Make way for a plane on the highway
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325818)
Rockingham, Australia
May 23, 2018 12:41am CST
My last discussion was about the long stretch of straight road on the Nullarbor Plain which connects Western and South Australia. The road-houses along this highway are roughly two hundred kilometres apart and there are no towns or other facilities.
At four places on the highway signs warn that, should there be an accident, the area may be used as an emergency landing strip for the Royal Flying Doctor plane. At these emergency strips, the highway has had extra width added with an area each end where vehicles or small planes can turn around.
The strips still seem a long way apart but maybe the road-houses have ambulances to ferry the injured from the site of the accident to the strip. A lot of tourists travel this road with their caravans or motor-homes and some of the transport trucks are well over normal lengths so there are bound to be accidents from time to time. As it is the only decent road across the south of the continent, a bad accident could really spoil a lot of schedules.
16 people like this
21 responses
@LadyDuck (458233)
• Switzerland
23 May 18
I love those deserted roads. We had a long line of cars waiting to go through the Gotthard tunnel the last weekend. The waiting line was 28 km long and the waiting time to cross the tunnel 5 hours. There are often accidents when the traffic is so bad.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (170011)
• United States
23 May 18
Now that is what I call wide open spaces! Parts of the American West are pretty open..but I am sure you could not go that far without seeing a town, a gas station or houses. Maybe in parts of Alaska.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (170011)
• United States
23 May 18
@JohnRoberts Yep, I have been on some.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
@JohnRoberts @snowy22315 There are road-houses (service stations) about every 200 kms. There are also stations along the way but none close to the highway.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
23 May 18
There are some long stretches in desert highways here in the west but not like that.
2 people like this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
26 May 18
That is such an amazing open wide space. It would be strange to have a flying doctor land on that long and lonely road. Tourists driving such a strange road might have an accident. My cousin Sarah lives in Western Australia because she married an Australian man. She used to live in a coastal town that was very isolated indeed. I went to visit her in 2000.
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
29 May 18
@JudyEvans. I was so surprised about Esperance to see Sarah my cousin when she lived there. To reach Esperance I had to take a train from Perth to Kalgoolie and then a coach down to Esperance. I took a different route back to Perth. It is lovely that you lived in Esperance for 7 years soon after you and your husband were married. It is excellent you spent a night there around 1 week ago. Esperance has lots of really beautiful and unspoilt beaches. Wow.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 May 18
Many of the Australian towns are quite isolated. The flying doctor is used such a lot nowadays to attend accidents and transfer patients. May I ask where your sister lives? And did you enjoy your visit?
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
Yes, that's right. If there is a bad traffic accident and they need to air-lift someone out, they would put them on the plane.
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
You'd love the trip across Australia then, especially this part. Mostly we were travelling about the same speed as other grey nomads with caravans but occasionally huge long trucks would catch up and overtake.
@josie_ (9763)
• Philippines
23 May 18
Isn't there any early warning (besides the signs) to advice motorists of an impending plane landing? The planes obviously will have right of way.
If the gov't took the effort to widen these area of the road, wouldn't it have been safer to just build landing strips parallel to the road?
If the gov't took the effort to widen these area of the road, wouldn't it have been safer to just build landing strips parallel to the road?2 people like this
@WorDazza (15833)
• Manchester, England
23 May 18
There's a long, straight stretch of motorway between Liverpool and Manchester that is rumoured to have been ear-marked as an emergency runway should the need arise.
Not sure what that need would be though. Maybe when the North declares the long overdue war on the South 
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
They land on the highways throughout our state if they need to but there are no designated areas like they have here. Surely it would be difficult to land a plane on what I imagine is a very busy motorway. Lots of motorists would be put out.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
26 May 18
A plane landing on the highway could give a driver quite a start.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 May 18
In some cases it would be difficult for the police (in cars) to get there first but I guess the plane could check the road out for traffic before landing. Then I guess they'd have some sort of signalling/barrier to stop motorists.
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
23 May 18
Take care always, Judy. That is one of the reasons why I want to go there in Australia - vast and wide.
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
24 May 18
@JudyEv I hope to visit there someday and witness the beauty. 
@Jessabuma (31700)
• Baguio, Philippines
23 May 18
I hope there is no accident.
Have a great and safe trip..
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
23 May 18
A bad accident would ruin things. Just hope that there is none!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
I don't think there are too many accidents on that road thank goodness.
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 May 18
It would hold up the traffic for quite some time I'm sure as there is only the one road.
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
24 May 18
that would be a weird site to see ... but very necessary
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
23 May 18
You must be well stocked with supplies and fueled up to cross that stretch. Does it get very hot?
1 person likes this
@aureliah (24319)
• Kenya
24 May 18
That road is straight and smooth thus it would make a good airstrip
