POLICE in the East Gippsland area of Victoria will be checking on caravanners at a rest area this week.
But they have assured travellers they will not be handing out tickets at
the Princes Highway's Newmerella rest area on January 4 and 5.
Their mission is to advise on caravan and tow vehicle weights, general
safety around towing and how to manage fatigue on long journeys.
Acting Sergeant Graeme Shenton told Caravanning News that the objective
was not to fine every driver with a caravan that might be overweight or
non-compliant.
"As the popularity of the pastime grows quickly, so have the incidents of
unexplained caravan rollovers and crashes," he said.
"Many of these will have had weight, not always as a cause but certainly
as a contributing factor."
“Often these crashes can be attributed to a lack of skills, knowledge and
training around the safe use of heavy caravans.
“We want to use this operation as a chance to educate and generate
discussion around towing safety and road safety in general.”
Act Sgt Shenton said that at this stage the operation ‒ the first of its
kind in Victoria ‒ would concentrate on education rather than enforcement.
"My goal is to create as much discussion about safety as possible on
social media, in RV clubs and caravan lifestyle magazines," he explained.
Police would carry out the checks with the assistance of VicRoads and the
Sheriff.
Act Sgt Shenton revealed that social media had been running hot since news
of the exercise was announced.
"The conversations being had across social media have been very
interesting to read and are achieving my aim of getting RV owners to take
another look at their safety," he said.
It was good to read some of the "very robust" discussions.
"Some forums and Facebook groups are reporting that many members viewing
the posts are then going on to look at further links to safety articles
from their pages, so the message is getting through," Act Sgt Shenton
said.
