Just like most things, if you aren't a knob and posing around and doing some really dumb Sh#t, you would most likely be left alone.
But of course there are those that flaunt their stupidity, and they may be at the pointy end of the potential impoundings.

fatcat67 wrote:

Just like most things, if you aren't a knob and posing around and doing some really dumb Sh#t, you would most likely be left alone.
But of course there are those that flaunt their stupidity, and they may be at the pointy end of the potential impoundings.

oh yeah i totally agree, i stay well away from surfers and broardy and all those fully sick boy racer hangouts.
But what i was getting at is, it says, if you get defected for something such a steering wheel, which i would think would be a minor defect, do you still have to go to court???

eg. you get pulled over and done for pod filter and bov. nothing major at all. but if you get pulled over 2 more times in the next 3 years and get done for anything, eg, a break light out, or too low. does this mean that they impound your car for good?????

or does it only matter to major defects where they put a yellow sticker on your front window and the vehicle can not be driven and has to go over the pits???

im a little confused as im quite docile....

I might be able to shed some light on this, considering I've experienced this first hand. I'm not saying this will apply to everyone. Yes I am the same 'Paullus' that posted the links on the RoadSmart site.

Firstly it seems that only certain officers can hand out the 'Notice to Appear' slip. A friend got done for a bov down at the Spit recently and he got a normal defect notice. I got defected by the State Traffic Task Force and off to court I went.

As far as I can tell there is no difference between a 'defect' and an 'illegally modified or non-compliant vehicle.' Because if the vehicle is the latter, it is essentially a defective vehicle and a Defect Notice can be issued under the Transport Vehicles Safety Act 1999 or whatever it is called ( I think I posted a link to it on the Roadsmart site). And remember there are 'minor' and 'major' defects.

Now onto my situation. I was heading home from Toowoomba one Friday night and shortly after passing through a roundabout I was signaled to pull over. Marked and unmarked police vehicles and motorbikes were on either side of the road. I was sensibly driving my turbo n14 Pulsar at the time (which I only usually drive once a week or so, I have a daily driver). I was even wearing a suit at the time! Anyway they were pulling over every car that came along that street, and even had an unmarked SS doing the rounds on nearby streets. So essentially what I'm trying to say is that night they were pulling over EVERY car  on that particular stretch of road (which is a main road out of the cbd).

I won't into details of exactly what unfolded but I drove off with a defect notice for my atmospheric bov and catch can, and suspicion that my exhaust was too loud, and a Notice to Appear. They didn't go over the whole vehicle, I don't know why, maybe they thought 3 was enough, or maybe they were leaving some for next time....

The outcome of the court appearance was a $200 fine, no points and no recorded conviction. I also had to get the defects cleared by an officer at a later date. I was not the only one in the courts that day for driving a defective vehicle.

So like many have said, it can depend on the situation, the officer, the modifications and they way you drive, but let me say this, just because you drive like a grandma past an officer doesn't exempt you from these laws.

Honestly I cannot see this situation getting better, look at what happened at BWCP a week ago. It seems that just about anything can defected, and because of this I am driving my n14 less and after writing off my n15 Pulsar a week ago, I have just put a deposit on a stock MY04 with no view of modifying it (well nothing major). Yes you could say this is extreme, but I was just unlucky that night and I'm not running the risk of giving my car a 48 hour holiday in a holding yard.


I'm not claiming to know everything, but hopefully this might help some people understand. I feel that I was bloody unlucky to get pulled up by the big cheese when I was doing nothing wrong. So yeah, drive sensibly, don't have blindingly obvious illegal mods and in *most* you will be fine, but doing this doesn't make you invincible!


Whoa that is a long post for a Sat night!

Cheers

It's a bit harsh about the exhaust 'reduction in effectivness" clause. Giving a car a nice (not necessarily loud) note is something that a lot of people do without really effecting anyone.

I am all for getting rid of those pipes you can fit your head in though...

Paullus, you were extremely unlucky. Man that would hav pissed me off, but you can sleep well knowing that you would have been one of the "let's see if this idea is broken" cases. :wacko:

Give it a few months and it will die down and the focus will shift to targeting known 'hoon' spots.



Has Transport/Police done any media spots about the new rules? For something that has the potential to catch so many people (ie - just about everyone) and generate so much income, you'd think they'd let us know it was happening.

" i.e. most every after market exhaust can that is not a standard exhaust is illegal."

wtf? that is total crap... isnt it?

i was there :neo: