Driver’s ‘entitled’ caravan act on wet road reignites call for major licence change

Andrew Mathiesen, who works as a truck driver, was driving his car along the “steep and windy” Mount Glorious Road, 35 kilometres northwest of Brisbane, when he was blocked by the mishap during a bout of wet weather.

“There are signs along this road not to take trucks, buses, caravans or trailers, so to my surprise, lo and behold is a caravan traversing the road,” Mr Mathiesen told Yahoo News.

While the caravan driver pulled to one side to let him pass when they were headed in the same direction, they encountered each other again upon Mr Mathiesen’s return.

“(I found) the direction I came from to be blocked for one hour because of an entitled caravaner,” he said.

“(The) wet conditions, debris all over the road made conditions more slippery and the road not suitable for heavy vehicles or caravans. The caravan has pushed the tow vehicle around on a sharp bend.”

Mr Mathiesen said the incident was proof that any driver who is towing a caravan be required to undergo more training and obtain a specific licence in order to do so.

“Why shouldn’t they have to pass a licence test to show they can tow a caravan? After all, I need (one) to drive a truck weighing (a) similar weight,” he said.

Given the increased popularity of recreational vehicles (RVs) and caravans, Queensland Police last year strongly encouraged people to attend a caravan towing course to learn the necessary skills.

“Towing a caravan is a whole new world compared to driving a car or four-wheel drive,” a QPS spokesperson told the ABC.

“It requires drivers to plan overtaking, braking and acceleration manoeuvres at a higher level, allowing substantially more distance for each manoeuvre to be done.”

UNSW road safety expert Raphael Grzebieta previously told Yahoo News additional training was necessary.

“Folks towing a caravan need additional training if the caravan is above a certain load,” he said. “It’s not like towing a small trailer.”