Big fuss over caravan plate penalty

Prominent motoring and caravan lobby groups have spoken out after a caravanner was recently fined for having a rego plate mounted too high.

Powerful NSW motoring association the NRMA posted three articles on its website in defense of an NRMA member that was pulled over by the police in NSW and fined $415 and three demerit points for having an incorrectly-positioned rego plate fixed to the back of his Victorian-built caravan.

Legislation in Victoria, NSW and Queensland (but not South Australia, West Australia and the Northern Territory) stipulates that a caravan’s rear licence plate cannot be mounted higher than 130cm above the ground.

The NRMA said that owner Steve Laws had towed his Crusader caravan around Australia before being issued a ticket for having the rego plate mounted 30cm higher than the maximum allowed.

“What gets up my nose is that the caravan is three years old, it passed rego and it was built locally so I thought this rule was a new thing – but it’s not,” Laws told the NRMA.

“The guys who made it should know the rules and the guys who passed it for rego should know too. But the policeman who pulled me over said ‘it’s your fault for driving it’.”

According to the NRMA, Melbourne-based Crusader Caravans will be subject to an audit by the Caravan Industry Association of Australia following the incident.

Crusader, which is a member of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia and an RVMAP accredited manufacturer according to its website, put out the following statement on its Facebook page.

“Crusader Caravans are currently in discussion with the Caravan Industry Association of Australia and the relevant associations for each state regarding the provision for mounting a registration number plate to the rear of our caravans.

“They are assisting us to gather further information and clarification on this issue. Crusader Caravans aims to consistently deliver a professional service to our customers and takes any caravan compliance issue seriously.”

The Caravan Industry Association of Australia also weighed in on the matter, pointing the finger at the registration process and the inconsistent enforcement of regulations by government.

“The broader issue here is how the product got through the registration process which you would expect would pull this issue up prior to the vehicle getting into the hands of the consumer,” said Caravan Industry Association of Australia chief executive Stuart Lamont.

“The major priority in the eyes of the Government is those matters which impact on the risk of injury or death to consumers,” he said.

“Notwithstanding the importance of number plates heights and visibility, the industry is strongly concerned with gas and electrical installations, couplings, and weights, some of which applies to a growing number of personal imported products which enter Australia through a self-declaration process while being constructed in another country to alternative construction standards.”

“The construction of a caravan is subject to many regulations, yet the enforcement by Government remains difficult and is applied inconsistently.”