With wild winds buffeting much of the east coast over the weekend, driving conditions have been extremely challenging for caravanners and motorhomers out on the roads.
Motorists report feeling their vehicle being ‘moved’ by gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour. Trees and branches were blown down, and debris swirled around even major highways.
Despite what must have been a white-knuckle ride for some, it seems there have been no major caravan or motorhome related accidents reported.
And the one incident that was reported appears to have been more to do with driver error than the weather conditions.
A car sideswiped a caravan on Victoria’s Loddon Valley Highway yesterday morning causing significant damage to the caravan,
The Bendigo Advertiser report that the car travelling south veered onto the wrong side of the road and collided with the caravan, which was heading north.
Senior Constable Brian Smith said neither vehicle lost control after the collision, but the caravan sustained significant damage.
“Debris from the side of the caravan was all over the road, which slowed traffic for a while,” he said. “Lack of concentration from the driver of the car was the cause of the collision.”
No one was seriously injured.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the worst of the winds had now passed.
High winds have long been the enemy of grey nomads, as shown by this dramatic accident from last year.
Have you ever felt your rig move in high winds? What did you do? Comment below.
Hi It happens. Daytime traveling towards North towards Coober Pedy their is a parking bay on a hill about 95km south of Coober Pedy.. I was in a government late model 4wd without a caravan. On the hill just before the parking bay on the left a gust of wind moved the Nissan Patrol 1 meter to the right on the wrong side of the road. Just as well there was no traffic the other way or it would have been a fatal. If I was towing a van at the time…who knows what could have happened. The Nissan Patrol loaded weighs nearly 2 ton. It goes to show strange things can happen on country roads. I traveled this road many times before and never experienced anything like it before. It scared me and when I think of the consequences of a head on collision that could happen I wonder if its happened before and drivers incorrectly blamed.