VICROADS is developing new resources to help drivers better understand light vehicle towing.
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It is understood the materials will detail towing techniques and encourage inexperienced drivers to find a suitable towing training course.
VicRoads acting road user and vehicle access director James Soo said it was important anyone towing understood the limits of both their car and their trailer, and that they drove to suit the conditions.
His comments come after Coroner Audrey Jamieson recommended VicRoads and the TAC consider a public awareness campaign highlighting the dangers of towing an overloaded trailer following a fatal crash at Runnymede.
In her findings into the crash on December 16, 2016, the coroner also recommended the authorities consider any changes to driver licensing training that might include towing techniques.
Leongatha resident Jennifer May Teague died of injuries she sustained as a passenger in one of two vehicles involved in the crash on the Northern Highway, near Mt Pleasant Creek bridge.
The vehicle in which Ms Teague was travelling flipped onto its roof after colliding with a 2014 Toyota Landcruiser Prado, which was towing a twin axle tandem trailer containing a Toyota Hilux, a three-wheeled motorbike, a large metal toolbox and two red gum sleepers.
“[Police] determined that contributing factors to the collision were the excessive speed of the Prado, the excessive weight being towed and the loading configuration of the trailer, which caused the tow ball to be low,” the coroner’s findings state.
Ms Teague sustained multiple injuries in the crash and died at the scene, at the age of 68.
“The crash at Runnymeade was a tragedy and we are looking at ways to better educate drivers on how to safely tow a trailer,” Mr Soo said.
The new resources on light vehicle towing are expected to be made available on the VicRoads website.
VicRoads is also understood be the exploring opportunities to disseminate a fact sheet.
It is not yet known whether the organisation will consider providing towing information for probationary drivers.
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The coroner’s recommendations were inspired by Ms Teague’s brother, John Teague.
“In his Victim Impact Statement, John expressed a wish that his sister’s death not be ‘just another statistic’ and hoped his family’s tragedy ‘would serve as an example and as a warning to other drivers as to the risks and responsibilities when towing heavy loads’,” the coroner’s findings read.
“John urged the presiding magistrate and coroner to consider recommending actions that would help prevent similar incidents.”
Ms Jamieson said Mr Teague’s suggestions included changes to the driver training to include towing techniques and regulations, perhaps even making the towing of loads greater than a light trailer a licence endorsement requiring competency testing, adding this type of ‘accident’ to the TAC ‘scenario’ advertisements.
TAC lead safety director Samantha Cockfield told the Bendigo Advertiser the coroner’s comments about the Runnymede fatality would be considered for the TAC’s road safety campaigns.