Licence Qualifications for Towing Trailers

Mrs DAWN FARDELL (Dubbo) [11.50 a.m.]: I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the increasing number of vehicles fitted with tow bars for towing trailers for recreational and business purposes.

(2) acknowledges the number of road accidents involving the above vehicles; and

(3) acknowledges that the law does not presently require licence class C drivers to complete a driving test to tow trailers.

I call on the Government to legislate for all class C licensed drivers to successfully complete a mandatory driving test before towing trailers for recreational and business purposes. I do not intend that these mandatory tests be any form of revenue raising; rather, it is to ensure that people are qualified suitably before towing a caravan or trailer behind their vehicle. The Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act is the current legislation covering class C drivers licences in New South Wales. Section 20 (m) reads:

(m) prescribe different classes of driver licences, and grade each class by reference to the driving skills required for each class, and the eligibility criteria for the issue of each class of licence

Paragraph (v) reads:

(v) require persons who are:

(i) applicants for driver licences or renewal or variation of driver licences, and

(ii) holders of driver licences, to submit to tests or retesting or medical or other examinations for the purpose of assessing fitness to hold or continue to hold a driver licence, or a varied driver licence, and—

Paragraph (x) reads:

(x) provide for driver training schemes.

With respect to towing, the national licence classes, provisions for a class C licence, read:

—any vehicle no more than 4.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), which carries up to 12 adults including the driver.

—any implement or tractor or a car-based motor trike.

Provisional 1 licence holders can tow small trailers with up to 250 kilograms of unloaded weight. In regard to the current regulations governing size and weight of towing vehicles and trailers, the Australian Vehicle Standards Bulletin, published on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government website, states:

Maximum length of trailers (except for semitrailers) must not exceed 12.5 metres.

The total length in combination must not exceed 19 metres

The width of a trailer must not exceed 2.5 metres.

The height of a trailer must not exceed 4.3 metres.

In relation to variations of towing capacity, the bulletin states:

Maximum towing capacity of a Holden Commodore is 2.1 tonnes

Maximum towing capacity of a Ford Falcon is 2.3 tonnes

Maximum towing capacity of a Landcruiser wagon is 3.5 tonnes.

The maximum weight of a trailer must not exceed 4.5 tonnes; however, the weight limits imposed on the vehicles I have mentioned restrict class C licence holders to the weights outlined above. A driver who wants to tow a trailer at the maximum weight of 4.5 tonnes will require another class of licence—an LR or light rigid licence. Australian and imported car manufacturers provide recommended towing speeds for their vehicles. Australian insurance companies use the car manufacturers' recommended speed-to-weight ratios when assessing claims and may refuse a claim if it was determined the vehicle was travelling in excess of the recommended speed limit.

Another more important issue is the effect these slow speeds have on traffic flow on busy roads such as the Newell Highway, which has a 110 kilometre per hour speed limit for the majority of its length. The slow speed of caravans and trailers can cause frustration for truck drivers and other road users and lead to risk taking when drivers try to overtake those slow vehicles. An incident at Alectown was caused by a vehicle towing a caravan attempting to overtake a B-double truck on a windy day. The accident was catastrophic and provided further proof that anyone can hook up a caravan or trailer to a car without having a special licence.

The Roads and Traffic Authority provides guides for towing trailers, but there is no obligation for licence holders to read those guides or undertake any form of training prior to towing a caravan or trailer. The Roads and Traffic Authority suggests that if someone wants to tow a caravan or trailer that person should obtain a copy of the booklet. This approach is supposed to make every driver qualified to tow a caravan or trailer. Provisional licence holders are not allowed to drive a vehicle with manual transmission if they qualified for their licence in a vehicle with automatic transmission. We do not give them a little book and say, "This is how you do it."

Many four-wheel drive clubs recommend that their members participate in driver-training programs before partaking in organised trips; however, this does not always happen. The Caravan and Camping Industry Association has produced the National Caravan and Recreational Towing Guide in response to requests from members. Online caravanning directory GoSeeAustralia has produced a towing information guide providing advice related to weight capacities and speed limits, which is ignored at times. The NRMA has recommended that if members intend to use their vehicles for towing, they partake in a training course offered by the private training organisation Tow-Ed. Unfortunately. members do not always take the advice and undertake this course.

If we surveyed drivers on the Newell and Pacific highways or those driving to the local dam we would find that many motorists have not partaken in the education offered by these voluntary motoring organisations. NRMA members are offered a 10 per cent discount on the $425 fee for Tow-Ed's on-road courses. The Federal Standing Committee on Transport and Regional Services published its report entitled "National Road Safety—Eyes on the Road Ahead" of June 2004. A number of submissions were received calling for a graduated licensing system for four-wheel drive vehicles, and for towing caravans and large trailers.

Dubbo truck driver Rod Hannifey, in his submission, alerted the committee to the anomaly that any car driver could, without any special training, convert his or her car into an articulated vehicle, simply by attaching a caravan. Mr Hannifey recommended that caravan and large trailer owners should have an understanding of weight distribution and loading on their vehicles, because some people are driving vehicles of similar length to a semitrailer. The standard length of a conventional semitrailer is 19 metres.

In the past few years an increasing number of road crashes involving vehicles towing caravans or trailers has occurred on the Newell Highway. The possibility of more accidents involving vehicles towing caravans or large trailers is likely to increase with the growing combination of heavy vehicles and holidaymakers using the Newell and Pacific highways. The risk factor of crashes involving caravans, trailers and heavy vehicles in the region is further increased due to Dubbo being located at the hub of three major highways and a number of major arterial roads. Major roads in the Dubbo region, which I represent, include the Newell Highway, Mitchell Highway, Golden Highway and Castlereagh Highway.

Key points from the National Transport Commission (Draft) National Transport Plan and Policy Framework, March 2008, reveal that over the past three years more than 4,800 people have been killed on Australian roads. That equates to 4 people per day or 30 deaths per week. The cost of road trauma to the Australian community is $17 billion per year. The Council of Australian Governments agenda has emphasised improving heavy vehicle productivity. However, the community will need to be assured that potentially larger and heavier vehicles—B-triple vehicles, et cetera—will deliver better safety outcomes than the current fleet. This should involve a balanced evidenced-based approach that aims to improve driver behaviour. I refer not only to B-double vehicles but also to vehicles towing caravans.

In May 2007 the Australian Transport Council Ministers agreed that action was required for large-scale implementation of a best-practice model of road safety measures, including improved speed management and enforcement. The following are statistics as at June 2007: motorised vehicles registered in New South Wales exceed four million; passenger and off-road passenger vehicles in New South Wales exceed three million; trailers registered in New South Wales total 755,121; motor homes registered in New South Wales total 8,883; class C driver licence holders in New South Wales total 4,032,264; passenger vehicles registered in the Dubbo local government area total 16,212; off-road passenger vehicles registered in the Dubbo local government area total 2,418; and trailers registered in the Dubbo local government area number 7,605—many of which are owned by people not suitably qualified. The majority would be class C licence holders who have received no training, except perhaps from a family member, and no testing before hooking up that caravan or boat to their vehicle and getting on the road.

The Warrumbungle Shire Council's report on the Newell Highway states that it is 1,055 kilometres long and runs from the townships of Boggabilla-Goondiwindi on the Queensland border to Tocumwal on the Victorian border. It carries across the State goods to markets, brings goods and services to the region, and carries people to and from work and school, as well as holidaymakers. It is also the major transport link between Melbourne and Brisbane. I travel along part of the Newell Highway three times a week. Driver fatigue is a significant cause of accidents on the Newell Highway. In the five-year period between 1998 and 2002, 35 people were killed and 188 people were injured. Fatigue was a major factor in 24.5 per cent of casualties and accounts for 18.9 per cent of all crashes.

The crashes often involve local people from towns located along the Newell Highway. Statistics from media reports show that from the start of 2006 to the present eight men, two women and four children were killed on the Newell Highway near Dubbo, and 12 men, one woman and one child were killed on other roads near Dubbo, with the total number of deaths being 28. I have other statistics showing the number of recorded crashes and casualties from 2003 to 2007 for the Dubbo region, but time does not permit me to read them. Responsible citizens who wish to tow a trailer or a caravan do not have to take a Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] test to be able to do so. The Roads and Traffic Authority simply provides people with a brochure for them to read and some dos and don'ts. I ask members to seriously consider how many people would be bothered reading that information before hooking up their boat, caravan or trailer to a car.

Mr MICHAEL DALEY (Maroubra—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.01 p.m.]: With the greatest respect for the member for Dubbo, who no doubt is motivated to act in the best interests of her constituents, the Government is unable to support her motion. I am advised by the Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] that, while the number of caravans and trailers registered in the State is compiled, the number of vehicles that are fitted with towbars is not. The number of registered trailers and caravans under two tonnes has remained relatively constant. As a proportion of registered vehicles on New South Wales roads, they constituted 14 per cent of the vehicles registered in 2002 and 14.1 per cent of registered vehicles in 2007.

While the statistics represent an increase in the number of those two types of vehicles from 637,849 to 725,978 in that period, the House should note that over the five-year period from 2002 to 2006 motor vehicles towing a trailer accounted for less than 3 per cent of all motor vehicles involved in fatal crashes and less than 1 per cent of all motor vehicles involved in all recorded crashes. The Road Transport Driver Licensing Regulation 1999 does not require new class C driver licence holders to undertake a driving test to tow trailers. The Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety, which is known as the Staysafe committee, previously examined the safety of towing caravans and programs. Research shows that crashes involving caravans and trailers constitute only a very small proportion of the overall traffic crash statistics.

The Staysafe committee's report entitled "Towing caravans and trailers safely" states that the available evidence did not support a requirement for special licensing or testing requirements for towing. The latest Staysafe committee's report, "Driver licensing in New South Wales: first entry into the driver licensing system", Staysafe report No. 37, did not recommend any changes to the towing requirement limits for novice drivers. Under the 1999 Road Transport and Driver Licensing Regulation, the holder of a provisional P1 car licence is restricted to towing vehicles having an unladen weight of not more than 250 kilograms. I trust that the information I have outlined clarifies the issues for the House. With the greatest respect to the member for Dubbo, the Government does not believe that an analysis of the perceived problems that the motion seeks to rectify warrants the intervention embodied in the motion. The Government does not support the motion.

Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.

Division called for and Standing Order 181 applied.

Question resolved in the negative.

Motion negatived.