There are renewed calls for drivers towing caravans to undergo additional training as they continue to flood our roads. A rise in accidents involving vans has also brought into question whether a specialised licence class should be required when buying a certain sized trailer.
Currently, there is no requirement for drivers to have any specialised education or training before travelling with a caravan. But an uptick in incidents involving caravans in recent years has led to pleas from Aussie caravan users, road authorities, and those inside the industry, for more to be done to keep road users safe.
“We certainly support calls to look into training,” National Transport Research Organisation’s (NTRO) Emily McLean previously told Yahoo News Australia. “The more experience people have, no matter what they are driving, the better it is for road safety outcomes.”
It’s a sentiment that is shared and expressed by many.
The latest call comes from a friend of a man who was tragically killed while driving home near Yass, in New South Wales earlier this month.
The 49-year-old was travelling along Burley Griffin Way, Galong when he was “struck by an object” that had dislodged from a caravan, “penetrating the windscreen and striking the man in the head” NSW Police said.
The 32-year-old male driver of the vehicle towing the caravan was not injured and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing. But a close friend of the deceased man has now called for stronger standards around caravans, including licensing for drivers.
“I think before you buy a caravan there should be some authorisation to make sure you’re allowed to take it on the road,” he told the ABC.
Two travellers were injured when this caravan rolled over in Queensland in 2022 amid a rise in Caravan-related incidents. Supplied: Queensland Police via ABC
In 2024, “there have been 37 crashes involving caravans in tow on NSW roads,” Transport for NSW director of vehicle safety, Paul Duignan said.
Meanwhile, while data specific to caravan accidents is difficult to determine, Queensland government statistics suggest there were 50 fatalities and almost 1,000 hospitalisations from accidents involving cars towing trailers or vans between 2017-2021, The Courier Mail previously reported. It’s thought this number has risen significantly since then.
Joel Tucker, road safety manager at Queensland’s peak motoring organisation RACQ, is among those who “strongly support caravan owners doing more training” before hitting the road.
While the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) reportedly does not want mandatory licensing, it does want governments to subsidise towing courses for new drivers.
According to data from the Federal Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Australians took 15.3 million caravan and camping trips in 2023 – a new all time high. Meanwhile, the Caravan Industry Association of Australia said almost 2.8 million people will likely be on the road this summer. About 100,000 of them will be towing a caravan as the popularity of motorhomes continues to soar.
“Overweight and unstable caravans are a big problem” in Australia and are causing serious accidents, Tony Maddison, director of towing technology company WiTi said earlier this year.
“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 added.
A stolen caravan was being towed by a white van when it fishtailed before crashing on a busy highway earlier this month. Source: NSW Police/The Hills Police Area Command
Mandatory licencing is ‘absolutely necessary’, some claim
Road safety expert from UNSW Raphael Grzebieta agrees, and told Yahoo “driving a caravan is like driving an articulated vehicle (semi-trailer vehicles)” so it makes sense for additional training, and even licensing, to be mandatory.
“Folks towing a caravan need additional training if the caravan is above a certain load. It’s not like towing a small trailer,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dave Jason from caravan weighing company Get-A-Weigh earlier told Yahoo over 80 per cent of vehicles his team checks before a trip are over the weight limit, and don’t meet roadworthy requirements.
He said the number of people who “don’t care” about being over the limit is “really alarming”, concluding extra training and mandatory licence requirements are “absolutely necessary”.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.