Police plan caravan accident crack-down

Midlands police have launched a new initiative aimed at reducing the number of caravan-related accidents.

Caravan owners will be afforded advice by a team of officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) and the Highways Agency as part of Operation Velopy between 09:00 GMT and 17:30 GMT on Friday July 25th.

The Caravan Club and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency are also supporting the effort, which aims to educate drivers on the best way to safely tow caravans.

"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. 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."

According to Jenny Moten, regional operations manager for the Highways Agency, there were over 1,000 towing-related incidents on West Midlands' motorways last year.

As well as driving carefully, caravan owners also need to ensure they have adequate caravan insurance cover.

23/07/2008 17:49:15