by Joe Jeffrey
Footage showing Panorama presenter and interviewee inside moving caravan ‘unlawful and unsafe’ according to consultant to the NCC and NaVCIS
The National Caravan Council (NCC) has commented on the controversy surrounding an episode of Panorama in which a series of interviews were conducted inside a caravan while it was being towed.
On Monday, the BBC flagship current affairs programme, entitled ‘Who Will Win the Election?’, featured presenter Richard Bacon conducting a series of interviews with renowned US statistician, Nate Silver, inside an Airstream caravan while it was being towed on busy highways and even, it seems, hogging the middle lane of a motorway travelling from Lincolnshire to Scotland.
Additionally, programme makers also failed to ensure towing mirrors were attached to the tow vehicle, despite the fact it is a legal requirement to have mirrors that allow drivers to see clearly an area that is four metres wide from the side of a caravan at a distance of 20 metres behind the driver.
And now, Tim Booth, consultant to trade association for the caravan industry, the NCC, has expressed concern over the BBC’s potentially dangerous decision to feature such irresponsible footage.
Booth, who is also a member of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), an organisation which trains and supports police officers across the UK and Europe, told CaravanTimes: “It is unfortunate that the BBC have chosen to interview in this way – in unlawful and unsafe, and potentially dangerous circumstances. The vehicle combination would have failed a number of routine checks if stopped by police.”
It’s not just those inside that were endangered by the BBC’s decision to film inside a moving caravan though, but also other road users, according to Booth.
“A vehicle lit for filming is potentially a great distraction to other drivers. The film shows serious offences – passengers not wearing seat belts, no towing mirrors to safely see around the towed vehicle (£50 fine per mirror), hogging the centre lane of a motorway. that alone is potentially 3 penalty points and £100 fine.”
When questioned as to whether BBC programme makers may have possibly edited footage in order to make it seem as though occupants were inside the caravan travelling any length of distance when they were not, Booth said: “Even if it was the case, it is dangerous because viewers could assume this was a lawful and acceptable way to travel.
“Such reporting could be considered irresponsible – not at all what would be expected from a well-informed, factual based programme such as Panorama,” the expert added.
As previously mentioned, CaravanTimes has reached out to the BBC but the corporation has so far declined to comment. Keep checking back on CaravanTimes for more news on this story as and when it develops.
