A couple of months ago I was driving on an unsealed road and I took this picture that I've used for my avatar. I had followed the road for a couple of miles and decided that it was time to turn around because the surface was too bad. I'd only just turned and was heading back when a logging truck came hurtling along narrowly missing the car. I only missed it because there was a bit of a lay by on the road. If it had come a couple of seconds earlier I was a gonner. This guy was either a professional rally driver with a part time job or else had just watched mad max three times before showing up for his shift, either way it was brown pants time.
Logging trucks are able to achieve surprisingly high speeds on tight windy dirt roads... My family and I used to go to a place in the Strezlecki Ranges twice a year for holidays and the place is full of logging trucks. It takes some skillful driving and the ability to stay cool to avoid the them sometimes. Usually there is almost nowhere to pass and a couple of times picking a smooth offroad route has been the only way to avoid a collision. Pretty scary when you think of what a truck that size would do to a car head on.
Wed, 04 August 2004 00:12
Pretty scary when you think of what a truck that size would do to a car head on. 