Calls for caravan owners to undergo licence test
There are calls for caravan owners to be forced to acquire special licences as the industry booms across Queensland. HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR POLL
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There are calls for caravan owners to be forced to acquire special licences as the industry booms across Queensland.
Caravan ownership surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with Queensland leading the nation in sales of caravans and other recreational vehicles such as campervans.
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However, the boom has also raised concerns, with fears there are “too many cowboys” among the cohort of new owners, creating a recipe for disaster on the state’s roads.
Tony Maddison, director of towing technology company WiTi, said owners should be required to undergo an accredited towing course along with passing a test for a licence before they hit the open road.
Queensland’s peak motoring organisation, RACQ, also backs calls for increased driver training, a position also supported by the Caravan and Industries Trade Association Australia.
While data specific to caravan accidents is difficult to quantify, according to Queensland government statistics, there were 50 fatalities and almost 1000 hospitalisations from accidents involving cars towing trailers or vans between 2017-2021.
Mr Maddison said overweight and unstable caravans were “a big problem” in Australia and were causing serious accidents
“In most cases, drivers only need their car licence and they can hitch up three tonnes or more of caravan and take it out on the roads with no training whatsoever … which is just crazy,” he said.
Joel Tucker, RACQ’s road safety manager, said the body supported “a closer examination” of the contributing factors of caravan crashes in Queensland.
“(We) believe the most important caravan safety initiative for the Queensland Government to support today is more training for caravanners,” he said.
“For example, knowing how to set up your caravan and making sure weight limits are not exceeded is vital.
“At our RACQ caravan training courses we find about 50 per cent of caravans are overweight which is both illegal and unsafe.”
Caravan and Industries Trade Association Australia CEO Jason Plant said a compulsory licence for van owners was not necessarily going to solve the problem, but welcomed calls for increased driver training.
“Our industry needs to provide a holistic approach for driver support and training to make sure our roads are safe and drivers feel confident to go exploring as many times as they like,” he said.
“Last year Caravanning Queensland in partnership with the Queensland Government’s StreetSmarts initiative, hosted VANSafe, a free education program designed to increase driver understanding of the challenges they may face while travelling on the road with their RV and educate them on best practices to avoid accidents.”
Punters at the annual Let’s Go Gold Coast Caravan and Outdoors Expo at Heritage Bank Stadium told The Sunday Mail they supported the idea of special licences for caravan owners.
Truck driver Taylor Greenaway said trucks required extra qualifications and towing a caravan was markedly different than driving a regular car.
“If you’re driving a hatchback or towing a caravan, it’s a completely different beast,” he said.
Jeff Ekert said he had seen “too many cowboys” towing caravans at high speeds and backed calls for drivers to require licences.
“They just hook it up and think they know what they’re doing,” he said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department of Transport and Main Roads said they “were not considering introducing additional licensing requirements for drivers towing trailers”.
“We provide ongoing and targeted education about caravan safety through the StreetSmarts road safety education program,” the statement said.
Caravan cowboys feel free to flout safety regulations