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The Police as you would expect were everywhere ! Between the WA border and Norseman we had much fun with "Mork & Mindy" who patrolled in their "Double Bubble" all which caused considerable amusement for the passengers but caused havoc with the timetable. Between Perth and Port Hedland we would enlist the help of the kids onboard by offering a free ice-cream for any (police) aeroplane sightings. Once I remember a kid bolting down the isle of the coach to claim his ice-cream and I was left to interpret the given information and hit the brakes. I had a Radar detector which "beeped" everytime we went past a microwave tower which wasn't that helpfull but it certainly saved me many times.
For the first year I was the only driver to have completed a Bus Drivers Course and Test. Dennis Bell (Vikings) joined me as the second PSV qualified driver, Brian (Vikings) was the next and unfortunately he was driving driving a sub-contracted coach south near the Dog on the Tucker Box when a truck heading north came through the windscreen, Brian and the four passengers sitting in the front seats were killed (and this was the first of too many serious accidents). Nearly all of the drivers came from a truck driving background and many "masqueraded" as "Coach Captains" which caused some amusement.
I realised by August 1982 that I liked Express Coach Operations. Together with Dennis Bell (and backed by the Deluxe Organsiation ) we started our own Express Coach Business based in Albury - but thats another story.
THE END (sorry about the length, typo's etc)
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