Call for caravan training after latest roll-over
Another Bruce Hwy jack-knife raises concerns about new inexperienced caravannersQueensland's Bruce Highway has claimed yet another caravan victim, after images emerged on social media this week of another terrifying caravan roll-over along the notorious bitumen highway.
According to reports, a couple in their 50s were towing a large, tandem axle touring caravan, south-bound on a dual lane stretch of Bruce Highway near Nambour, before the jack-knife occurred.
It's believed the brand new caravan weighed close to three tonnes, and was being towed by a Mitsubishi Pajero SUV. The couple reportedly escaped with no serious injuries.
Clayton's Towing, which attended the clean up, posted images of the smashed caravan on its Facebook page, with owner Mike Clayton telling the ABC that his tow truck business "was responding to caravan accidents every few days".
"We do see a fair few caravan accidents, and they cause absolute mayhem because they smash into a thousand pieces," Clayton said."They cause highway blockages, they just totally destroy themselves.
"They're not always new to it — we've had experienced caravanners or people who have driven B-doubles their whole life, then jumped in a caravan and rolled over."
Clayton said he predicted a rise in caravan crashes as more people buy caravans and travel locally due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"No doubt now we're going to see more caravans out there, so I think people need to look at what courses they can do, and refresher courses too," he said.
"Just to understand how the weight of a caravan works, tow ball weights, and what to do if it starts to sway — how to get out of a situation like that."
The crash images prompted hundreds of comments on social media, many addressing the dangers of towing an unbalanced or overweight rig, driving too fast for the conditions or taking unnecessary risks when towing a big van.
"There's going to be so many of these crashes now," said Kieren Izod. "Particularly as people go on holiday around Australia now and majority of them have absolutely no towing experience whatsoever, especially with large vehicles,"
Others like Cragi Best pointed the finger at that particular section of highway, which includes some fast downhill sections: "They need more warnings on this bit of road, seems to have more than its fair share of van crashes."
The latest Bruce Highway roll-over follows reports of two other accidents involving caravans in NSW this week, including one on New England Hwy at Armidale and another accident at Castlereagh Hwy 30km north of Walgett.
Images: courtesy Clayton's Towing
Related:
Risky caravan behaviour set to rise
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