Gold Coast District Crime Prevention, Volunteers in Policing and Coomera Road Policing recently attended a free caravan safety check event at Metricon Stadium organised by Caravanning Queensland.
We met some great people who are planning some amazing trips exploring our great country and spoke with them about personal safety, caravan security and road rules.
We focused on personal safety when driving with the following tips:
- Keep doors locked and your valuables out of sight.
- Plan your route. Where possible stay on main roads. If travelling in an isolated area tell someone where you are going and your estimated time of arrival.
- Avoid picking up hitchhikers.
- If you are being followed, or encounter an aggressive motorist, drive to a populated area, such as a police station or service station and seek assistance. It is best not to agitate an aggressive motorist by returning abuse or violent gestures.
- If a passing motorist indicates that you should stop, continue driving to a populated area before getting out and checking your vehicle. If you do stop to talk with a stranger, stay in the car with the doors locked and engine running and talk through a closed window. Drive away if you feel threatened.
- If stopped by police who are not in uniform and have an unmarked car, ask to see their identification through your closed window.
- If someone you don’t know gets into your car, try to attract attention and help from others, e.g. drive with the horn on, activate the hazards lights and/or stop in the middle of a busy intersection (if safe to do so) and throw the keys out of the window.
In relation to caravan security, we discussed methods of securing your caravan such as wheel clamps and coupling locks and also the importance of locking your caravan when it’s unattended and securing your valuables.
Last but not least, we talked about the Fatal Five which are the most common killers on Queensland roads – Speeding, drink and drug driving, failure to wear a seat belt, driving while fatigued and distraction/inattention.
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