{"id":14298,"date":"2023-01-19T10:37:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T00:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=14298"},"modified":"2023-01-19T10:37:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T00:37:18","slug":"what-the-person-with-the-caravan-wishes-you-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/driving\/what-the-person-with-the-caravan-wishes-you-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Person With The Caravan Wishes You Knew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Summer is the time of year when you\u2019ll see a lot of people out on the road going to their favourite holiday destinations \u2013 or making the journey the holiday. Some of them have caravans behind them. Others have similar large trailer-type things behind them, such as horse trailers or even furniture trailers (which don\u2019t have to contain furniture \u2013 they can carry all the camping equipment, the bikes, the kayaks and so forth). We won\u2019t consider trucks in this article, as they\u2019re a different story altogether.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to get frustrated when you barrel along the road without anything attached to your towbar and see a caravan on the road ahead of you, getting gradually closer and closer (as you travel at the legal speed limit, of course). You may grit your teeth and start scanning the road ahead, looking for an opportunity to overtake. Why do they do it? Why do caravans go so slowly? Are they that heavy? And why don\u2019t they just pull over and let people pass as soon as a line starts forming?<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019m going to answer your questions. As you may have guessed, I have sometimes been that person with the caravan, and I can tell you exactly what\u2019s going through the mind of a driver with a caravan. Believe me, we\u2019re not going slow on purpose and holding everyone up just for the sadistic pleasure of annoying people.<\/p>\n

Why Caravans Are Slow<\/h2>\n

There are several reasons why the person towing a caravan goes more slowly than you do. In other countries, the speed at which you can tow anything, including a caravan, is different from the maximum speed limit (usually lower, of course). However, that\u2019s not the case in any of the states of Australia, where a caravan can be towed at the full legal limit, as long as the driver can do so safely.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s the point of it: as long as they can do it safely. Because they\u2019ve got that extra thing on the back, their car handles differently when it comes to corners and things like that. Strong winds can also affect how a caravan sits on the road, meaning that a driver towing a caravan may have to slow down when you don\u2019t have to. What\u2019s more, even a modern caravan has quite a bit of drag, which puts a lot of extra demand on the engine \u2013 even the most powerful engine. Nobody really wants to wring the guts out of the engine all the time, as this makes even the most frugal car into a thirsty beast. This means that the caravan has to go slower than you do, especially when going into a headwind and\/or uphill.<\/p>\n

In the case of horse trailers, the driver has to make sure that he\/she drives smoothly without anything sudden. Horses are sensitive creatures, and travelling in a trailer is something that they hate. Anything surprising or startling will freak them out, and there\u2019s a risk that they could hurt themselves in that confined metal box. This is why the drivers of horse trailers often go a little bit slower. They definitely don\u2019t want you to honk your horn. Seriously \u2013 don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

Why Don\u2019t They Pull Over?<\/h2>\n

While you\u2019re looking at the back of the caravan and wondering why the heck the driver won\u2019t just darn well pull over and let you pass, said driver is probably scanning the side of the road. You see, a caravan driver can\u2019t pull over just anywhere. They have to look for a place that allows enough space for their vehicle and their caravan without taking out any of the \u201croad furniture\u201d (signs, markers, barriers, etc.) or any vegetation. They also don\u2019t want to drive onto anything that they can\u2019t get out of again, such as ditches or boggy patches. What a vehicle (and the associated caravan) can get into and out of will depend on said vehicle and whether or not it\u2019s got 4×4 capacity.<\/p>\n

A good place to pull over has to be a good place not just for the caravan driver but also for you. It\u2019s no good if the caravan driver pulls over just short of a blind corner where you can\u2019t see what\u2019s on the road ahead (we\u2019re not talking about lay-bys, passing bays and slow vehicle lanes here; they\u2019re another story).<\/p>\n

In short, it can take a while for the driver of the caravan to find the right place to pull over that\u2019s good for both of you. It won\u2019t happen the instant that you appear. The driver won\u2019t start looking for a good place until you appear in his\/her rear vision mirror.<\/p>\n

If you are the caravan driver, make sure that you do look out for a good spot to pull over and let others pass to avoid a long snake of traffic building up behind you.<\/p>\n

When You Overtake A Caravan<\/h2>\n

OK, so the driver of the caravan has found a place to pull over and now you can overtake. This driver may or may not have come to a complete standstill. Sometimes, the driver of the caravan will stop completely, especially if the road is winding and a lot of traffic has gone past. However, sometimes, the caravan driver will crawl along half on and half off the road, especially in the case of a long straight. Now is your chance to pass. You can also get a chance to pass if the road has a passing lane.<\/p>\n

When your chance comes, here are some things that the driver of the caravan would like you to know:<\/p>\n