Caravan owners implored to do simple $600 act amid driver's licence debate: 'Life-saving'
More and more Australians are taking to the road with serious gear – but there's one critical think they should think about doing first.
Australia is known for its beautiful landscape and for being a camping and caravanning mecca for both international backpackers and domestic tourists. But as more retirees and young Aussie families take life on the road, calls are growing louder for drivers to make sure they know what they're doing before towing a large load on the open road.
Kevin Williams has worked in nationally accredited driver training for more than two decades, teaching motorists how to handle powerful 4WD vehicles in different situations and how to safely tow heavy loads.
According to national data collected by the federal government as well as anecdotes from industry groups, caravan travel in Australia is at an all-time high – something that doesn't come as a surprise to Kevin.
"I've been doing this for 20 years, and for me personally it’s been a steady constant in [growing] popularity,” he told Yahoo News.
After selling his driver training business in Queensland, he still works to deliver courses about towing caravans and driving 4WDs on different terrains. Like many others in the industry, he thinks all Aussies who are new to caravanning should complete a safety course before heading out on their adventures.
"It's about setting themselves up for safety," he said. "For the sake of $400 to $600, you can go do a towing course, and everyone walks away learning something.
"It may save one life or it may save many lives."
Kevin says people need to fully understand the capabilities and specifications of their vehicles and how to manage them.
"Such things like the gross vehicle mass, the towing capacity – the towing capacity of the tow bar assembly but also the van they're towing as well," he said.
"Then it's all about the load distribution, if you don't have the van correctly loaded, that could change the dynamics of the vehicle, and could create things like trailer swaying."
Then there's other things to consider like "understanding Australian legislation on when you need your trailer brakes," Kevin added, as bigger caravans are mandated to need a certain level of local braking.
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With caravan sales on the rise, authorities have sounded the alarm this year about the rising number of caravan-related incidents, with a spate of bad accidents in recent months.
"It is crucial caravan owners prioritise learning how to safely maintain, load and tow their vans," RAC claims manager Glen Walker told Yahoo News last month.
"It’s also critical to keep the caravan balanced, with the correct weight on the tow-hitch, by distributing weight evenly when packing," he said, adding that caravaners must not exceed speeds of 100km/h.
Caravan accidents can happen very 'quickly' at speed
Even those who do the right thing can be caught out. Retired couple Dorothy and Kevin Kallawk learned that the hard way when they were suddenly overtaken by a large truck while travelling on a WA highway in July, causing them to swerve off the road and crash in a dramatic accident which saw their D-MAX ute and seven-metre caravan written off.
"The thrust of the wind, it pushed the caravan onto the gravel and Kevin lost control ... It all happened so quickly," Dorothy told Yahoo this week.
"We’ve talked to so many people and everyone knows someone who it has happened to … exactly the same situation," she said. "We talked to one lady a few weeks ago and her mum and stepdad had written off two cars and two caravans through the same sort of thing … it’s just crazy. You’ve got to be so careful."
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Kevin, who was driving at the time, had operated fire trucks for thirty years and owned the large caravan for the previous eight years, but his experience wasn't enough. That's why Kevin Williams believes driver courses could save many people from potential – and unnecessary – catastrophe.
"Even the most experienced towers can walk away having learned something," he told Yahoo.
"Driving off road or driving a caravan for the first time is mentally draining and that raises your mental fatigue," he said. And often one person in a couple takes on the lion's share of the driving, increasing that mental fatigue. "That's when accidents happen," he said.
Debate over driver's licence requirements for towing large loads
Others in the industry have also warned about drivers nonchalantly or unwittingly doing the wrong thing when towing. Dave Jason who runs a vehicle and caravan weighing service based in NSW and Queensland told Yahoo last month that more than 80 per cent of vehicles his team checks before embarking on a trip are over the weight limit, and don't meet roadworthy requirements.
"Some people are conscientious enough to want to be safe and legal, and some just aren't. They just don't care and don't want to know," he said.
In recent times, road safety advocates have been calling for states and territories to introduce mandated training or a new licence class for motorists who tow a certain size of trailer or caravan and it's something Dave believes is "absolutely necessary".
Unsurprisingly, the Caravanning Industry Association of Australia has been steadfastly against the push. It argues there have only been 50 caravanning fatalities in the past five years, contrasting it to the roughly 1,200 road fatalities every year.
"Many incidents occur due to a lack of knowledge or driver error rather than an absence of specific licensing," it says on its website. "Education and awareness campaigns prove far more effective in delivering safer outcomes on our roads."
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