Online timer for 27 seconds
As a road train rolls past, you can keep your eyes on the trailers while a 27 seconds countdown runs beside you. The short window gives you a defined sample rather than asking you to follow every trailer from the prime mover to the final axle group. On an Australian highway, remain well clear of traffic and count only from a safe, stationary position.
While you track each passing trailer, your phone may dim or lock before the countdown finishes. Keep the display awake temporarily, or rely on the audible finish so you do not have to look away from the road train. Place the phone where the signal can be heard without holding it; your attention stays on the gaps and trailer bodies, where missed or double counts usually happen.
When several similar trailers pass in quick succession, use a finger tap or a spoken number for each distinct trailer rather than trusting a mechanical timer with a turning ring. A ring can show approximate time remaining, but it does not give the same clear endpoint for such a brief observation. Start as the first chosen trailer reaches a fixed roadside marker, then stop counting at the sound even if another trailer is partly across that point.
Common questions
What if the road train clears the marker before this interval ends?
Record the trailers you saw and note that the whole vehicle passed within the window. Do not extend the count to another vehicle, as that would mix two observations.
Why might the same interval capture fewer trailers on another Australian road?
Road speed, trailer spacing, gradients and traffic conditions change how many trailers cross your chosen marker. Count from a safe stationary location and treat the result as a sample from that particular pass.
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