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Driving at night on a round Australia trip is unwise. If you really think that you'll need to do so then you would be far better off choosing a shorter route & enjoying a more relaxed (& safer) pace. There is no 'badge of honour' for circumavigating the country just to have done so. Why not do half a lap over the same time period?
When money is tight spending on lights for the trip makes little sense in my book, they would be way down at the bottom of my list ....if they were on it at all.
Agree with Cuppa night time driving in the Outback should be avoided unless absolutely neccessary.
Chances of an animal strike are very high. night time 4x4ing in ths mountains is a different kettle of
fish all together. Night time HWY driving on the main hwys will still see animal strikes, and if you happen to hit
a decent size roo that could be the end of your holiday right there
I agree with Cuppa and TD almost 100% in what they say but IMHO there can be more to it.
I personally prefer and enjoy driving at night and when doing long endless kilometres of GAFA in NT, SA, and WA or the outback of QLD and NSW or crossing the Nullabor again and again it is quite a valid option IMHO
I'm not sure if night driving is statistically more or less risky but it certainly has an entirely different set of risks to be managed.
At night I am more than happy to toddle along 80 ish or even less and in Winter even that low speed eats up a shitload of K's.
Animal strikes, well, in one stint a few years back between Brewarrina and Wilcannia I clipped around 1/2 dozen but the fastest I was doing at impact would be maybe 30KPH and that is 'cause, aside from dirty great scrub Bulls, Camels or Wombats (rocks with fur) I don't stop and let them move I just let the Bull Bar do it's thing if the critter jumps in front.
Two things that suit me about night driving are that when I drive A to B (say Perth to northern NSW) I will just drive until tired, pull over and nap, then drive again till tired and repeat. That means sometimes I may only drive for as little as 2 hours between breaks and/or break for an hour here or 4 or 5 there.
Second is I like to set up "home base" for at least a few days and explore an area so oftentimes I can be several hours from camp at sunset.
Totally agree that high speed night driving in Oz is an 'all or nothing' deal tho... if you wack Big Red at 100 K's or so it isn't pretty
So would you guys recommend a curved 50 inch roof mounted light bar a straight 50 inch roof mounted light bar
And what would be the best brands for the above light bars
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I agree I just installed the led light bar from ledlightco and could not be happier.
Took minutes to install and once I could find a street long enough to try it out I was fully impressed.
Haha. The first time I turned on my LEDLightCo light bar with my wife in the car she said "well that's just Rude!!" Best this ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Redline nissan
Yeah I'm with you ET on this one, I tend to prefer night highway driving. I regularly commute 650km on a rural highway to a holiday shack in the summer time for my breaks. For me this is a far safer alternative due to the amount of dangerous drivers/caravaners on the road during the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by the evil twin
Ive seen my fair share of near misses and knobs on the road and I'd much rather contend with wild life at night then the idioacy of some of the reckless day-time city dwellers in a hurry to get somewhere. Of course it has it risks, but with little traffic, good lighting, front protection and a steady pace, the risk of a day time/multiple car crash far outweighs the danger of an animal strike at night. Just my two cents.. Cheers
Agree if it just point A to B ( and I prefer night driving as well and have only hit 1 roo in 50 yrs after putting the old cortina sideways on a dirt road to avoid taking out the radiator and lucky for me he was on the down cycle of his hop and just hit front left wheel and no damage) but if touring, you don't see much at night.Quote:
Originally Posted by Toy-Eta
If you already have spotlights, best and cheapest option is a HID upgrade kit for around $200/$300