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Screenwriter James McCausland drew heavily from his observations of the 1973 oil crisis' effects on Australian motorists: "Yet there were further signs of the desperate measures individuals would take to ensure mobility. A couple of oil strikes that hit many pumps revealed the ferocity with which Australians would defend their right to fill a tank. Long queues formed at the stations with petrol-and anyone who tried to sneak ahead in the queue met raw violence. George and I wrote the script based on the thesis that people would do almost anything to keep vehicles moving, and the assumption that nations would not consider the huge costs of providing infrastructure for alternative energy, until it was too late."
Most of the extras used in the film were paid in beer.
The "get-out-of-jail-free card" that Goose gives the triker was an on-set joke. Because of the limited budget, the biker gang was an actual biker gang (the Vigilantes), and they had to ride to the set each day in-costume; often with their prop weapons displayed. Since the production company expected them to be pulled over by the local police, each was given a letter explaining the film's peculiar requirements, and asking for law-enforcement's understanding and cooperation.
Tim Burns (Johnny the Boy) was so into character that he annoyed everyone on-set, and was abandoned one day during lunch while handcuffed to the wreck.
Some of the things Nightrider yells over the radio are lyrics from the AC/DC songs "Rocker" and "Live Wire."
James McCausland: The bearded man wearing an apron in front of the roadside diner watching the police cyclists and tow trucks drive away is the film's co-writer.