The outback – where the horizon is endless. The plume of dust trailing behind is your constant companion and an outback sky your only ceiling. Despite the fact that a dirt road will beat a highway any day, there are some considerations that you need to take into account.
ANIMAL STRIKES
It’s an unpleasant reality of outback life that animals will and do wander onto roads. Of course you should be equipped with solid frontal protection to help reduce damage should the unthinkable happen. If you find yourself heading toward an animal and cannot safely stop, try to wash off as much speed as possible before impact but under no circumstance should you swerve. Any animal is a better impact than a tree.
CORRUGATIONS
Ask anyone who has put miles on outback roads and without doubt they will mention corrugations so bad you swear your teeth will rattle loose. Reducing tyre pressures greatly helps to absorb the shock of corrugations as well as reducing the risk of further causing the corrugations in the first place. Also there will be a sweet spot with regards to speed at which you can safely traverse corrugations without feeling the worse of them. This speed should always be in relation to tyre pressure and terrain however; it’s a delicate balance.
CORNERS
Corners catch more travelers out on dirt roads than just about anything else. You might drive for hours with little more than a slight turn of the steering wheel, then out of nowhere looms a tight corner. Traction will be limited and often the road will be corrugated making any high speed corner a treacherous encounter. Be sure to wash off speed and enter the corner without your brakes engaged. Stick to your side of the road to avoid oncoming vehicles and steer into a slide while accelerating.
ROADTRAINS
There are few things more daunting than an oncoming road train on a dirt road. They can reach over 50 metres long and travel at 100 kmph, spitting dust and rocks as they go. Channel 40 on the UHF is the “trucky” channel; use this to communicate with drivers at all times to let them know you have seen them and are aware. Its common courtesy to pull off the road and let oncoming trucks have their way, this also gives time for their dust to settle so you can safely see oncoming traffic. If you find yourself behind a roadtrain, again get on Ch40 and announce your presence. The driver may be able to advise you of a safe time to overtake, otherwise patience is your best friend. Never attempt to overtake through a dust cloud when there is no visibility and no way of known of oncoming vehicles.
CATTLE GRIDS
In areas of cattle farming, you will encounter cattle grids across the road to stop cattle wandering. These large metal grates are often mounted on slight raises in the road and you must slow down before hitting them. Often they will be in poor condition and can be much larger than they look. It is very easy to do underbody damage due to getting airborne after hitting a cattle grid too fast.