New operation for caravan safety on motorways

The Highways Agency, the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) and the Caravan Club are working together to launch a new campaign to improve caravan safety on motorways.

Operation Velopy aims to educate drivers about towing caravans safely behind their vehicle, as the CMPG has stated that this can often be done incorrectly, leading to accidents which could have easily been prevented.

The campaign is being run in Staffordshire, the West Midlands and West Mercia, with officers being present at service stations to give help and advice to caravan owners.

Sergeant Dean Caswell of the CMPG said: "The advice will be given to drivers on a voluntary basis, but I would urge anybody in the area to take advantage of this initiative.

"Often drivers set up the towing outfit incorrectly, which makes the caravan unstable and increases the likelihood of a collision. When this is coupled with driver error, the potential for collision is drastically increased."

He added: "The advice we are giving out will help to eliminate these problems and have a positive impact on reducing the number of collisions involving caravans."

03/09/2007 15:40:05