Aussie Survival Guide
Staying alive on outback
roads
Many visitors and new arrivals choose to go see ‘the
real Australia’, the Outback. And why not? It’s quite
beautiful and totally amazing. But there are a few musts
when driving yourself out there.
For a start, remember to drive on the left
side of the road. As many outback roads are made of sand
or gravel they don’t have white lines to guide you.
Remember, if you see a vehicle coming towards you must
go to the
left side of the road.
If you are renting a four wheel drive vehicle (4WD) for
your journey of exploration, remember that, apart from
some continuous all wheel drive models, often the four
wheels do not actually engage until you get out and
engage the hubs on the front wheels. The gear stick is
only half the job. If you drive on soft sand lower the
tyre pressure. It is amazing how this helps you get out.
Just let some air out of the tyres. Sad but true story:
a tourist bogged his hired 4WD stuck in Lake Eyre in
South Australia. He decided to walk to get help (BIG
mistake; always stay with the car) and died when he ran
out of water. His companion who stayed with the car
survived and when rescuers arrived they let some air out
of the tyres and drove the vehicle out!
When driving in a four-wheel drive remember the centre
of gravity is higher in this type of vehicle. Single
vehicle rollovers are common, even where there are no
other cars around. If your vehicle has a roof rack do
not put too much weight on it as it makes the vehicle
top heavy and thus more likely to roll over. You can get
good advice from the various car associations in each
state and territory:
Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV),
NRMA NSW, ACT and Tasmania;
Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ);
RAA
South Australia,
Royal
Automobile Club of Western Australia.
Thousands of people have a wonderful time driving around
Australia every year. Every year, a few suffer
inconvenience, injury or death. So be careful out there.
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