Little-known caravan mistakes leaving drivers ‘breaking the law’

With an 'explosion' of caravans on our roads of late, it appears many drivers are completely unaware of some simple rules regarding towing a caravan.

Left: 4WD towing caravan with headlights on. Right: lanes of traffic on busy highway.
Caravan owners are often making mistakes on Aussie roads without even realising. Source: Getty

As more and more Aussies hit the road towing a caravan, many are completely unaware of the mistakes they could be making. And now, amid an "explosion" of van travel across Australia, those in the know are warning motorists what they could be doing wrong, potentially putting their lives, and other road users, at risk.

Previously, Dave Jason from Get-A-Weigh told Yahoo News Australia over 80 per cent of vehicles his team checks before a trip are over the weight limit and don't meet roadworthy requirements. "Road safety is no laughing matter," he said, urging more Aussies to do the right thing.

But speaking with Yahoo News this week, NSW Police said there's a multitude of general offences that mean vehicles don't meet safety standards, including faulty lights, trailer couplings, tyres and general roadworthiness.

This was brought to light last week during a caravan and trailer safety awareness day aimed at "ensuring a greater safety for the travelling public," John Eggenhuizen, owner and the chief instructor at Getabout Training Service told Yahoo.

He joined NSW Police at the two-day event, along with Transport for NSW, where up to 40 caravan combinations were "comprehensively checked" to ensure they meet the recommended requirements.

A common issue he noted was vehicles having incorrect tyres not fit for safe road travel which could cause accidents, something Darren Anderson from fellow weighing service Weigh Your Rig previously warned about.

But there are a bunch of other simple mistakes most are unaware of, Eggenhuizen revealed.

Two images showing several caravan combinations being checked for compliance.
A caravan and trailer awareness day held in NSW over the week found a number of common mistakes being made. Source: NSW Police/Getty

"Often, people towing caravans mount push bikes or a spare tyre on the back of the caravan. These can partially obstruct the number plate, which means that, unfortunately, they are breaking the law," he said this week.

Another is regarding mirrors.

"People think that because they may have a camera fitted to the vehicle, which looks as though it's fitted to the back of the caravan and projects on a screen on the dash they can see an image behind them" Eggenhuizen said, but often their vision is impaired.

Australian law requires that your mirrors provide a clear view of the road behind and to the sides of your caravan. If your standard mirrors do not meet these requirements, you are legally obligated to use extended mirrors.

"There's a lack of awareness for both of [these things]," he said.

Left: Dave Jackson from get-a-weigh. Right: 4WD towing caravan getting checked.
Dave Jason, who runs a vehicle weighing company claims most people are making crucial mistakes when it comes to towing. Source: Supplied

In recent times, road safety advocates have been calling for states and territories to introduce mandated training or a new licence class for motorists who tow a certain size of trailer or caravan amid a rise of caravan-related incidents.

Between 2018 and 2022 there were 201 crashes involving a vehicle towing a caravan on NSW roads where someone was injured or killed. Sadly, these crashes resulted in the deaths of 24 people, while 87 others suffered serious injuries.

Eggenhuizen, who's been in the caravan industry for 20-odd years, said that while "the awareness of caravan weights and caravan safety has certainly increased" there's still a significant number of people doing the wrong thing on the roads.

Transport for NSW agreed suggesting several changes caravans owners should consider before taking to the open road.

These include distributing the weight more evenly with heaviest items low and over the axles, shortening chains, ensuring mirrors are correctly fitted and relocating the brake controller to be more accessible.

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