Overturned Caravans!

[Mick_5116680]

I have heard on the radio today that there have been 5 overturned caravans on the roads this morning.

Has there ever been a study into why there are so many?

If this keeps happening, I am sure that the government will be under pressure from road users (who are caught up in the traffic jams caused by overturned caravans) to do something about it. Caravan MOT, specific towing driving test etc...

 

[James_374408700]

Probably they are overloaded and towed by unsuitable cars!

I seem to be seeing more very large vans being towed by smaller cars.

Because so many cars now have diesel engines with good power output they can pull bigger and bigger vans.!

Is ATC lulling people into a false sense of security?

Jim

 

[Dustydog]

Mick

There are allegedly 500,000 caravans used in the Uk

5 this morning doesn't surprise me. They are probably incorrectly loaded. Tyre pressures unchecked on vans that have lain dormant since last summer.Plus I expect they were being "thrashed".

That said how many car accidents do you think there were this morning. Dozens I expect! Most accidents that have held me up haven't involved caravans.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Mick_5116680]

Dustydog - Point taken, but how many of those 500,000 do you think are on the road at any given time? Lets be optomistic and say 25% - 125,000. Now look at how many vehicles are on the roads at any given time - Millions. Now look at the percentage of how many of each catagory are in an accident on any given day. I have no evidence, but I would guess that in percentage terms it would be higher for caravans.

This is the kind of study that I refer to in my earlier posting. Would be good to know the statistics.

 

[KeithJ]

We can't assume they are mostly smaller cars - the last one I saw was a Land Rover, and I have seen other 4 x 4s

Keith

 

[Dustydog]

Mick

I believe Bailey in conjunction with the University of Bath have done a lot of studies but I don't have the details to hand. Check out their respective sites.

Personally I'd hate annual MOTs on my annually serviced caravan but we must remember in these hard times a lot of people service themselves but there are others who do nothing at all. 10 to 1 the overturneds are those unserviced , unchecked , badly loaded etc.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Mick_5116680]

Thanks for that Dustydog.

Found the site http://www.towingstabilitystudies.co.uk/index.htm

 

[Parksy]

The timing might be playing a part in the number of overturned caravans this morning.

For many this is the start of their annual holiday and they may have started early to beat the traffic jams and the rush.

There may well be novice caravanners amongst them who have posssibly overloaded poorly maintained caravans with no checks on tyres of brakes and who try to drive at or over the speed limit even when road conditions dictate otherwise.

It's a shame that so many holidays have been ruined before they have begun and we can only hope that no one was hurt.

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Goodmorning

One thing which was pointed out to me at my last holiday on a caravan club site. We were having a talk to the wardens as you do and he did say the amount of new young people towing caravans now days that should not be because there driving licence does not cover them for towing was staggering. I myself did not know about this till he pointed it out to me.

So if you pulling a caravan and your licence does not cover you.

your insurance must be not covering you too.

the implication dont bear thinking off.

 

[fordwillys]

hi out there

i am newish to caravaning about 3 years just bought a 09 caravan and new car to pull it.

the thing is i travel up and down the m1 every day and all i hear and see is caravans upside down and causeing traffic jams every where and now its getting to the point where do i stand do i sell the van because they are unsafe.

see i have a 2.2 diesal mondeo and a compass 505 and i know they are well sooted

from paul

 

[RayS]

Another factor could be the very strong and gusty winds that day, particularly down here in the West.

 

[James_374408700]

Paul,

I think it really is down to common sense.

Dont worry unduly there are lots of us who have been towing for years without mishap. (Where's that piece of wood I need to touch!).

Jim

 

[KeithJ]

Paul

The fact that you are on this forum suggests that you take enough interest in caravanning to want to discuss it and learn from others. I think education is one of the main safety factors in caravanning (as in most things). People on the forum know about the importance of correct loading, correct outfit matching, nose weights, good maintenance, condition of tyres etc. There are a lot of people out there who just buy a van and don't bother to learn these things.

Many of us have towed for years without mishap, although non of us should be complacent, but if you follow the basic "rules" and drive carefully you will have nothing to worry about.

Keith

 

[Rodger Dodger]

Just past Gordano and further South has always been catching people out, got a reputation as " Caravan Alley" !

Too fast, with wrong loading doesn't take long for it to get out of shape, then braking as it goes, result an accident.

It is such a shame where common sense would stop it all in the main.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mick,

As others have said, its not just caravans, don't fall into the trap that has been baited by the British media to condemn caravans. They seem to have an agenda to adversely publicise every incident that involves a caravan.

As I recall the road reports today have been reporting horrendous conditions across the country due to the sheer volume of holiday traffic, and the failure of the highways agency to keep road works to shedule.

James,

The worst thing is 'common sense' if it were common sense then these incident would not happen, so what is actually lacking is good sense.

What we don't know are the circumstances of the incidents. Was it caused by the caravan driver? or was the caravan a victim of other drivers actions?

Caravans are comparatively fragile so it does not take much of a knock to create a spectacular outcome. These issues all feed the perception that caravans cause more problems than other vehicles, but statistically it probably is not the case.

Paul says

"i travel up and down the m1 every day and all i hear and see is caravans upside down and causeing traffic jams every where" Paul please take the time to quantify your statement. Over a year how many incidents have you seen that involve a caravan? and how many incidents have you seen where a caravan is not involved? Now be realistic please.

 

[James3]

Whilst I agree there are probably more car/lorry accidents each day it is the caravans over turning that is picked up by the media and traffic reports. It does tend to give us all a bit of a bad name. I am sure if the basics are followed (correct loading - right towing vehicle, correct speed etc) there would not be much trouble. I use the M5 quite a lot and tow with the correct weights and ratios etc. I also travel at a speed appropriate to the road conditions ie if it is good conditions I travel at 60 but drop to a lower speed if weather or traffic conditions are difficult. However I notice on virtually every trip I am past by caravans being towed way above this limit on the motorway even on the downhill stretches which have warnings for caravans. We never seem to hear why these vans tun over surely the police must be aware of the generally accepted towing rules and guidlines but do they check or are they not interested other than to just get the road clear ASAP and let the insurance companies sort it out.

At some stage it is going to effect us all with increased costs for caravan MOT, new tests or other conditions which I'm sure Mr Clarkson could advise on.

 

[James_374408700]

John L

Common sense or good sense.

Don't be pedantic, I think you know what I meant.

Jim

 

[ed1]

well all,....... my first thought was, how awfull, all those caravans, could it have been weather conditions,.... it certainly wasnt, is it someone who is inexperienced, or overloaded, or tyres not correct. my second thought was i hoped everyone was ok, and they have probably lost their pride and joy, and to top that no holiday.luckily for me, my near accident never happened. i ended up in a violent snake coming over selby bridge on the m62, it was literally a strong gust of wind that just took hold, if it wasnt for the truck driver at the side of me realising what was happening i think we would have been over, my speed was correct my tyres were correct i drive very well, but still it happened. lets just hope that the people this happened to this morning are ok.happy holidays everyone.

 

[Taff]

I travel between junc 30 and 21 twice a week and I have never seen an accident involving a caravan. I travel approx 20k miles per year and I have only ever seen one caravan overturn on the M5 as I was returning home from Torquay.

Wheres that piece of wood

 

[Surfer]

Maybe they overturned because another car, HGV, white van cut them up and casued them to brake heavily. Maybe they overturned because they had a blow out on a tyre. Maybe they overturned because the driver was drunk.

Who knows whether it was an incorrect match or similar. It ios all guess work until the investigators have done their job! Luckily none of us are investigators.

 

[Royston]

With regards to overturned caravans on motorways , Often read comments within this forum about people who openly admit that they load heavy items to the rear of the wheel arch to correct the nose weight to suit the load of the towball as per their car limitations.

This in its self can encourage when caught with a sudden side wind more with the addional weight for the van to start the begining of a snake .

I also try to keep the steering wheel as straight as possible , no sudden twists to miss potholes as these can become quite severe for the caravan to accomadate, Followed a Senator the other day through a serious of mini roundabouts the driver more used to driving solo was causing the van to swerve from side to side, bouncing all over the place, if he had hit the curb shudder to think what would have happened.

Royston

 

[602]

Hi,

Circa 1962, road between Bury St Edmunds and Thetford, I watched a Land Rover pulling a horsebox overtake another car. The off-side wheels of the horsebox went up the grass verge, causing it to go into a whip-lash action, swinging side to side behind the Land Rover. The driver tried to accelerate out of the problem (in an early Land Rover???) It wasn't long before the horsebox was actually lifting the rear wheels off the road, and bouncing it from side to side too.

Don't ask me how, but the driver managed to recover the situation, and carried on his journey. Luckily, there wasn't a horse in the box.

602

 

[LMH]

Whilst I appreciate poor driving by the tow driver, incorrect loading of the caravan, insufficient tow car, lack of maintenance on tow car and caravan, weather conditions can all contribute to an overturned caravan and sometimes injury to passengers.

Let us NOT FORGET that sometimes, other road users CAUSE collisions and caravans to overturn. Innocent people, on their way to their holidays, with their well maintained tow vehicle and caravan can become the consequence of a dangerous driver and loose a hell of a lot, financially and emotionally. Really makes you appreciate how precious life is.

Thank god the CPS is sometimes able, in some circumstances, to persue and deal with dangerous drivers accordingly. Yes, there are cases where people are not persued due to lack of evidence for example, but my god when you are in court and see the person who caused a serious accident face to face and then after giving your evidence, and a verdict has been reached and the CPS phone and tell you that the person who caused the accident was found guilty of dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene and as a result, the dangerous driver has been banned from driving for a number of years and was only saved from going to prison because of their age, well I call that justice.

Lisa

 

[Steve_374341117]

It's that time of year again when caravan knockers have their fun. Yes there are incidents involving caravans, just as there are involving other motorists/motorcyclists/cyclists & pedestrians but it's only caravans that seem to excite people. Perhaps it's because they're not quite so common as people think that they notice them. Obviously if a caravan overturns on a motorway it's more likely to cause holdups, although I've been driving for 35yrs and never been held up by such an incident, but I have been held up for incidents involving other vehs. As previously stated I'm sure a lot of incidents that do occur are a result of inexperience and poor loading.

 

[Robs]

Hi to all....... Just found this site and loads of interesting reading. We have our caravan now about 3 months and would love to know where to get some towing advice. We double and triple check everything before we leave and then never go over 45mph. For this year we decided to use a site about 15 miles from home until we get used to towing. One thing we do (advice please) is put the kids bikes into the caravan - albeit well wedged in so they cannot move. Should we do this and is back end or front best ?? Off to spend the evening flicking though the forums ;-)