Caravan carnage video fuels safety debate

A current affairs TV show highlighting the risks of caravanning has renewed calls for tougher caravan towing laws.

The 'Caravan Carnage' episode that recently aired on 'The Project' focusses on a dramatic caravan roll-over on a straight tarmac road in central Queensland in May this year.

The footage recorded on a dashcam shows a Toyota LandCruiser towing a Kedron tandem-axle caravan closing in on a truck in front before the caravan starts to fish-tail, causing the rig to jack-knife and overturn along the side of the road.

According to the program, the two male retirees had attended a towing course and "would always try to keep to 90 (km/h)" and try not to "travel at excessive speeds at any time," although a speed reading in the lower right hand corner of the dashcam footage appears to suggest the vehicle was travelling at around 105km/h just before the roll-over occurred.

Using expert comments from a Queensland police officer, the program points the finger at "uneven weight distribution" as a major cause of many caravan roll-overs, which would include overweight as well as unbalanced caravan rigs.

Lemon caravans campaigner Tracy Leigh said the segment not only shows how easy it is to roll a caravan in what appears to be ideal towing conditions, but the "the dangerous nature of caravanning in general".

"Drivers need to be prepared and should do a towing course at a minimum," she said.

They should also double-check to make sure the tow vehicle and caravan weight are within the stated maximum weight limits, and not rely on figures on the trailer plate which are not always accurate.

"Manufacturers don't always do the right thing and weigh the caravan at tare, without water or gas but with everything on it that was in the contract. That is the only way to know what its real weight is, give or take a little," she said.

Also problematic are tow vehicles that are "often not well chosen and dangerous", and lacking sufficient gross vehicle mass (GVM) and gross combination mass (GCM) ratings that allow for the weight of the fully-loaded caravan when hitched up.

"Many (tow) tugs are well overloaded before they even hook up the RV," she said.

Over-loaded and overweight caravans remains an ongoing problem in the industry, with a recent 'blitz' in Queensland confirming views that more than 50 per cent of caravan rigs are overweight.

According to an ABC report, 12 out of 17 rigs pulled over and checked in Gympie recently were found to be either overweight or suffer from uneven weight distribution.    

Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR) compliance manager Jarrod Wilson said many of those pulled over were "shocked" to discover they were overweight, and were often ignorant of the importance of towing weights and uneven loads.