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Australian
Road Trains are the longest trucks in the whole world. They mostly
have three or more trailers and are up to 53 metres long.
Road
Trains are impressive to see because of their decoration. The
trucks are not allowed to drive in states with dense population
because the drivers need one kilometre braking distance. The reason
why they put more trailers on the trucks is that they have few
drivers. Everything is transported by Road Trains and they deliver
fuel and food. It does not matter if the road is too narrow or
unfixed..
In Australia the extents of the trucks are completely
normal. There are no railway lines and with ships you cannot get in
the depth of the country because there are no ship canals. The only
means of transport which can reach every destination are the Road
Trains.
Transport
of Sugar
Road trains transport sugar cane in compartments
containing 8 tons each. The special thing of the compartments is
that they lie on top of
the three axles instead of being mounted. The sugar canes are
transported from the fields to the factories and finally to the
seaports from which they are shipped to Indonesia. There it will be
reprocessed.
Overtaking
Road Trains
If
you enter a street which is frequently used by Road Trains you will
be warned by road signs saying: WARNING Road Trains with a length of
up to 54 meters, caution when overtaking. The trucks keep a speed
limit of 100 km/h which means that caution is advised while overtaking because a distance of 1 km is necessary.
Gas
Station
The
Roadhouses, gas stations and Airstrips in the Outback are
compellingly dependent on the regular supply with fuel. On the large
Highways in the north, however there are even larger
fuel-truck-and-trailer rigs on the way. An example of the loading
capacity: In the Northern Territory Road Trains transport kerosene
from Darwin along the north coast to the airport at Ayers Rock
beyond of Alice Spring. On each tour they are transporting 3 to 4
tanks containing all together 125,000 Litre. Twice a week they
drive more than 2000 km with a consumption of 120 l Diesel per 100 km.
by
Annika Dreyer
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