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==Hitchhiking with “truckies”==
Quite a few truck drivers give at a first the impression of being a bear , but are usually gentlemen in their own way. As road roads are quite wide, it is not rare that they manage to stop for you! With a truck, of course not going as fast as a car, you can easily make more than 500 or 1000km at once seeing given the distances between the cities.
A lot of truck companies (but not all) have rules against drivers carrying passengers in their trucks. If you talk to the truckies at stops they are much more likely to ignore that rule. The only time truckies truly cannot give you a lift is when they are operating under a dangerous goods license and then, by law they are not allowed to have another passenger in the vehicle. Truckies will often take you long distances, especially if you are willing to stay awake, and help the driver pass the time through conversation. Routes such as [[Adelaide]]/[[Perth]] to [[Darwin]], [[Port Augusta]] to Perth, Darwin to [[Townsville]], are frequented by trucks, but if you want to get off the main road, be prepared to wait awhile.
In the eastern states (QLD, NSW, VIC, SA) more than the west (WA & NT), recent changes to insurance costs throughout the western world, have meant that trucks face stricter and stricter insurance limitations, one of which is that they are commonly not allowed to have any unlisted passengers in their vehicles. These rules are normally enforced by larger companies, where all riders sign in at the depot prior to the trucks' departure. If you personally know a driver it is often possible for them to sign you in and take you along to help keep them awake. These rules don't really apply to owner/operators, unless on long term contract to a particular company. Unfortunately it's hard for you to know which trucks it will or won't apply to, though you can be confident that with trucks for the big name trucks companies like Australia Post, Woolworths etc this is absolutely the case. All of this does not mean you can't get a ride in a truck. What it does mean is that our global fear of strangers has gone up here as much as elsewhere, and the amount of trucks picking up 'strangers' is greatly diminished.
== Police & Law ==
