because I am not in a position to either offer or accept the invitation.

Originally Posted by vnx205

I didn't think that they had that information on the back of their caravans or motorhomes as an instruction to advise them on that channel about road conditions.

I thought it was just a friendly invitation for anyone who was interested in a bit of a natter about any topic (except religion and politics of course. ) I had assumed that they deliberately chose a different channel so that they could have a discussion about the meaning of life without being interrupted.

However that is merely an assumption on my part because I am not in a position to either offer or accept the invitation.

No problems if that is all they want to use their radio for ...........

But I have recently read a thread on another forum where a lot of people were complaining about trucks and other vehicles sitting behind them and not calling them up to let them know that they were about to be overtaken (by semi's / roadtrains etc) even though they had signage on the back of their vehicles (caravans ????) clearly indicating what channel they are on.

For starters, if you are doodling along pulling caravan at 70 or 80 km/h and a large truck comes up behind to overtake, he generally won't be sitting behind you close enough to read your "clear" signage - he will take a run up from a bit further back when he can see that the road ahead is clear and by the time that he can read what channel you're on - he's already in the right lane and on his way round.

I've always thought that the main purpose for having a radio in the vehicle was to communicate with other road users when necessary and to listen out for warnings / advice on road conditions - and to do that, you need to be on the same channel that the majority of road users (trucks) are on. I'm not a big believer in using radios in vehicles for a general natter on the weather (or religion or politics of course), when I'm actually supposed to be concentrating on driving the vehicle. I guess that's why I also have absolutely no tolerance for the dickheads that I see all the time driving around with a mobile phone jammed in their ear.

But maybe I'm just strange and I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Originally Posted by BMKal

No problems if that is all they want to use their radio for ...........

But I have recently read a thread on another forum where a lot of people were complaining about trucks and other vehicles sitting behind them and not calling them up to let them know that they were about to be overtaken (by semi's / roadtrains etc) even though they had signage on the back of their vehicles (caravans ????) clearly indicating what channel they are on.

... ......

But maybe I'm just strange and I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Not having been involved, I had just assumed that people were being sensible and safe. I had this mental picture of the passengers filling in the time exchanging gossip with passengers in other vehicles in the same way that travellers often strike up a conversation with strangers around the fire in camping grounds.

Clearly if people are complaining, then my assumptions about how people used their radios or how they expected others to use theirs were a bit wide of the mark. It seems I credited some people with having more common sense than they actually have.

In the Series III, even without a radio, i was never caught by surprise by a road train wanting to overtake. I thought that was what mirrors were for. In a Series Land Rover, you seem to get used to looking in your mirrors a lot because almost everyone seems to be going faster than you are.

Know exactly what you mean about checking your mirrors in a Series. I've had a few "slower than average" old girls in my time too.

That Defender you've got now with the tray top camper is a nice looking bit of gear.

Many years ago long before CB radios,and in the days of my driving heavy (and slow pommie trucks) if the road ahead was clear 2 blinks of the RH indicator to the following vehicle was the GO,if oncoming or blocked ahead,2 blinks of LH indicator,seemed to work OK,but now in the days of NO-COMMON SENSE it is just all about MMM--EEE and B--- everybody else

And rear veiw mirrors are your friend,even when the scallies are running without lights at night!

There have been B-triples running from Broadmedows to Geelong for years, it's just that 95% of car drivers haven't noticed.
In Queensland Type 1 roadtrains (double) are being used between Toowoomba and the Port of Brisbane, but so as not to scare the car drivers they have been redesignated as A-doubles. West of Toowoomba they have to display "ROAD TRAIN" signs while the exact same truck east of Toowoomba displays "LONG VEHICLE", same as a B-double. The same applies east of the Newell now.