Drive Your Nissan Patrol 2018 Safely Around Road Trains

Many people buy a new Nissan Patrol as an excellent family vehicle that they can use for weekend adventuring and family trips. This will eventually lead to trips into the farthest reaches of the country where the driving conditions are very different. Out there you will inevitably see road trains on the highways driven by experienced truckers servicing far flung outposts. These enormous vehicles take up a lot of road real estate and can act in ways that you may not be used to. In this article, we will take a closer look at road trains and how you can safely drive around them.

Why Do We Need Road Trains?

If you’ve never ventured into the interior, you may have heard about road trains in passing. Many people are unaware of what a road train actually is and how it works on the road. Where there are no train lines located a road train is used to service sparsely populated remote areas. Australia has a population density of around three people for every square kilometre, and there are immense areas that are uninhabited. In 2014 a survey showed that road trains hauled over 2 billion tonnes of freight and materials.

The Risk of Road Trains

A road train can be an intimidating presence on the road because of its multiple trailers. It has limited maneuverability, can take longer than usual to stop and a need to meet a demanding schedule. For these reasons, it’s very important to exercise caution around road trains that you may encounter on the road. It’s vital to give a road train plenty of room and any side especially when overtaking. If a road train is encountered on a smaller road, it should be avoided by pulling over onto the shoulder until it has passed.

Overtaking a Road Train Safely

No driver wants to be stuck behind a road train for very long, and at some point, it will have to be overtaken. This is a risky move, and it should be approached with a great deal of caution. Understand that the passing time will be much longer than when passing a car or even a regular truck. On average a car passing a road train will require almost 2.5km of distance to complete the manoeuvre. So plenty of advanced planning is required so that you have sufficient clearance to pass safely. When passing it’s not unusual to see the trailers moving slightly from side to side so keeping a wide berth is essential.

If you’re in the market for a Nissan Patrol, 2018 get in touch with us here at Perth City Nissan. We have a large selection of used and new Nissan Patrol vehicles available including the Nissan Patrol 2017 models. We would like to invite you to visit us for a no obligation test drive at your earliest convenience, and you can try the exciting Nissan driving experience for yourself. If you require financing our rates are competitive, and the repayments will be tailored to suit your needs. Our sales team members are standing by to answer any remaining questions that you may have.

Daniel N is a writer across several reputed industrial web posts. He writes for many online journals and portals that are related to Nissan car dealers.