SAFE CARAVAN TOWING FEATURE
In 2022 Queensland police conducted a weigh-in blitz on the remote 1049km section of the Landsborough Highway in western Queensland, between Morven and Cloncurry.
Mobile scales were deployed to weigh caravans and other heavy combinations and revealed that a staggering nine out of 10 travellers — 90 per cent — were towing dangerously overweight caravan combinations. More disturbingly, most drivers were unaware their car and caravan combination was overweight, dangerous and illegal.
This frightening statistic doesn't surprise Bundaberg-based caravan road safety researcher Ken Wilson from Truck Friendly, but it still makes him shudder and, he says, it needs urgent attention. Ken believes that incorrect weight distribution and overloading is one of the major causes of caravan instability and legal non-compliance on the roads in Australia today.
Truck Friendly is a national caravan road safety program designed to encourage road safety education, cooperation and a friendlier and supportive relationship between all road users including caravanners, RV drivers and the truck drivers on highways and suburban roads.
“Australia has many experienced caravanners who share great advice to those new to caravanning,” says Ken. “However, there are also many social media sites, caravan park drink gatherings and wellmeaning friends who relay uneducated, dangerous and sometimes illegal advice in answer to questions.”
“It is very hard for people new to caravanning to know what or who to believe when they are setting up a tow vehicle and towing
