Living in the outback, one of the greatest dangers is the roads. I often do work in remote townships and on some cattle stations which take hours to get to and a lot of the roads are not even sealed. Dirt tracks, to be more precise. These are places where your cell phone/ mobile often don’t work, so driving at say sunset can be really dangerous. Cattle and kangaroos are often on the roads on the stations that time of day, and after a full day work and a three hour drive back home it can be a nightmare. It’s all part of my job, but it really is a hazard that I need to be careful about.
One of the other problems is when you drive for hundreds of kilometers between towns and the roads literally become boring. Falling asleep at the wheel is a very real possibility. Micro sleeps can hit you at any time and if you feel the slightest bit tired, it is highly recommended you pull over and take a nap, or if there is a truck stop – drink some coffee. I often wondered why the road toll was so high in these parts, and after being here two years, now I know. Most of the roads don’t have over taking lanes this far inland, and with the big road trains – trucks with three or more trailers it can be really harrowing. Not to mention when the mining trucks are being hauled up here on the back of semi’s. They take up most of the road and you have to pull over to let them pass.
Don’t get me wrong, I love living out here. But the roads sometimes can make it hell.
