This morning, 20 - 30 kilometres west of Nullabor Roadhouse we came across an overturned New Age tandem van being pulled by a Pajero.
The couple had recently sold their home in WA and were embarking on a round Australia trip.
Thankfully nobody was hurt.
On talking with the lady driver she told me she was overtaken by a roadtrain which travelled very close to her. The roadtrain sucked her van in as it passed, the van started wobbling and then overturned, coming to rest in the table drain, on it's roof. The Pajero was still attached and remained upright. Police were in attendance when we arrived.
Interesting conversations were being had by the drivers of three road trains on channel 40 which were passing the incident. Comments about the van travelling too fast, being overloaded, most caravan rollovers in Queensland were towed by Pajeros, and vans generally being a nuisance on the road. When told of how the incident occurred there was no further comment from these drivers.
This is our twelfth trip across the Nullabor and experience shows that although road trains are limited to 90 kph, they physically are not capable of much more than 100 kph and most travel at that speed, so I very much doubt that the caravan was speeding. The driver of the road train did not stop to render assistance. There was no collision between his vehicle and the van. There was an independent witness to the incident.
If you drive any Big slab sided vehicle you become very aware of the "Venturi Effect" Basically when the two are close together the air speeds up and loses pressure between the two bodies drawing them closer.
What do the authorities tell you if you are being overtaken by Semis B Doubles and and Roadtrains. Don't speed up, don't swerve or slow down maintain a straight line and let the truck past.
Sounds like that didn't happen. Hope they had a dashcam to show how close the truck was.
Assuming they are insured, will they get the full lot back, how does that part of this unfortunate situation eventuate? Do they have to idenitfy the road train driver, for legal purposes etc.
The truck driver would have seen the car lose control in his mirrors if he wasn't away with the fairies. He show have stopped to assist as that sort of accident can have serious injuries. Nice bloke.
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Rod.
Ah! The serenity
Tug - Mitsubishi Challenger, Van - Starcraft Outback Poptop..
Inexperienced I assume from van Pajero driver . Seen it many times . People retire and do this without too much experience. Just because your traveling under speed limit etc doesnt make you safe or experienced . Too much zig zag on steering !!! Whiplashing van ! Van, vehicle weight balance maybe wasnt sorted ? Thing DONT pull off the road too much !
One reason may be the nasty shoulders on the edges of the road that I have seen lately.
I saw a van, except for the chassis that had no bits bigger than a foot square, near Coal-Seam WA. It went bush from the side of the road. Some vans are driven at such speeds on those roads, the driver must be possessed.
The Eyre Hwy is a very good road and well maintained so I don't think that had a lot to do with it.
Unfortunately the aforementioned wind effect from a large truck can have a dramatic effect on a van and if you are inexperienced and over react, this can lead to an uncontrollable sway and the end result as shown here. You must keep your steering imputs smooth and small and not over correct as the van will twitch one way and then the other as the truck moves up the side. The effect soon passes and if your corrections are kept small, you will not have too much trouble.
The comments about the Pajero are interesting, as my previous vehicle was a Paj and was much more affected by road trains overtaking me than my current Ranger which barely feels them. Van is the same, just different tow tug.
The Eyre Hwy is a very good road and well maintained so I don't think that had a lot to do with it. Unfortunately the aforementioned wind effect from a large truck can have a dramatic effect on a van and if you are inexperienced and over react, this can lead to an uncontrollable sway and the end result as shown here. You must keep your steering imputs smooth and small and not over correct as the van will twitch one way and then the other as the truck moves up the side. The effect soon passes and if your corrections are kept small, you will not have too much trouble. The comments about the Pajero are interesting, as my previous vehicle was a Paj and was much more affected by road trains overtaking me than my current Ranger which barely feels them. Van is the same, just different tow tug.
Hi Greg....that makes a lot of sense,as the Ranger has more than 400mm longer wheelbase,and a shorter TBO,so the leverage effect is significantly reduced.Lot less chance of the tail wagging the dog.Makes the Ranger a lot more stable,and thus safer. Cheers
Trucks & buses on the Eyre Highway may not always be limited to 100kph!
Greyhound (this is a number of years ago) had a bus that often used "Angel" gear - it could sit on 130kph without any effort (& did at times when the bus was late into Eucla but was hardly ever late into Ceduna).
Road trains, I don't recall seeing them at all in my years on the road but there were plenty of B-doubles & they too used the same gear as the bus! From experience, I've found the "100kph speed limit" only refers to the trailer!! I've seen lots of these trailers being towed behind prime movers doing far more than 100kph!
The other issue with cars & vans picked up above - a car (Pajero) weighs around 2.2 ton, can tow to 3 ton - is this a case of the tail wagging the dog (quoting yobarr)? Even with all the fancy electronics?
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Trucks & buses on the Eyre Highway may not always be limited to 100kph!
Greyhound (this is a number of years ago) had a bus that often used "Angel" gear - it could sit on 130kph without any effort (& did at times when the bus was late into Eucla but was hardly ever late into Ceduna).
Road trains, I don't recall seeing them at all in my years on the road but there were plenty of B-doubles & they too used the same gear as the bus! From experience, I've found the "100kph speed limit" only refers to the trailer!! I've seen lots of these trailers being towed behind prime movers doing far more than 100kph!
The other issue with cars & vans picked up above - a car (Pajero) weighs around 2.2 ton, can tow to 3 ton - is this a case of the tail wagging the dog (quoting yobarr)? Even with all the fancy electronics?
Trucks & buses on the Eyre Highway may not always be limited to 100kph!
Greyhound (this is a number of years ago) had a bus that often used "Angel" gear - it could sit on 130kph without any effort (& did at times when the bus was late into Eucla but was hardly ever late into Ceduna).
Road trains, I don't recall seeing them at all in my years on the road but there were plenty of B-doubles & they too used the same gear as the bus! From experience, I've found the "100kph speed limit" only refers to the trailer!! I've seen lots of these trailers being towed behind prime movers doing far more than 100kph!
The other issue with cars & vans picked up above - a car (Pajero) weighs around 2.2 ton, can tow to 3 ton - is this a case of the tail wagging the dog (quoting yobarr)? Even with all the fancy electronics?
They speed limited to 100kph
They are now but in years gone by many trucks would be capable of speeds well in excess of the 100kph which is mandatory today.
I drove a truck for a bloke that bought a prime mover that used to run Sydney / Perth and that truck was capable of 130 kph +.
As a result I never used top gear.
WP 01 is correct, there were some high speed jiggers out there years ago.
Many of them ran Helium in the steer tyres to keep the tyres cooler.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 4th of November 2018 07:40:57 PM
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"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
Trucks & buses on the Eyre Highway may not always be limited to 100kph!
Greyhound (this is a number of years ago) had a bus that often used "Angel" gear - it could sit on 130kph without any effort (& did at times when the bus was late into Eucla but was hardly ever late into Ceduna).
Road trains, I don't recall seeing them at all in my years on the road but there were plenty of B-doubles & they too used the same gear as the bus! From experience, I've found the "100kph speed limit" only refers to the trailer!! I've seen lots of these trailers being towed behind prime movers doing far more than 100kph!
The other issue with cars & vans picked up above - a car (Pajero) weighs around 2.2 ton, can tow to 3 ton - is this a case of the tail wagging the dog (quoting yobarr)? Even with all the fancy electronics?
They speed limited to 100kph
They are now but in years gone by many trucks would be capable of speeds well in excess of the 100kph which is mandatory today.
I drove a truck for a bloke that bought a prime mover that used to run Sydney / Perth and that truck was capable of 130 kph +.
As a result I never used top gear.
WP 01 is correct, there were some high speed jiggers out there years ago.
Many of them ran Helium in the steer tyres to keep the tyres cooler.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 4th of November 2018 07:40:57 PM
Everyone needs to be cautious around road trains
-- Edited by Ger08 on Sunday 4th of November 2018 07:50:33 PM
Often wind gusts on there own also ..But REALLY if you loose control ? Its your responsibility!! Spoken to many whove had incidents, admit it was THEIR inatention ..
Getting back to topic, when I was researching tug/van possibilities for the big lap, one point I took on board was to always have a heavier tug than the van. Another point was fit electronic stability control (ESC) to the van. As a result of those points, I have had considerable peace of mind in over 30,000 km of van travelling and mixing it with road trains. With some of them over 50 metres long and snaking it can be a worrying time when they are overtaking, but as said above, keep it steady and no over-reacting.
Nitrogen . Expands less with heat . No chance of moisture / condensation in plane tyres due to cold atmosphere, pressure changes . Used in motor racing also .
Hope I do not offend any with my "Smart Alec" quip here.
I have ALWAYS run all my tyres with 70% (rounded to 1%) nitrogen in my tyres. It is free as well.
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Cheers - Ian
I slowly realise as I get older that I am definitely NOT the fastest rat in the race.
Also the older I get the more I realise I do not know.
