Some observations and comments

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Ed, it's not a perfect world. You just have to accept that some others do not behave in the manner that you feel they should.

If you don't accept this it will simply raise your blood pressure and do you no good.

Look for the positives.... those who do please you.... and enjoy that.

Hello Ed
We also have just spent 10 weeks heading to Darwin and back vis Savannah’s way and back via Central Australia and lake Eyre, SA.
I agree with all and also so many not acknowledging a wave on outback roads when they may be the only person you see all day.
My wife especially noticed all of your points but her biggest bugbear is toilet paper at camps and roadside stops. She wrote a big rant in WikiCamps and gave suggestions to women about having a zip tie bag to take your paper away or just shake and use a twig or leaf but please do not leave toilet paper where it doesn’t rain for years and dingos dig it up.

Thanks everyone

Ed
Can't help with the campfires but you can have a sign on rear of your rig to ask them to turn on the UHF. Perhaps a running LED sign to that effect which can be turned on as you overtake.
Many women are fearful of learning to drive the unit and have to contend with the unforgiving male who drives it.

Many have no skills in reversing anything, not uncommon, so a caravan is a no no. Although headlight can be seen easily, if you can't see an oncoming vehicle and van, Specsavers may be required.

I can understand why some people might be reluctant to leave the UHF on, particularly on routes where there are a lot of trucks.

I travelled the Great Northern Highway in WA twice in recent weeks. The escorts and drivers of the many wide loads I encountered were models of professionalism, helping smaller vehicles past the mobile road blocks with a minimum of fuss.

The same can’t be said for some other drivers whose language was beyond blue.

Call me old fashioned if you like but it is not what I would want to hear if I had a wife or kids in the car.

Hi willawa
Just an observation from your profile picture but your set up looks overweight? Down on rear suspension and raised significantly at the front. I often cite the expression of the tail wagging the dog. Perhaps your picture is not telling the true story in which case ignore me!! Cheers

I have noticed several vans which state channel 18 I don't know why.

I leave my uhf off in the big smoke (language) until we get outside then I put it on 40 so that I pick up wide loads with plenty of time to find a place to pull over and so I can quickly talk to large trucks.

We've just returned from a NT trip too.

We drive with running lights on all of the time.

I tow our rig. I have backed it on several occasions, but we seem to have perfected a system where he backs and I direct.

I frequently turn our UHF off due to poor language and the fact that some people just use it as a chat site.

Toilet paper is my gripe too and it's not just women. Have a look at the truck parking bays. All designated Truck parking bays should have toilets as drivers have to stop. In fact all designated parking bays should have toilets.

Rubbish bins at such sites aren't emptied often enough; too much rubbish for the bins so it finishes up on the ground.

Di

AlanH and Maca.

Channel 18 is a caravan and camper van/trailer convoy channel.
Channel 29 is trucks on the Pacific between Syd and Bris.

If you are on 40 you won't hear from many trucks on the Pacific above Sydney.

As for lights on everyone should travel this way. Even with very good eyesight I have done enough K's into the morning sun to know that even big vehicles aren't always seen, depending on the terrain and country.

Many trucking companies mandate the use of lights 24 hours a day for a good reason.

G'day Ed, agree with you, but those who can't reverse make for free entertainment in caravan parks etc. WRT not having your radio on I can cite 2 examples where we tried to contact van owners to no avail. One was leaving Derby about to enter the GRR and the van in front of us had a stabiliser leg dangling. Tried all the usual channels and got zip back, often wonder how far they got before they discovered the leg or possible loss of a leg. The other was recently on the Birdsville Track a pop top van went passed with the front of the pop up roof raised due to the clips not being anchored down properly. Whether the roof blew off or not I have no idea but the owners were oblivious to what was happening and our calls to them.

I remember many many years ago driving between Melbourne and Canberra and saw a sign saying that they were trialing driving with headlights on. Thought then that it was a damned good idea and have thought so since. On our recent WA to WA via 7 Australian deserts 7879km trip I can say that we would have been lucky to have seen maybe 40% of vehicles with their headlights on during the day. On gravel roads they are a must but many can't see that.

Also toilet paper everywhere was disgusting. Along the Oodnadatta track at one of the bridges as soon as you got out of the car you could smell human waste and see paper every where. At Giles Breakaway on the GCR it was the same. Who in their right minds would want to camp with all that shit around them beats me.

cheers

Dunc

On the Poo ticket / toilet paper subject
My wife and I burn or pick up everywhere we go,we carry long kitchen tongs which are so we don’t have to touch the stuff, but also good for reaching into bushes etc. we also carry paper bags to store our own until we can burn it or dispose of it properly.
Not a nice job cleaning up other people’s crap , but once you get into it it’s satisfying to leave country better than when we arrived.
It’s great when travelers on the CSR last year commented there “wasn’t a lot of paper around” . Our reply was that’s because we were in front of them.

We encourage everyone to take this on , it’s a shame some of us need to clean up after others , but that’s life. You can grumble about it forever , OR I’ve come to having a good feeling, leaving the place better!!
“ Mind you stil swear about the dirty mongrels”

Happy travels

Ps , also can’t understand leaving rubbish behind
“If you can carry it in you can carry it out”
And it’s a lot lighter/ and can be compacted

Cheers Robbo

Remind me please , when was the vote that made you God ? Cb not on ? Perhaps they are sick of the dribble that infests the airways ... Campfire burning when they left ....ever think they may be back , just getting more timber ? Women can't drive the 'rig' ? Neither can 1/2 the blokes we see ...Reverse the trailer ? So what ? I get the wife to do it , after all its fun to watch while I'm having a beer ... Headlights on ? Its like if everyone wears fluro safety shirts , soon it blends into the mind and does not 'stand out' any more .....Now a Real complaint , 'the next time I see a 4x4 texting while driving I'm going to wind my window down and throw my beer at them' ......so there....

It may sound sexist, but it's a scientific fact, many women don't have good depth perception. They make up for it in generally better sense of smell and hearing. I would rather any person who doesn't feel confident enough behind the wheel, not be driving. However, this shouldn't bar them from the enjoyment of travelling. You can't assume everyone is capable of driving a big rig, it's unrealistic.

On mine sites, there are a lot of women driving big dump trucks, many companies prefer women driving their dump trucks as they are less hard on the equipment. I would think that if they did not have good depth perception, there would be more incidents involving these trucks.

Anecdotally, my wife does not have good depth perception, but has a very keen eye when it comes to pictures not hanging level.

Macca.