Below is a pic of a TYPICAL, over the highway, Aussie truck. This is NOT one of the biggest we have, but IS bigger than most. Gross weight is in the order of 60 Tonnes. Max length is 25 metres (about 25 yards, or 75 feet). This are COMMON on MOST roads, even in the cities.THIS unit is a livestock carrier. It could carry 8 "decks" of sheep/goats/etc or 4 "decks" of cattle, OR a combination of both! Depending on stock size, 60 or 70 cattle would be carried on it, and MAYBE 700 or 800 sheep! You do NOT fool with something THIS size on our roads!

    Most of you will be aware of Pennant Hills Road, just south of Carlingford. It has two narrow lanes in each direction, with overhanging trees and telegraph poles and signs situated very close to the curbing. Many of you will wonder why trucks tend to use the centre lanes whilst travelling.

    The answer is simple! The mirrors of a truck overhang the edge of the road and, if a driver remains totally within the right hand side of the lane, he will lose his mirror, at best, and wipe the upper side of his trailer out on one of these obstructions due to the camber of the road. On sharper bends, the trailer will "track in" from the position of the prime mover. Thus, if the driver remains wholly within his lane with the truck, it is almost assured that the trailer will encroach on the adjacent lane. Therefore, it is foolish to pass a truck on roads with such narrow lanes whilst it is negotiating a bend.

    It won't kill you to wait for the next straight section, but it may if you don't! This applies to both sides of the the trailer combination whilst traversing such roads. DO NOT OVERTAKE IN CORNERS WHERE THE LANES ARE MULTIPLE AND NARROW.

    Kindest Indy (Ian Rosser)