Common risks for campervan drivers you didn’t suspect

You’ll be familiar with the common risks associated with life on the road – drink driving, other road users, adverse weather conditions, driving behaviour – and even a few hazards linked specifically to campervans, such as the different dimensions and turning circles.

Here, though, are a few risks for campervan drivers that you might not have been aware of. Factor these into your driving if you haven’t already, and make sure you are equipped with some good campervan cover before you go.

Dehydration

Drinking too much (alcohol) is a well-known risk factor for drivers of all vehicles. Less well understood, perhaps, are the risks associated with drinking too little fluid – especially over the long distances you’ll often be covering at the wheel of your campervan.

Research has shown that driving while dehydrated can be similar, in its impact on driving ability, to drinking after a couple of glasses of wine. So it’s not just your vehicle’s oil, coolant and screen wash that you should top up before a long journey: you should be vigilant of your own fluid levels, too.

The worst conditions for dehydration, unsurprisingly, will be on a hot summer’s day – just the type of day, in fact, when you and the family might be covering some serious miles in the middle of a summer holiday, or just heading down to the nearest beach. The dehydration that can result all too easily on a day like this will impact negatively on your concentration levels and co-ordination. Symptoms include loss of focus, drowsiness, dry mouth, a feeling of dizziness or light-headedness, slower reaction times, and muscular cramps.

Researching the effects of dehydration, scientists at Loughborough University tested a group of motorists on a driving simulator and uncovered some striking results. The drivers made twice as many errors when dehydrated as they did while properly hydrated. Concentration and alertness were significantly reduced, causing errors such as drifting out of lane and braking too early or too late.

What can you do?

Keep yourself well hydrated at the wheel by drinking around two litres of fluid a day (this can include tea, coffee, water and juices), especially in hot weather. And, tempting as it may be on a warm summer’s day, don’t overwork your van’s air conditioning as this can dry out the atmosphere in the cabin, further increasing risks of dehydration.

Feeling tired? Stop for a drink. Anything containing caffeine or sugar will give you the quick boost you need. If you have time, take a rest until you feel more alert.

Jetlag

This one is a bit of a hidden danger, as so many drivers won’t hesitate to drive home from the airport after a flight. The truth is, though, driving while still feeling the effects of jetlag can be a danger as your internal body clock may still be keeping the same time it was on holiday.

Travelling through several time zones can disturb your sleep patterns, making you tired, and less able to concentrate. The bigger the difference between time zones, the more likely it is that you could suffer from jetlag.

What can you do?

After a long-haul flight the safest option is to take a taxi to and from the airport. Or, if it’s practical, spend a night at a nearby hotel in order to get some rest before driving home. If the jetlag does start to overtake you on the road, you should pull over at the earliest suitable opportunity and get some rest.

And we’ve got to say it – do you really need to get on a plane in the first place? The UK has some wonderful destinations for a campervan holiday.

Medication

Some forms of medication can cause drowsiness, exactly what you don’t want while at the wheel of your campervan.

A particular culprit here is hay fever medication. Hay fever affects around an estimated 13 million people in the UK, and many of us will turn to an antihistamine during the summer months, as pollen counts rise, to combat those annoying symptoms – the runny nose, the itchy eyes.

The trouble is that some of these antihistamine tablets are known to cause drowsiness, nausea and blurred vision, as well as increasing your reaction times – all things you definitely want to avoid on Britain’s busy summer roads.

The consequences here can be grave. Should you end up causing a crash, you could find yourself saddled with a criminal record. You may be asked to do a field impairment assessment and roadside drugs test. If the police conclude that you’re not fit to drive, you’ll be arrested and could face prosecution. A subsequent drug-driving conviction will bring with it a minimum one-year driving ban and an unlimited fine – even, in severe cases, a six-month jail term.

What can you do?

Always check the label of any medication you take before getting behind the wheel and familiarise yourself with the information on the leaflet. If you are at all unsure whether the medication might affect your driving ability, check with your pharmacist. Also, do you really need this medication in the first place? If your symptoms are mild, why not just stick to nasal sprays and eyedrops, and sidestep any danger of drowsiness?

Another good tip at this time of year is to keep all windows closed, and thus avoid trapping pollen in the vehicle. Make sure, too, that your campervan insurance provides some good coverage in the event of accidents or damage to your vehicle.

Overloading your vehicle

Cramming too much stuff into your campervan can have several unhappy consequences.

Chief among them, of course, is compromising your safety and that of your passengers. You probably think you know the stopping distance of your campervan at various speeds – but what about when the vehicle is fully laden with camping and holiday gear? The results might surprise you.

A survey of 500 van drivers by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles found that more than half couldn’t identify how much longer it would take to brake when driving a loaded van. Carrying a van laden with 500kg of equipment can extend the van’s stopping distance by a third.

Overpacking can cause damage to the van itself. Tyres have a maximum load – as long as you keep within this weight limit, and keep your tyres inflated as recommended, you shouldn’t have any problems. Exceed this limit though, and you could be looking at a tyre blowout. Even if you avoid the blowout, the extra weight may wear away at the tyre treads, leaving you travelling on bald or nearly bald. Travelling with excessive weight will also make your van’s engine work harder. And fixing or replacing an engine is far from a stress-free or inexpensive business.

Not only that, loading up your car or truck with too much camping gear also puts excess strain on nearly every other part of the vehicle. That includes the suspension, the axles, and even your brakes. It will also harm your fuel efficiency, and can impact on your field of vision… and your passengers’ comfort.

What can you do?

There are a few things you can do to bring down the weight of your supplies. Try to bring lightweight food; think about parking up somewhere with freshwater access, to save you hauling along your own water for the trip; use travel-size containers and supplies; pack only what you will be using; and think about sacrificing some of those luxuries, such as portable TVs and radios.

We’ve run through quite a range of potential problems in this section – as well as the tips above, we’d also strongly recommend that you are armed with some decent insurance for a campervan to help you in the case of any of the scenarios we’ve included.

Not knowing your vehicle’s dimensions

You really don’t want to be that driver who gets halfway down a narrow lane only to realise that you are not going to make it all the way through – and now has an impatient line of traffic behind you, blocking your way back out again. You don’t want to get stuck under a low bridge, or scrape or even snap your wing mirrors passing along a narrow section of road.

What can you do?

To avoid any of these outcomes, it’s a good idea to have a typewritten sheet of your vehicle’s dimensions on the dashboard beside you as you drive, so you can make a quick but informed decision about whether a given route is going to work for you. Modern sat navs will also help you to avoid routes that are unsuitable for larger, heavier vehicles like campervans.

Coming unstuck on country roads

Narrow, winding country roads are a huge, but often misunderstood factor in road traffic accidents. Around 40% of UK traffic is on rural roads, but 62% of all road fatalities happen in the countryside. The cause of this is not hard to find: even though rural roads are often twisting and challenging, with poor forward visibility, the national speed limit of 60mph still applies across many of them. Result: drivers travel much faster than they would in a built-up area, even though the potential dangers are on a similar level.

What can you do?

To avoid the risk of a collision, make sure you understand the main hazards you are likely to encounter on any given rural road. And, again, ensure that your campervan insurance will cover you for any misadventures.

Fatigue

One recent driver survey found that, on average, drivers perform 50% more harsh braking events during their last hour of driving, compared to their first hour. This seems particularly relevant for campervan drivers, who will often make long daily trips to get to their holiday destination or next stop on the grand tour.

What can you do?

Make sure you take regular breaks on your journey and, as we advised above, treat yourself to some caffeine and/or sugar products when required.

The sun

It may be the very thing you’re chasing on your summer travels, but the position of the sun in the sky can also be a substantial risk factor for drivers. The survey above found that there was a 13.9% higher rate of harsh braking when the sun is prominent, probably down to the dazzle effect of full sunlight. Harsh braking actually became less of a factor during periods of rain and snow – presumably because drivers become more cautious. Something to bear in mind for all demob-happy summer van drivers.

What can you do?

With the weather being fairly unpredictable, this one is probably something you have to learn to respect and to deal with as you come across it, rather than trying to plan it out of your driving sessions. Just be very aware of the ways in which bright sunlight can impede your vision, and add an extra layer of care and attention to your driving in bright, sunny conditions. Make sure you have appropriate sunglasses or glasses to hand, too.

Days of the week

Yes, even the day you choose to head out on your journey can be a factor. The survey found that the issue of harsh braking remained at a fairly constant rate throughout the working week – but then increases by 21% over the weekend.

Why would this be? Well, weekend drivers are probably more relaxed and there are generally fewer other cars on the roads. This means that weekend motorists will be more inclined to accelerate – and will be more surprised, and have to act more quickly and possibly unsafely, when they do encounter another vehicle coming towards them.

What can you do?

If you can plan your trips to avoid too much weekend driving, we’d recommend doing so. However, we recognise that this often just isn’t possible, so – as with the sunlight factor above – we would advocate driving with sharpened care and attention at these times. And, once again, check your campervan insurance is up to date and as comprehensive as possible before you set out.

We hope you’ve found this list of lesser-known risks helpful. Of course, as well as being a conscientious and risk-aware driver, one of the best ways to enjoy your campervan to its full glorious potential is to take out the right form of campervan insurance.

Our campervan insurance includes free EU cover for up to 90 days, personal effects cover for up to £6,000, and a 24-hour helpline.

Get a quote for campervan insurance today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.