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'No regard for anyone but
themselves'
Truckie takes a
swipe at grey
nomads and wobble boxes
 By Dennis Amor
Have your say
A TRUCKIE has launched a vehement attack on grey nomads, labelling them
a bunch of "sanctimonious house-hauling b*****ds".
Scotty Douglas comes out with all guns blazing in his 887-word expletive-riddled article in the nationally
circulated Owner Driver road transport newspaper.
He grumbles about caravans and motorhomes generally being driven under the
speed limit by "mean-spirited-selfish-entitled morons" trying to save fuel
and with no regard for anyone but themselves.
"You determinedly sit on 80-90km/h with your badly-loaded wobble box (you
need a genny to power the TV and hot water, remember) with a whole line of
traffic snaking along behind you as you selfishly haul your house to the
next destination," he fumes.
"Funnily enough, Mr and Mrs Fuel-Efficient always seem to find an extra
20km/h underfoot on an overtaking lane.
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LANGUAGE ALERT |
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THE Owner Driver's Facebook
page carries a warning about the article's bad language,
proclaiming: "This MIGHT just be the most vocal Scotty Douglas rant
so far. Thing is, he hits the nail on the head." And it adds: "No
caravanners were harmed during the making of this story!" |
"It's funny how they can manage that but can't manage to maintain a
constant speed though."
Scotty complains how he is often left "hanging in the breeze" on
overtaking lanes ‒ with a line of traffic behind him ‒ when nomads
suddenly hit the accelerator pedal.
"Then everyone has the sh*ts with me because I didn't let them around the
RV," he laments.
"I'll be thinking of you kindly as I'm trolley-jacking produce out of the
back of a fridge pan at the markets at 2am.
"Yeah, that's the load of food that you'll be picking over at the
supermarket as you stock up for the next pseudo camping trip."
Scotty pays tribute to fellow truckie and road safety advocate Rod
Hannifey and his efforts to improve relations with the caravanning
community.
"In the world of caravan-truck relations, Rod is Nelson Mandela," he
writes. "And I'm the little furry bloke from The Muppet Show that
randomly blows sh*t up."
He says that "come the revolution", he would be killing all RVs with fire.
"The Abbott government saw fit to kill off the Australian automotive
industry.
"I'll kill off the RV industry or at the very least raise rego charges to
the level they should be, given the negative effect they have on
productivity. Has anyone even done the sums?"
Scotty believes that given the amount of road congestion caused by
caravanners and their vehicle fooptprint, maybe they should pay rego fees
comparable with those slapped on trucks.
"That'll learn 'em," he says.
"Vanners, please stop trying to make everyone else on the road around you
pay the price for your privilege and lifestyle."
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No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted without
the prior written permission
of Dennis Amor.
Copyright 2005
Dennis Amor
All Rights Reserved
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Mr Humphrey: 'Caravanners and truckies need to
be able to travel in harmony' |
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Slandering caravanners does not resolve anything: ACC
AUSTRALIA's largest caravan club has expressed
disappointment that truck driver Scotty Douglas had chosen to publicly
denigrate caravanners.
"Slandering caravanners does not help resolve anything," Australian
Caravan Club (ACC) chairman Craig Humphrey told Caravanning News.
“Both caravanners and truckies need to be able to travel together in
harmony on the road and the last thing we need is a raging, hostile fight
emerging between the two.
“Rather, both need to be better educated and have a healthier
understanding of the needs of each other.
"This will never be achieved if either side adopts an aggressive attitude
and name calling."
Mr Humphrey admitted some caravanners travelled under the speed limit but
pointed out that this was sometimes for safety reasons.
"The ACC encourages members to move over and let trucks pass when it's
safe to do so," he said.
"Our members know that truckies are earning a living and have deadlines to
meet.
"However, on the reverse side of the equation our members complain of
truckies driving right up to the rear of the caravan in front of them,
pushing them along and then overtaking in an unsafe manner.
"Most of our members now have UHF radios and many communicate with an
approaching truck driver to let them know they are aware of them and both
work together to ensure safe passing.
"We also have tagalong guidelines for our members to follow to ensure they
do not create a convoy by travelling too close together making it
difficult for trucks and other road users to pass.
"The guidelines set a minimum distance between vehicles of 500 metres."
Mr Humphrey said that educating RVers on road safety was one of the main
objectives of his club.
"The ACC has been working to increase our members' awareness on road
etiquette and what to do when a truck approaches.
“We would be happy to meet with truck industry representatives to further
discuss any concerns truck drivers may have.
"However, this issue requires two-way co-operation, education and
understanding on all sides."
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