Considerate B-Doubles?

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Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

Great for cyclists though, getting all that debris off the shoulder, as I doubt the street sweeper gets much use out on the Hay Plain. I have found that while out doing the little cycling that I do, truck drivers are most professional and try to give bicycles a wide berth.

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It`s just those temporary one`s that hang off the conning rail that need flipping off the road :oops2::wasntme::angel:

I drove Brisbane to Warra return yesterday......didn’t see one truck, b double or Road train move to the left.....I must have come across a million or so.

I’m saying that there was only one truckie (well farmer) that was holding traffic up pretty bad between Yarraman and Black Butt.

The rest were just trundling down the hi-way doing there thing.

They probably think that a Defender is bound to be passed by someone sooner or later.

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Originally Posted by rangieman

Very easy to drop a wheel off the shoulder and get a whip up and or smash windscreens behind [tonguewink]

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On a lot of Australian roads, that would certainly be a concern. I wouldn't want trucks to move left much on most of the roads I have driven.

However some of the characteristics of the stretch of road where this occured mean that it would have been most unlikely that would happen.

As I said, the sealed shoulder is so wide that the trucks' tyres were still further away from the dirt than they would be on most roads most of the time.

Because the road is so flat and so straight, the truck driver has plenty of time to consider and prepare for a very gentle, controlled drift slightly left. All the truck drivers I came across impressed me with their judgement. I never had the feeling that any of them were making a last minute swerve or that they were likely to drop a wheel into the dirt.

I understand the danger you describe and certainly wouldn't expect or want truck drivers to attempt it in most places.

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Originally Posted by vnx205

I wondered if it was a consideration they showed to caravans, motorhomes and other vehicles that are likely to be adversely affected by the gust of wind fast moving trucks create.

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They probably don't want Bernoulli destroying your caravan or their truck.

Coming back from Cooma, I actually was the one moving over to the far left. This was to stop my dodgy extended mirror arms getting blown back by the trucks. Moving over just a metre or so seemed to ensure it didn't happen. I like to think they also appreciated that extra distance, and the extra confidence that I wasn't a potential head-on collision.

Almost without exception Truck Drivers are the considerate ones on the highways.

The least considerate are oldies travelling between towns oblivious to all behind them.
A close second would be many of the Bickie Dippers...

Solo vehicles are a mixed bag!

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Almost without exception Truck Drivers are the considerate ones on the highways.

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Yep, living just off an arterial highway in between towns, I have to say that trucks on the highways are the ones I have to worry least about, and they're about the only drivers who know how to dip headlights.

Pulling to the left means the truckie doesnt get a wobbly, sucked around caravan hitting his truck.

Same goes for cyclists, except they can be wobbly even without the suck effect. Truckies assume any cyclist riding on an interstate truck route is mad and treat them accordingly with a wide berth.

In summer on the hay plains some car drivers get freaked by the heat haze and wont overtake. Its annoying having them on your arse, sometimes you cant see them and you keep looking in your mirrors, or decide to not care anymore then they surprise you. Better to encourage them to pass and leave you in peace.

Ah! So it is partly self preservation or to avoid having to scrape bits of caravan off the side of their truck.

While the Benoulli effect didn't seem very strong when trucks passed me, perhaps because of the size of the gap between us, I noticed it quite a bit a few times when they overtook me.

It is slightly disconcerting catching the sight of a huge truck tyre beside your window and having your vehicle move a bit closer. It is only slightly unnerving in a tall, relatively heavy vehicle like the Defender. I imagine it would be much more alarming in a very light, low convertible where the truck tyre towers over you.