Rise in dodgy towing prompts new police operation

This image - and a rise in situations like it - has prompted a pre-Easter police operation that will focus on trailers, caravans and towing in general.

"We're seeing more of this kind of thing all the time," Moorabool Highway Patrol Sergeant Craig Kelso said.

"In this case it was a one tonne Ford ute towing the weight of ten trailers up the Western Freeway.

"He made it as far as the Pentland Hills interchange before the transmission blew and the ute started rolling backwards.

"It ended up on an exit ramp in the Ballarat-bound lanes."

Sergeant Kelso said the driver had travelled from South Australia with the tandem trailer and picked up his load at Laverton before trying to head back over.

On top of the weight of the trailers, he said the haul also contained large boxes of tyres.

Sergeant Kelso said that when police turned up the precarious load had no red rags, flags or other attached warnings.

The Pentland Hills incident happened in mid-2022.

The new operation - dubbed 'Tow Right' - kicks off across the Ballarat and Moorabool police service areas in April and will focus on trailers, caravans and issues such as faulty electrical connections to tail and brake lights.