Lack of decent rest stop areas hits truckies pretty hard too.
Many of the truck companies dictate that thier drivers must be off the road from 10pm to 6am, so they can comply with OHS regulations for sleep.
Only problem is in many areas there are no proper places set up for parking road trains, oversized load convoys and regular trucks [or tourists]
I have seen oversized loads still on the roads well over an hour after sunset [illegal] as they could not find a space to park!
Practically every roadside "rest bay" on the Great Northern Goat Track is decorated with used dunny paper and poo
Some of the better stops [usually alongside rivers] cop it particularly hard as they get used by tourists as well as truckies.
Why couldnt some of the "royalties for regions" cash be diverted to roadside overnight stops and campgrounds, then the same funds be put towards employing and equipping a few locals from each shire to drive up and down the highway servicing the campgrounds / filling water tanks etc?
stephen
