Few drivers in the world cover more kilometres than Australian roadtrain truckers. These huge vehicles and their drivers regularly complete epic trips across some the hottest, driest and loneliest parts of the country, covering nearly 4000 miles (6,400 km) in a week with loads that weigh up to 115 ton.
Shane Cordwell is one such man, a veteran of the trucking world here and someone who’s seen much of what Australia’s outback roads can throw at him. This is a place where drivers die from heat exposure and emergency services can only get to you via plane. It’s no job for the faint-hearted.
I meet Shane in Toowoomba, a bustling transport hub in Queensland, eastern Australia and climb aboard the 500 BHP Mack Fleetliner which will be our home for the next six days. Ahead of us is a 4,100 mile journey, or say, Anchorage – Detroit, and as Shane clicks through the truck’s 18 gears the immense vehicle moves off. Around 250 miles down the Warrego Highway, we pick up the third trailer making the entire rig measure 53.5 metres long.
It’s a mental challenge
“‘I’ve been driving for about 30 years now and roadtrains for about 20,” Shane explains as we trundle out of town. “It’s not physically tough, but it’s hard in a mental sense. We face the same rules as your normal car driver, despite the fact I drive around 200,000km (125,000miles) per year -you need to give 110% to the job.”
Passing through outback towns with their wide main streets and tin clad pubs, the scrub bordering the two-way road becomes drier and signs of life sparser. Safety is the main concern to long distance truckers in Australia, and the length of the vehicles, isolation and a lack of services mean working out when to stop is essential. Read the rest of this entry »