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Aussies are a quite a 'down home', sociable lot. They are pleasant and as helpful as can be. They can also be extremely funny! We have had some great exchanges with them on our Australian trek -except, that is, when they are behind the wheel of an automobile. We have driven almost 3000 kilometers by now and so I have some basis for commenting as follows. Today in Cairns a taxi nearly ran me over me as I stood at the rear of the Landy. I was not standing in the traffic lane, but was standing between two parked cars. I was just waiting for a chance to cross to the opposite sidewalk. But this taxi driver didn't want me being there for some reason and in the space of a few seconds I was almost history. Two inches closer and his side mirror would have creamed me. We were mystified and furious. It doesn't matter whether the Aussie drivers are in Sydney or in remote Queensland outback, they suddenly and incomprehensibly turn into belligerent, mouthy, pushy and altogether intolerant jerks when they get behind the wheel. Nicole says that " they become more aggressive than a Paris taxi cab driver with a bad hangover'" and that is about the best description I've heard. For some reason Aussies hate when you attempt to move your vehicle into a turn lane. I mean, this is a fairly normal thing to want to do, yes? Perhaps driving in a straight line is the only way to go here because the typical Aussie driver will inevitably try to block your turn, right or left, by maneuvering their car into the very space your are headed. Of course it could be that two gray-haired ladies in a Land Rover present an irresistible challenge - our vehicle definitely looms monstrously large over their mini cars. So we let them win the 'chicken' game - this time. One day we might have to put our reinforced bumpers to good use. Pass an Aussie on the road? It is virtually impossible, if not without great peril. If there is any room at all to pass - which isn't often - they will most certainly speed up, leaving you to slow down again and drop back behind to eat their dust. A fully loaded Land Rover Defender is a slow vehicle so the chances of overtaking anything are few and far between! Truck drivers here are the absolute worst. On long stretches of roads in the outback where single lanes are the norm, truck drivers with humongous cargos in gigantic vehicles will barrel down on you without a speck of remorse. They will pass you when there is no space to pass or, even worse, they will drive just ahead of you at top speeds in pouring rain, leaving weary you behind in a blinding wake of wind and rain, daring you to try passing them again! honk! honk!
Another interesting thing about Aussie roads are the road signs sprinkled liberally along side them. These signs have a parental, even moralistic drift as you will see from the sampling below. The folks at the Australian Highway Dept. obviously thinks that Aussie drivers are belligerent juveniles who are badly in need of plain talk about their atrocious driving habits. And they might be right! There is a huge national effort here to control drunk driving. One beer per driver is the absolute max you can risk as they have random breathalyzer road blocks everywhere. We were stopped on our second morning out of Sydney. The cop was a recently emigrated South African - he loved our Landy with its Pretoria plates and he spent 20 minutes talking of all the things he missed back 'home'. Oh, and yes Nicole passed the breath test in case you wondered! Kidding aside, we are being VERY careful on these roads I can assure you. It is not an option here. But I don't know which is worse, the drivers inside other vehicles or the kangaroos outside of them that suddenly go BANG against your car in the blackness of night! Arrrrgh! The roads are positively littered with kangaroo carcasses that played the Aussie 'chicken' game and lost.
Some Aussie Road Signs These kinds of signs are posted along endless, empty stretches of road as well as in Sydney proper. We found them highly entertaining. Our all-time favorite sign is this one: Passenger, is your driver alert?! High wind area, be careful What speed are you driving NOW? Report all traffic problems Every two hours STOP-REVIVE-SURVIVE Left lane ends, merge RIGHT Thank you for stopping and reviving Check your odometer -- START NOW No stopping or turning Don't even think about it Driver Reviver Station/FREE COFFEE Please minimize noise Speed cameras in use in this area Give yourself a chance, slow down in the rain Parked cars, please turn off all engines Keep left unless overtaking Reduce speed NOW Your speed has been checked Please drive quietly, residential area Be responsible, survive this drive! Please limit compression breaking Aged pedestrians here For safety do NOT exceed speed limit Don't sleep and drive Rest if sleepy Don't roll over in your sleep (sign has a pix of a car upside down) Fatigue zone, drive with care Take a rest and refresh Break the drive, stay alive Rest and stay alive Look for trains Rest stop or dead stop
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