A long time driver who regularly travels the highway between Ceduna and the WA border said rest areas with toilets for truckies were urgently required.
“It is about 500km long and whilst there are three roadhouses they all shut just after dark so we have nowhere to answer a call of nature,” an SA driver told me.
He said motorists – other than truckies – often leave rubbish near an RFDS airstrip located near the highway.
“It is a disgrace and the other day I stopped there and saw empty cans, used toilet paper and other rubbish,” he said.
The experienced driver said that airstrip was located about 90km from the WA border.
On the subject of rest areas for truckies, several drivers have been praising the Baxter Rest Area in WA which is located 68km west of Caiguna, and 115km east of Balladonia on the southern side of the Eyre Highway.
There is a separate sealed area for trucks, which use this location frequently. There is a dump point and toilet, picnic tables and bins and good mobile phone signal. This is a large area, with plenty of room.
An interstate driver who stops there regularly in his B-double when in WA said it was really a pull off area but had enough room for eight road trains on a bitumen surface.
“You can have a sleep and rest there and even though vans also use it truckies really appreciate it,” he said.
However, the driver did have a subtle warning for drivers who use the toilet.
“Make sure you have your own paper as sometimes there is none there. People steal it,” he said.