Driving in Queensland

In Queensland, if you don't like how others drive, you are often invited to phone someone and complain.

In reality you can't, and no one cares if you do, but just in case someone wants to give it a go, many heavy vehicles are resplendent with signs that read something like: "Our driver offers you the courtesy of the road", or "Telstra values safe driving, PH 1800...." .

Unlike other places where the lane in which you travel is not an indicator of one's manliness, in Queensland, freeway travel is an exercise in chaos theory. People go to great lengths to prevent others overtaking them, even if, or perhaps particularly if they are travelling at a small proportion of the actual speed limit on a multi lane freeway.

Some years ago I attempted to pass a bus in a line of slow moving traffic on a single lane section of our National Highway One. The attentive bus driver had obviously not seen my flashing headlights, my indicator, or even my car.

The bus managed to accelerate just enough while we were alongside it to close the gap between it and the vehicle in front to about the thickness of a cigarette paper, which at the time was somewhat less than the length of our car, leaving us with a few options, none of them conducive to maintaining a normal level of blood pressure.

Foolishly, I accepted the kind invitation to phone the number on the bus.

Prompted by my call it seems, that bus driver is now driving a tipper.