Hazards

Wildlife:

Whenever travelling in country areas and especially the outback wildlife on the roads and the verges of the roads can be a very real hazard.Roadkill is a very common sight in all parts of Australia,whether it be possums in the suburbs or camels in the Outback.Kangaroos are especialy hazardous at night as they are attracted or dazzled by the headlights on your car.They are fast moving and can very quickly enter your field of view at the last moment making them difficult to see and avoid.Kangaroos like to feed on the vegetation near the verges of the road the reflection of their eyes being the only clue to their presence.Outback areas do not have fenced roads to contain livestock such as sheep and cattle.Wandering livestock often find there way onto the road.On cold outback nights livestock can find the warm road surface tempting, so it is not unusual to find dead cattle on the road killed by roadtrains from the night before.Black cattle on the road at night are extremely difficult to see at night.Avoid driving at night in the Outback unless it is very necessary.

Road quality:

The qualilty of roads varys greatly,from 6 lane freeways in the major cities to dusty paths that would not rate for a goat track.Even if you intend staying on the bitumen ,the road surface can take its toll on your vehicle.Every Australian highway is travelled by heavy vehicles,and even outback roads are subject to flooding,after which the road surface can rapidly deteriorate.The verge or edge of the road is usually made up of loose gravel which can damage windscreens and be a hazard when overtaking other cars or road trains.If you leave the road at speed and attempt to brake in the gravel, the vehicle will lose traction on one side and probably put the car into a spin.

-In outback regions such as the Northern Territory,western Queensland, and most of Western Australia vehicles known as road trains are authorised to operate.Road trains are trucks which pull three trailers 12metres long.Their overall length can be up to 50 metres long.You may need up to one kilometre of clear road to overtake .These trucks can weigh up to 110 tonnes.With this type of mass they can take many hundreds of metres to slow down and many more to stop.It’s a good thing there aren’t too many traffic lights in the outback!Road trains can present problems when attempting to overtake or pass when oncoming.They throw up a huge amount of debris from the side of the road and can effect the direction of your own vehicle.Overtaking on single lane roads can be extremely hazardous,the volume of debris can reduce your vision to just a few metres.When approaching oncoming road trains the last trailer can quite often be obscured from view,and moves from the verge and enters your side of the road.Reduce your speed and give them plenty of space.On a single lane road , road trains will not move off to the side of the road to let you pass, more than likely this will cause their load to shift and the truck to roll over.Reduce your speed , move off the road and stop.This should greatly reduce the chance of any forward speed causing flying debris to break the windscreen.