Limiting the 'menace' of caravans on Aussie roads

A new call has gone out for caravan drivers to get an extra license to keep Australian roads safer for all users. 

Courier Mail columnist and associate editor Paul Syvret told A Current Affair caravan drivers were a menace on our roads. 

"You can't drive a forklift without a license (so) why should you pile on six tonnes of metal on our road," Mr Syvret said. 

After a recent 10,000-kilometre trip, Mr Syvret said too many people were getting behind the wheel of a car towing a caravan without the required experience. 

"Suddenly they're behind the wheel of two and half tonnes of Landcruiser towing another few tonnes of caravan, stretching over 12 or 12 metres, and they've never done so much in their life before as backing a box trailer into the garbage dump," he said.

Mr Syvret said caravan drivers should have to sit an extra test, and do extra training before hitting the roads.

Across Australia there are currently more than 620,000 registered caravans. 

Steve Spalding from Queensland’s motoring body the RACQ said drivers should consider extra training, before hitching up a caravan. 

"it would really be quite foolhardy to just get behind the wheel of vehicle with a caravan combination, head out on the road, without really building your skills up first," Mr Spalding said. 

Caravaning Queensland also supports the idea of extra training. But chairman Ron Chapman said licensing was a step too far. 

"Licensing for certain vehicles doesn't necessarily improve the driving of those vehicles either. Education is certainly the best thing," he said.

Mr Spalding said the best thing is for everyone to have manners on our roads. 

"Etiquette is the number one thing," he said.

"Keep to the speed limit, if they can't, keep an eye behind them, keep over to the left when they have a chance to let people past."