Introduction.
I first became involved in road safety in 1999 following one of those days on the road, when you really wonder where people get their licenses, out of Weet Bix packets or do they simply not care about their lives or those of anyone else? After sleeping for the night at Narrabri and only being on the road 15 minutes and not even up to highway speed, I and the car behind me, were overtaken by another car with two unrestrained children in the back with an approaching b-double heading towards us less than 200 metres away. I was in a b-double fuel tanker and both b-doubles went off the road onto the shoulder to allow the stupid motorist to safely get through.

Later that same day being fully loaded and coming down off a hill onto a narrow bridge, I flashed the oncoming F250 Ford as if to say, “Back off just a bit and I will be off the bridge before you come on”. No way. This bloke kept coming and we met before I came off the bridge and to this day, I believe I missed that vehicle and the bridge posts by millimetres. Had he just lifted his foot off the accelerator for less than 20 seconds, I would have been clear and the possibility of a crash would have been completely avoided. So I pulled up for my break and thought, “What can I do to lessen these problems?” and have been involved since.

All drivers and truckies particularly, can regale you with horror stories of crashes and near misses, most of which need not have happened, nor the risk have even occurred, had the motorist simply respected the size and weight of the larger truck. This is not about might is right, it is simple physics. As a pedestrian, you would not step out in front of a bus and simply expect it to stop because you are there. And yet everyday, car drivers who have perhaps not been taught to share the road with trucks, will pull directly out in front of a fully loaded semi or b-double and expect them to stop dead.

If through the information on these pages, one of these crashes or lives lost can be prevented, then my efforts will have been worthwhile. I make no claims to be perfect, we are all (at least supposedly) human, but not all drivers are equal and some have simply been taught to pass a test, not to spend the rest of their lives on the road, let alone to share those roads with large trucks. Fatal crashes between cars and trucks are over 70% the fault of the car driver according to crash statistics. This only confirms to me that we do need better education of car drivers about sharing the road with trucks. There is no doubt that truckies have to earn the respect their vehicles deserve and do their part to improve road safety as well.

I have now travelled in excess of 6 million kilometres on the road in vehicles from cars up to triple roadtrains and still see such foolhardy acts on the highway that risk my life and that of others. If all drivers treated people in other vehicles as if they were a member of their own family, do you think that would change some of the impatience and risky behaviours? Perhaps not a bad way to look at your time on the road. Is it your children as learners, your wife or partner in the next car, or your ageing parents going a bit steady? Either way, would you risk their lives to save yourself two minutes? I hope not, but it is up to you!

Having returned Ken’s truck, I then went back to RPT truck 7 for another year, then in 2011 Rod Pilon Transport bought a new K200 bigcab, the first in the fleet and I designed a new set of curtains that Rod never saw till I turned up with them fitted. There are few companies that would allow a driver to do this and I thank Rod Pilon for his support since the start and through now to his son Ben.

I had that white K200 for just short of ten years, did over 2 million k in it and it is still on the road with yet another Rod, driving it. The original curtains from the first TIV are on another set of RPT trailers, so they too are still putting out a good view and industry promotion as they travel the highways. TIV 2 served me very well, but now there is TIV 3 and likely the last, we will see.

June 2017 Audiobooks For The Road
I have started a facebook page to provide reviews of books I read, sometimes up to 3 a week and to seek your comments and reviews as well. I was recently invited to be a judge for audiobook of the year and want to let people know of the entertainment you can get on long trips from audiobooks. Click Here to read more.
Links to the ABC interview and Sydney Morning Herald article.

February 2026 Latest Blog Post. A Pacific Runner for the week. Listen on Spotify
Goodaye all, well after last week-end stuck in Brissie, unload and reload Monday morning and off to the Castle, or near there again. Spent the week running up and down the Pacific, no issues as such, then into Brissie again Thursday night, unload Friday morning, reload from the yard and head home to Dubbo. During the week I did ring Transport for NSW and lodge a complaint about some dips southbound, before and after Coolgardie Road south of Chinderah and then also Sapling Creek north of Kew, seemed like there was a 6 inch gap between the road and the bridge.

On the way home, noted with some dismay a crash site at Brookstead, seems a roadtrain lost the back trailer only two weeks after I had rang and lodged a complaint about that bit of road. Maybe there is a problem there!!!!! Lots more to fix.

So my original exhaust had discoloured early on in the life of this truck and was only the standard 5 inch one. This being a Euro 6 uses both Adblue and EGR, so a DPF as well and yes the exhaust gets a bit warm. I had won a prize on the Silverback wheel at TRUCKFEST two years ago and had yet to redeem it, so rang and spoke with them and they sent out a new stack, with an inner and outer, to prevent the heat problem affecting the look of it. The workshop had agreed to fit, as I am out again tonight and they want the old one for another truck, before it is due for replacement. All done and looks schmick, thanks Silverback.

Now any who listen to the “Bonafide” podcast may have heard Luke comment he and Kelsy were coming to Dubbo for a visit. So after only knowing Luke for over 7 years now and talking weekly for over 6 of those, first on Triple M and now the podcast where Truckie Tuesday has been carried forward, it was good to meet in person for the first time. We had only even seen each other once, where I was at home and did the podcast via video.

Luke, Kelsey his producer and her Mum, had an electric car to trial for the trip and left Sydney Saturday morning, made a stop in Bathurst and came out to the Pilon yard where I and my helper Fergo, all the way in from Broken Hill for the event, (what passion from him and what support from Mum, to bring him all the way in and back etc) had been cleaning the truck and trailers up for the visit. We did some filming and I was not happy looking at the sky, then we headed off for Luke’s first trip in a serious truck.

We did a quick trip down towards Tomingley, then it started to rain, bugger. Luke saw some green reflector bays, the truck in front at one stage actually gave us a left indicator flash to first tell of goats on the verge and then a van parked just off the road and a few Truckies even waved back, wow. Back to the yard with a not as clean truck, but thanks to them for coming out to finally meet and see what it is like on the road.

We did the podcast this morning with Fergo as guest as well, then they were off back to Sydney. Catch up on this and that and off soon to go and load and head south for a change. A couple of calls and enquiries from drivers, Facebook requests to follow up and did some shopping for work on the way back, so nearly all ready there. Safe Travelling, Rod.

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