unclebuck

“Caravaners using part of the M5 in south-west England are being asked to stick to the inside lane from Friday.“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3938129.stm

Fine as far as it goes, but shouldn’t this be made law for all caravans on all roads all year round? IMO there should then be stiff penalties for those found to be breaking the rules.

While we’re on the subject why are these people not required to have extra training to qualify them as competent to tow caravans. Why don’t they need to pay additional road tax before taking these lumbering obstructions onto our roads?

These people by and large are a bloody menace. Only recently I almost got taken out on my bike by one of the doddering clowns changing lanes without any use of their mirrors.

Dream Weaver

I have a caravan UB, but you would not have any problems driving behind me when towing. I stick to 70 ish on the motorway, and prefer to spend 95% of motorway time in the left hand lane, only overtaking the 56 limited wagons. On normal roads I can hussle along as normal and I use my mirrors to help people get past me if they need to.

As for extra road tax, why should I pay extra??? I do about 3000 miles a year combined driving and towing as I work from home, so if anything I should pay LESS tax!!

I never understand why people hate caravans In all my years driving the most irritating things to me are Sunday drivers, lane hoggers and wagons, especially the wagons that try to to overtak another wagon when they are only doing 1mph more than the other, hence a 2 lane wagon jam for about 4 miles.

They should ban wagons from motorways for a month, that would make much more of a difference.

I know i'll get slated for having a caravan but I dont care, i dont live my life based on whats "the coolest thing to be doing", I enjoy my life

So I'm one of "these people" that you mention, must be nice to able to pigeon hole every single person you meet into a neat little stereotypical grouping

Dream Weaver

PS as for the "stiff penalties" comment, WTF?? So just because you cant go screaming past me above the speed limit on a motorway or country lane I should have some sort of stiff justice dealt out to me?? Why?

Maybe banning wagons, cyclists and horses would be a better solution

imlach

70-ish? Limit is 60mph is it not with a caravan?

imlach

I'd certainly like to see an additional form of basic test (written or practical) for caravan owners. I know 99% of them take it all seriously, but bound to be some out there who just hitch up and don't understand the different dynamics of towing???

PS I don't have a problem with caravan owners at all - just think it is such a different method of driving/control/road awareness that a test should be in place.

Dream Weaver

Hence the ish

ScoobyDoo555

In all fairness DW, you've (unfairly) been, as you say, "pidgeon-holed". There are like-minded caravan owers, like yourself, who do exactly as you do.

However, like most specialisms, there are w@nkers who ruin it for everybody. A proportion of the caravanning fraternity are especially guilty of this. But they aren't the only ones - I will also inlcude Van drivers blah, blah blah.

In this case, these guidelines are to ensure that all caravanners follow, from my understanding, your example. Unfortunately, there will be some people who get screwed over.

"That's life"

Not taking the p1ss - FWIW, not my cup of tea, but I don't like that type of pass-time (gimme a hot country & air-conditioned hotel with room service & jacuuzi!!!)

Dan

RichWalk

Having spent years travelling down to Cornwall and North Devon, I can say from experience there is a select few peeps towing caravans who are a menace on the roads and a real danger to others.......lost count of the amount I've seen rolled on motorways, blocking up A and B roads, as usual they spoil it for the proficient drivers out there.

JDM

" never understand why people hate caravans "

Probably as 99% of them aren't as considerate as you. I sat behind a couple of caravans for well over 40 miles last week, as did the other 40 or so people in the queue as they drove at speeds as low as 20mph in a 60 limit.

I hate them and would like to see them banned, or at least make the drivers subject to a battery of tests before being allowed to tow one.

stuy112

Obviously the person who thought of this 'idea' has never towed a caravan! This would mean that I'm then held up in a convoy of struggling wagons...
I'm like Dream Weaver, maintain a (safe) steady speed going with the flow, but life would be much easier if other motorists had a bit of consideration and let me pull out to overtake to maintain that speed, instead of having to build it up again!
If i'm doing 60 on a single road, then in theory, yes I'm speeding with the van, but I shouldn't be overtaken as I'm doing the car (and bike?) spped limit

As for taking a test, then if you got your licence in the last few years (since 1998?) you have to take a seperate test if you intend towing more than 500kg

JoanUK300

I think they should only be allowed on the road between midnight and 5am..............(after being stuck behind one last year on the way down to Cornwall

stuy112

Cool, that'll suit me, only if I get my insurance and tax and fuel cheaper... the main mileage I do is with the caravan on, so if I'm restricted to the hours I can go anywhere surely I should get some benefits?

Dream Weaver

Its just typical UK legislation, rather than getting to the main root of problems, lets just ban or restrict one aspect of it.

I've only recently buoght the van, so before this year i wasnt a "caravanner", but as a road driver I've never really had major problems with caravans, and I live on the main gateway to the lakes. Like I say, lane hoggers, Sunday drivers and wagons are what annoys me.

Instead of the govn't picking on one class of road users, they should put more effort into educating all road users as to proper lane discipline, how to safely drive within speed limits (especially the old dodgers that do 30 in 60mph NSL zones) and teach people how to be courtious to other road users.

Our road manners in this country are appalling, everyone "owns" the road, and no-one will ever give way to anyone.

I'm not a "serious" caravanner, we've only been twice since buying it last September, but i do agree some caravanners can be very arsey. But I do enjoy it, so dont see why I should be banned from doing it. Good friends of mine would call for fast performance cars to be banned, but we all know how silly that would be Horses for courses I spose.

Dream Weaver

Why limit yourself to caravanning OR holidays

Everyone seems to think that, they keep saying "what about going abroad though" shock horror :O

Just been to Lanzarote, but we also have the caravan for weekends. We only take it to the lakes cos we got sick of spending Ł100 a night for a crap B&B and we go there a lot in summer.

PS Stu, what type of van you got?

Buzzer

I watched an old interview last night with Arthur Scargill being interviewed at the height of the miners strike. He correctly predicted that the demise of the rail system in this country would make Britain a car park by 2000, he wasn't far wrong. IMHO it's just rediculous looking at all the 16 wheelers on the roads today, sadly they have no choice of transportation with the rail network fooked

As peeps have said many times before, "Anything articulated should be confined to the inside lane between the hours of 6.00am to 8.00pm and then revert to the current two lane use outside these hours"

I'm nobbed off with the government blaming the singular motorist, its not their fault. All you need is a two lane jam of artics and one t1t doing 60 mph in the outside lane to overtake them to cause a major jam or incident.

ajm

This is indeed good news, although its only between J19-J20. A woman from the Caravan Club was on the local radio this morning protesting that "there is no evidence to show that caravans cause traffic congestion"!

JDM

A question for all the caravanners here.

Why don't caravans ever seem to pull over when they have a big enough queue of p1ssed off drivers behind them?
Is it monumental conceit or just good old ignorance?

I'm not saying you do this but when you come across gangs of idiots towing caravans around on a regular basis it makes you wonder why they don't pull over from time to time.
Sometimes I'm sorry to say I've got past these idiots in the past and then slowed them down to 30mph or so and given them a taste of their own medicine. Until of course a respectable motorist arrived behind them, then 3rd gear and nail the throttle.

Graz

Pesky shed draggers

stuy112

Its an Avondale of some kind! (mayfly?)
I'm probably not your 'mr average' caravaner tho, I'm young(ish) single and use the caravan nearly every weekend march-october as I watch motorsport, in the 4 years I've had a van, only ever been on a 'proper' site 3 times! and thats been in the last 2 months.

To answer your question JDM, If i'm doing 60, why should I pull over?

The best way would be to get all non towing drivers to tow for a day, then your attitude would soon change, and you'd realise what to55ers there are out there!

unclebuck

I know. It's just that kind of smug arrogance that characterises their driving style as well. As someone else said, they *never* pull over to let the massive strings of depressed held up motorists get past them even though it apparently is written somewhere in their 'code of conduct' that they should do so.

There was another one on the TV news at lunchtime, claiming that there was prejudice against caravanners and that it was because other people were 'jealous'!! Yeah right.

LOL

logiclee

They would do a lot better making the advisory 85% cars kerbside weight to vans maximum weight ratio law.

Most considerate caravanners will have a large powerful cars and suitably sized and loaded vans. You can easily keep up with traffic and maintain motorway and dual carriagewaay speeds even on hills if you have a correctly matched outfit.

The ones that cause the problems are those with the 17' van on the back of an Escort with the boot dragging on the floor. I once saw a 24' twin axled van on a 1.8 Mondeo.

Lets have laws for safety as well as congestion.

Cheers
Lee

Chip

I too have towed a caravan with my scoob. Stuck to about 60ish on the motorway and never had any problems. In fact used to overtake many cars just dawdling along in the slow lane.

For those who want caravans off the road then why not horse boxes etc as well.

Chip.

Dracoro

LOL Jealous of what exactly, oooh I travelled to my destination quickly in a nice fast comfy car but really wished I towed a small shed on wheels and slept in it rather than this nice hotel that I ended up in.

Dream Weaver

Then you wonmder why UK driving standards are so fecked Nice driving there.

To answer your question, depends on the road. On a single country road its bloody difficult to pull a full outfit over into the bushes just to let some **** past that wants to be somewhere so urgently. But on a normal A/B road, I would pull over if it was safe to do so and wouldnt cause myself or other road users any problems. As has been said, if I'm doing 60 on an NSL road why should I pull over to let you by????

Dream Weaver

Caravanning is funny, you either get it or you dont. You usually find the ones into it did lots of camping and caravanning when younger, like myself.

The thing is its not Caravan VS hotel. We stop in many hotels and B&B's when we go away and its great.

But you really cant beat taking the caravan up to the lakes and just chilling out in the countryside after a hard week. Get the beers and wine open, have a BBQ then either go out on the lash in the local village (Ambleside for us usually) or stay in and watch a DVD (they do have hot water, leccy, TV's etc you know these vans). Last time we were there it was blue sky, warm and we had deers running past us - you cant get that in a hotel or at home

We moved over to caravans from tents, cos we got fedup of getting pissed wet through when camping and watching all the caravanners sitting inside all warm and dry.

But contrary to belief we're not old duffers who cant afford to go on "proper" holidays. We just have it as a weekend thing to get away from it all, we also take proper hols, so we have the best of both worlds.

This argument goes on and on all the time.

Edit - I did also LOL at the jealousy comment from that old turd on the news

Petem95

Madness - when the already congested roads are at their busiest (summer holidays) then the mobile road blocks come out in their thousands to cause chaos

As has been said already, its a wonder that they havent been subjected to tax - surely cant be long though.

I can see the attraction of a caravan holiday, but I also see it as pretty selfish. I do a lot of traveling for work, and the amount of times Ive been stuck in huge tail-backs on A-roads because of caravans crawling along just isnt funny.

And how many serious/fatal accidents are caused by the damn things jack-knifing on the motorways?>

Chip

Have to agree with Dream Weaver. I used to love going away for a weekend with wifey and kids in tow. Really is a good way to chill out. Caravanning will not appeal to everybodies tastes but what I would say is dont knock it til youve tried it.

As for why caravans dont pull over when there is a queue behind them then why should they. If their chugging along at speeds well below the limit then yes they should but if their doing a reasonable speed then there is no reason for them to.

Chip.

ScoobyDoo555

Forgot to mention in my posts - I have done the Caravan holiday thing. ............

Nah...

Dan

just my 2p though

stuy112

I used to tow my old 18'caravan with my 306 diesel and it was well within the 85% rule!
This argument could and will keep on going, way I see it is that there are some caravaners that dont have a clue, but there are plenty of other motorists that dont either

BedHog

To be fair the biggest problem with caravans is the people who WONT overtake them. They are happy to sit there all day - right up the a*se of the caravan or the car in front so you haven't just got a caravan to get past but a queue of cars.

If you start overtaking and trying to get past the queue (I'm talking safely here, nothing stupid) then they get all annoyed and start gesticulating rudely - to put it mildly lol