Today we drove almost 500km on the Gregory Development Road from Emerald to Charters towers. This road is pretty much in a straight line from beginning to end and pretty much all of it has no internet service.

This meant the radio and our Apple Music service didn’t work so we had to listen to our downloaded playlists. These got a little monotonous by mid afternoon. I may have had a nana nap and left Ray to some solitary driving and his own thoughts while munching on some cheese Twisties to pass some of the kilometres.

Henry just loves riding in the car. He never has an issue getting back in the car after stopping, lucky for us. Very important if travelling with pets to ensure they actually enjoy car travel because our country is so expansive. To actually get anywhere you need to travel long distances.

He keeps one eye open while sleeping just in case he misses anything and if he sits up twice in a row that’s an indication that a toilet stop is required. Our bladders are pretty much aligned and we are looking for a stop at the same time most days.

We came across some linemarkers along the way. (Always something to see). Since this was an industry that Ray had some experience in, we were particularly interested to have a closer inspection. The crew were grinding off the old center line and and re-painting bright, fresh new lines down the road. Gee, it looked good. They had traffic control, flashing lights, a ride on thermoplastic rumble strip machine to replace the rumble strips as well as a push along linemarking machine. It all looked so familiar.

The lines looked smashing! The road looked crap! They were laying the thermo on a road surface full of potholes and cracks. This was uneven and needed severe work. As we drove over the coned off section of it, we wondered at the point of it. Thermoplastic is a long life material. Manufactured to sustain harsh elements for a lengthy period of time. This road surface needed replacing already. What a pointless activity! Bureaucracy gone mad probably or a calendar mix up that no one bothered to do anything about.

Ray spotted a conveyor belt built beside the road which must have been used to haul materials from a mine somewhere. It was turning but there was nothing on it. Maybe because it was Saturday? We kept watching until it disappeared into the bushland but didn’t see anything. What an interesting way of moving things around the outback.

We noticed more traffic on this route. Perhaps because it was Saturday. Lots of utes and cars. Some taking chances with overtaking. It’s imperative that drivers leave 200 meters between them and the vehicle in front of them to allow for other vehicles to have a slot to slip into when overtaking. We have witnessed cars and caravans driving too close together and nearly causing accidents when cars try to overtake and run out of road and have nowhere to go.

There are so many hazards on the roads. Animals, roadworks, roadkill, potholes, turning vehicles, turns in roads, rest stops – yes, all of these can be hazards- we all need to leave room for the unexpected so we all arrive safely where we intend to go. (Step down from soapbox “Ladder please.”)

We stopped for morning tea just before Balyando Crossing. Two other groups of travellers pulled in also. This is the absolute best thing about travelling. Meeting other people.

When you are at home, living your life, busy, busy, busy…unless you actively seek out a new hobby or exercise group or activity, you rarely meet new people. When you are travelling you literally meet new people everyday. (Some people are more forthcoming than others, admittedly).

Anyway, we got talking to Tim (travelling in a Winnebago solo) and his friends Paul and Mary (travelling with their caravan). We each had a coffee and we pulled out a packet of Tim tams cold from the fridge. We started chatting about where each of us were heading (they were both going to Charters Towers too), what their rigs were like and then Ray asked the inevitable question…”Have you had it weighed?”

After Ray retired. He spent a week at home relaxing before he decided he didn’t like that so much and he went to work with WIM (weigh in motion) looking at the weight of caravans in the leisure industry and the weight of trucks on the road in the civil industry, to ensure the safety of them on the roads. He and the team fostered a partnership with Caravan Industry Victoria (CIV) to highlight the WIM technology and bring it to the leisure industry.

There are so many issues with caravan owners getting on the road with their vehicles, towing caravans that are well overweight for what they can legally tow.

This is a real safety issue as well as an insurance issue. If you have an accident and your insurance company suspects you are overweight, you will be deemed to be uninsured. We know of people who have lost over $200k because their insurance company came to the site of the accident, collected all the debris, weighed it and refused to payout on the car or the caravan.

Ray unashamedly shares his knowledge with everyone he meets. Some people don’t want to know (they are the people who are carrying spare things “just in case”). We met a bloke carrying a vice in his front tunnel boot “just in case! Some people are aware and enjoy a discussion using all the acronyms. GCM (Gross Combined Mass), GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass), TBM (Towball Mass), ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass), the list goes on.

Other people really have no idea at all about weights and what caravans and cars can and should carry and are thankful for the information. Most of these people leave with the clear intention of organising a weigh for their rig. Either way Ray feels good that he is spreading the message about safety on the road and perhaps planting the seed in the minds of those who are too pig headed to care. Many wives will do the work for him once we leave them anyway!

“Bob, maybe we should really get the rig weighed. That Ray man said the weight includes us too and we’ve never known that. I’m going to give the cupboards a clean out. I don’t use a lot of what we take. We’ve never used the generator and you keep on adding bits and pieces to those toolboxes. Let’s organise it. I don’t want to have to nag you….”

Caravan manufacturers rarely ask what car you are planning to tow a caravan with and car salespeople generally have no idea about caravan weights and what their cars can tow. We know from first hand experience.

So, Ray is out there in the dust, at picnic tables on the side of the road, filling the gaps, doing the job in the name of safety. Go Ray!