Overweight and poorly loaded caravans and tow vehicles are contributing to nearly half the number of traffic crashes in Queensland where the vehicle towing the caravan is at fault, police say.
Misunderstandings of vehicle manufacturers' recommendations are contributing to those results, according to Sergeant Brett Vinson, himself a keen caravanner.
Sgt Vinson analysed traffic crashes over 2020 and 2021 and found that in the majority of accidents involving caravans, the driver had lost control and being overweight or incorrectly loaded was one of the major factors involved.
"Vehicle manufacturers state that their vehicle can tow 3.5 tonnes, which it can, but then you can't load the car up," he said.
"It's not telling the whole story of towing capabilities.
"People put generators, jerry cans and bikes on the back, or the van could have full water tanks at the back but empty ones at the front.
"You've got to keep as much over the axles and as low down as possible."
In addition, vehicles could be weighed down with a bullbar and other accessories, passengers and luggage.
Sgt Vinson said that as a rule of thumb, about 10 per cent of a caravan's weight should be on the towball.
He added that overloading wasn't confined to tourists on holidays but was seen among fishermen towing boats and people towing horse floats as well.
The cost to life, medical bills and loss of possessions from caravan crashes is resulting in an increased presence of police on Queensland roads with weighing scales as an awareness-raising exercise.
A police spokesperson said these were located at Roma, Rolleston, Yeppoon water police, Atherton Tablelands, and Thargomindah police districts, and Sgt Vinson said he had worked with the officer in charge at Rolleston in March.
"We pulled over five vans - one was OK but the other four had weight issues," he said. "One of them was a big Landcruiser, which you'd think could tow anything."
On another occasion, Gladstone water police conducted a hook-up in the Boyne-Tannum region.
"Lots of boats were overloaded, and not by a little bit," Sgt Vinson said.
According to a post on the Safe Weight NSW Facebook page, the author claimed to have been pulled up by police at Capella for a roadside breath test and caravan weight check.
"He said that he had weighed 72 caravans and motorhomes and found 65 over weight," he reported.
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Sgt Vinson emphasised that having a good understanding of how to load a caravan was an important part of owning one and said Caravan Queensland ran regular weighing days along with the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
"It's important to go along as if you're heading off on holidays," he said. "You drive onto the scales and someone discusses all these things with you."
Sgt Vinson is planning to attend Queensland's caravan supershow in early June where he will be running seminars.
"It's something people should learn about before they buy, otherwise they're up for either a new car or a new caravan, if they don't match up," he said.
He is yet to obtain the latest caravan registration information but said numbers had definitely increased when COVID restrictions prevented people from travelling overseas.
"I'll be collecting ongoing information on the issue - it's not something that's going away," he said.
"It's all part of our road safety campaign - there are very few caravan crashes that don't result in injury, and then there's the cost of recovery and temporary accommodation.
"It's a big social cost."
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
