When Big Rigs saw Dave O’Keefe late one evening, he was sitting in the driver’s seat of his Kenworth cabover enjoying some tucker.
The 45-year-old driver works for MBT out of Lake Macquarie in NSW and mentioned how hot it was at Townsville deep in the tropics.
“I have brought up waste oil from Brisbane to Townsville and have a backload of oil from here to deliver to Gladstone,” he said.
The Kenworth is powered by a Cummins 550hp motor and has an 18-speed gearbox.
“It is a good truck but a bit dirty at the moment,” he said.
Dave was fortunate to have not got caught up by the floods which closed many roads in the north.
“I was home at the time,” he said.
The worst road he has been along recently is the Gregory Development Highway between Clermont and Charters Towers.
“The road is all over the place and up and down in many parts and is difficult to drive on,” he said.
Dave’s favourite roadhouse is the Caltex at Wodonga in Victoria. “Great food and friendly staff,” he said.
Dave added that more rest areas were required for truckies.
Outside work Dave plays baseball in the Newcastle competition. I asked if he excelled as a batter, pitcher or fielder. “I am a bit of an all-rounder,” he said.
His NRL football team is the successful Penrith Panthers which have won four premierships in a row.