[SierraDan]

skyman wrote:

I know tires sticking out looks cool, and tough as, but catching a rock to the face changes that opinion really quick. I have caught my share of mud and rocks to the face while spotting a tire. I will have flares as soon as I can figure a way to fit them.

One good sized rock changed my opinion in a hurry, after I got feeling back in my right face, it was throbbing for days.

My tyres are covered but the flares taper toward the bottom so i still cop mud to the face when looking at a tyre. Mud flaps on the front would be handy!

[joel]

[joel]

2stroker wrote:

Yeah mate thats a pain, but with so many guys running the gauntlet every day with defective vehicles sooner or later it is bound to happen. It sounds like you are worried that they will find other things wrong, if that's the case then I would sort it all out before you go to save further grief.

what about optrickery kas, what about a 31x7.5 r16? does it look more legal?
hahahahah
correct me if im wrong as im to lazy to check ATM, but a 225 is the biggest you can legally go in qld isnt it?
whats that in inches? 29''?

[SierraDan]

28"?

[Gwagensteve]

When I've had to clear a defect, it's been only a notice to fix for tyres mudflap ( which came off that day and I had it in the back of the car at the time of the defect:D)

There was no requirement for RWC, and nobody at Vicroads checked the car over other than for the tyres. In fairness Vicroads offices are generally insanely busy and they want to turn cars over as fast as possible.

With all due respect to those who posted from other states, the OP is from VIC and it's different here than in other states, as Dank pointed out.

It amuses me that people will risk a defect by not running mudflaps and having tyres hanging out. I reckon 99% of 4WD defects in Vic are for those two things. If the officer then ticks the "RWC" box, for many people that's going to put their car off the road for good.

The message is clear - run mudflaps and flares and the police have to look much harder to work out how to write up a defect.

Be polite, courteous and stay off the sauce and you'll be amazed what can happen.

Some years ago a bunch of club members were checked over by TOG whilst parked having dinner. We all received defects ( they could never have let us go without writing something up - these are big cars) But it was almost a pleasant experience - they wished as a good trip for the rest of the weekend etc.

#1 First step was a breath test and license check. We don't drink on trips until we have stopped driving for the day so we all blew 0.0%. First step to a happy policeman.

#2 - Our cars are well constructed and all the obvious things work - lights etc. No holes in the floor, duct tape holding stuff together etc. That kept the defects "clean" - it was tyres/ mudflaps and that was it.

#3 - We didn't argue or get stroppy at all.

It was made pretty clear that our attitude contributed to no canary going on the windscreen. They were just doing their job and they didn't make a song and dance about it. They even extended the period we had to rectify the faults because we were on the first day of a three day trip.

Steve.


PS Matt - I'd consider throwing your stock springs back in. It would make it look like you tried harder than just bolting the stockies back on and reduce the likelihood that anyone might stat looking underneath. They have no reason to based on the documents, but why give them the excuse?

[matt91112011]

Thanks for all your replies everyone.

Thanks for your offer chris. I've got some standard tyres at home.

I think I'm going to fit some big flares to it and some decent mud flaps and see how I go.

Matty

[matt91112011]

Hey guys,

Thought id report back. I put the standard tires back on, and cable tied some mudflaps on. Haha, it looked ridiculous!

Went into Vicroads, waited ages, the lady at the desk asked me to bring the car round the back.

She looked at it once and said 'looks alright to me, I can't see why theyd defect a vehicle like this'. Then she signed it off and away I went.

Cheers

Matty

[dank]

matt91112011 wrote:

Hey guys,

Thought id report back. I put the standard tires back on, and cable tied some mudflaps on. Haha, it looked ridiculous!

Went into Vicroads, waited ages, the lady at the desk asked me to bring the car round the back.

She looked at it once and said 'looks alright to me, I can't see why theyd defect a vehicle like this'. Then she signed it off and away I went.

Cheers

Matty

booyaa!!

[skyman]

Nice, that seems pretty simple. was there a fine given out by the officer for being defected? Or do ou just have to fix it, and drive it dowm?

[ninjamoses]

Bloody hell, makes me want to move to VIC! Nice work dude.

[Gwagensteve]

In Victoria there is no fine for a defect It's not considered an "offence". There are three levels of defect -

1) A "notice to fix" which is what Matt received. You have a nominated amount of time of present the car with the fault rectified at a Vicroads office. You may, at the discretion of the officer issuing the notice, also have to present the car with a RWC certificate, which is an inspection by a licensed workshop to ensure roadworthiness. (lighting, gauges, leaks, tyres, etc) This is a bit more complicated if you have structural/engine ods etc.

When presented to Vicroads the officers will check only the items nominated (and the RWC certificate if required)

B) A "Canary" which is a yellow sticker attached to the car indicating it is defective. Same rules as above but RWC is always required and you have a big yellow sticker on the windscreen. Usually applied to ricers

C) A "red canary" - car has to be parked immediately and must be towed from where it has been stopped. Intended for serious safety breaches but has also been used for dark tinted windscreens and removable steering wheels etc.

Other states have different rules, and fines can be imposed.

Steve.

[shakes]

matt91112011 wrote:

Hey guys,

Thought id report back. I put the standard tires back on, and cable tied some mudflaps on. Haha, it looked ridiculous!

Went into Vicroads, waited ages, the lady at the desk asked me to bring the car round the back.

She looked at it once and said 'looks alright to me, I can't see why theyd defect a vehicle like this'. Then she signed it off and away I went.

Cheers

Matty

Good work.

Now go fit some edging so your normal tires are covered. Next time your less likely to have to go through it all.

[SuziBlu]

shakes wrote:

matt91112011 wrote:

Hey guys,

Thought id report back. I put the standard tires back on, and cable tied some mudflaps on. Haha, it looked ridiculous!

Went into Vicroads, waited ages, the lady at the desk asked me to bring the car round the back.

She looked at it once and said 'looks alright to me, I can't see why theyd defect a vehicle like this'. Then she signed it off and away I went.

Cheers

Matty

Recon


Good work.

Now go fit some edging so your normal tires are covered. Next time your less likely to have to go through it all.

[Ben_Sierra]

Here in WA we only have the yellow stickers these days. The red's are gone, although if they deem the car to be a danger they slap the sticker in the middle of the screen and won't leave the scene til the car is on a tow truck...

They also have an unofficial system... The more crooked the sticker is when it is placed on the screen, the mouthier you have been to the cops, and the harder the inspectors will be on you. If that sticker is on at 90 degrees to upright, good luck getting that car on the road again...

[madmacca]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

Here in WA we only have the yellow stickers these days. The red's are gone, although if they deem the car to be a danger they slap the sticker in the middle of the screen and won't leave the scene til the car is on a tow truck...

They also have an unofficial system... The more crooked the sticker is when it is placed on the screen, the mouthier you have been to the cops, and the harder the inspectors will be on you. If that sticker is on at 90 degrees to upright, good luck getting that car on the road again...

A sponge soaked in warm soapy water placed on the sticker as soon as possible after the sticker has been placed will allow the sticker to be moved

even when the sticker is upside down .

not that i have needed to do that for 20 ish years

[matt91112011]

I'm going to order some flexible coloured flares. I can't remember what they're made of, but they're about $500 a set and are near indestructible .

They can issue you with a fine for a defective vehicle because it's technically unroadworthy, so the can fine you for driving an unroadworthy vehicle, which is around $300 according to the officer who gave me the defective notice.

He was using that against me so I couldn't discuss my case. He didn't fine me, but he was still on a power trip which pissed me off.

Matty

[Gwagensteve]

I wonder how many cars he sees drive past him in Toolangi with no mudflaps/flares etc? It's hard to blame the officer for being frustrated.

If you'd had mudflaps and flares you would never have experienced the "power trip" It's not even hard to do.


Last time we were pulling out of Marginal Rd a TOG car had pulled over someone for speeding and the biggest nastiest clusterf%^k of a cut up, stretched GQ rolled past the cop. It was a rolling defect notice. It will happen all weekend up there - pull over one car and 5 more roll past.

Steve.

[skyman]

That really doesn't sound too bad for defects (if your laws were not so tight on modifications), but the hoon laws sound pretty rough.

For anyone interested in how it works here in my state, I wrote down how it works.

Here, they don't impound your vehicle (and never ever require an inspection) unless you are drunk, under the influence, or you do not have a license. They will however write you a ticket, and sometimes multiples of them.

It is possible to get several tickets in one day for one infraction. I can get a ticket for mud flaps on the way out of the city, one up in the mountains, and one on the way back for the same thing.

We have 15 days to either pay for the ticket, or request a "I didn't do it" hearing. if we don't pay it, or request a court date we get a bench warrant issued for failure to appear.

Then, if you are caught driving or your ID is checked, they will arrest you on the spot and let you sit in jail till your court date(usually 2-3 days). When you got to court they will usually suspend your license until your tickets are paid. If you are driving without a license they will also take the car to impound where it cost a lot of cash for the owner to retrieve.

If you are caught driving on a suspended license, here our penalties.

Quote:

a) A person found to be an habitual offender under chapter 46.65 RCW, who violates this section while an order of revocation issued under chapter 46.65 RCW prohibiting such operation is in effect, is guilty of driving while license suspended or revoked in the first degree, a gross misdemeanor. Upon the first such conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten days. Upon the second conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ninety days. Upon the third or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one hundred eighty days.

They can give you up to a 1 year in the clink for driving on suspended last I heard, but it may be longer now.

So while we are free to drive whatever we want here, we will either have to pay a ticket within 15 days, make payment arrangements, or go to jail for a day or two, so we can be told to pay up.

They can write ore than one ticket at a time too, say mud flaps, fender flares, cracked windshield, and no seat belt all in one stop. If you have a mouth it can get very expensive. If you are nice and did not know you were doing wrong, you get let off with a warning, probably the same as it is in AU.

FWIW they can take your car, and throw you in jail for driving under the influence, and reckless or negligent driving but you have to be really stupid, and do it in front of a cop.

[joeblow]

Start puckering if they say....'sir you have to go to the Kew office'.....

[orangeshannon]

WOW did you say you got done up near toolangi? i didnt even know that coppers could be bothered going up there i got a mate that runs his rangies up there and there comp cars completely unroad leagle no problems

[christover1]

orangeshannon wrote:

WOW did you say you got done up near toolangi? i didnt even know that coppers could be bothered going up there i got a mate that runs his rangies up there and there comp cars completely unroad leagle no problems

The Law know where all the haunts are,
they read forums, too,
and a lot of have 4wd's as well.

It is all a gamble,
sometimes you win, sometimes not

[Gwagensteve]

orangeshannon wrote:

WOW did you say you got done up near toolangi? i didnt even know that coppers could be bothered going up there i got a mate that runs his rangies up there and there comp cars completely unroad leagle no problems

Traffic hang out on the Melba highway opposite the end of Marginal road with a radar gun practically every weekend. Even the local Kinglake cop sits there with radar.

Steve.

[Built4thrashing]

moral to this story is keep your cars looking neat and tidy and comply with the basic requirements and your normally safe.
If your 4x4 looks dodgy then your asking for trouble.

[Gwagensteve]

X Lots.

Flares and mudflaps & don't drive like an idiot.

Steve.

[missmyljdaze]

matt91112011 wrote:

So I got defected yesterday afternoon while near Toolangi national park for my tyres sticking out
not fitting flares would make my life easier since there must be at least 70-100mm of tyre sticking out from the guards.

Matty

Last time I checked the ADR's you were allowed to increase (or decrease) your wheel track by a total of 50mm, and it stated that "the tread of the tyre must be covered" by the bodywork.
The way I read that- if there is no tread on your sidewall it doesnt need to be covered!

It would really pay to read the rule book before throwing big chunks of cash into modifications,

although it would be nice for one set of firm rules to apply across the country- and each states permits to be recognised by all the others

Matty got lucky with his inspection this time- but next one could be painfull

(heres hoping you dont have a next time)

stephen

[Built4thrashing]

missmyljdaze wrote:

matt91112011 wrote:

So I got defected yesterday afternoon while near Toolangi national park for my tyres sticking out
not fitting flares would make my life easier since there must be at least 70-100mm of tyre sticking out from the guards.

Matty

Last time I checked the ADR's you were allowed to increase (or decrease) your wheel track by a total of 50mm, and it stated that "the tread of the tyre must be covered" by the bodywork.
The way I read that- if there is no tread on your sidewall it doesnt need to be covered!

It would really pay to read the rule book before throwing big chunks of cash into modifications,

although it would be nice for one set of firm rules to apply across the country- and each states permits to be recognised by all the others

Matty got lucky with his inspection this time- but next one could be painfull

(heres hoping you dont have a next time)

stephen

This is what they are trying to do by introducing VSI50. nation wide rules to vehicle mods . Its not gonna be pretty for anyone if it get through.

[orangeshannon]

yeh kinglake toolangi is the area i allways take my zooks up and never even seen a cop only seen one up there when was at a mates party got a nosie complaint music to loud apart from that nothing and i reconmend dont do anything illegal to your cars the cops up there arnt the most freindly expesually when you got red or green P's up haha

[ajsr]

orangeshannon wrote:

yeh kinglake toolangi is the area i allways take my zooks up and never even seen a cop only seen one up there when was at a mates party got a nosie complaint music to loud apart from that nothing and i reconmend dont do anything illegal to your cars the cops up there arnt the most freindly expesually when you got red or green P's up haha

when I still rode dirt bikes we used to run into them out there once a month or so.
on both sides buxton and hazeldene. I have six or seven mates that were booked in the marginal rd carpark , cops sitting there booking people coming back to their cars.
and not always on the roads often they were sitting on the dirt roads or major track intersections

[matt91112011]

Built4thrashing wrote:

missmyljdaze wrote:

matt91112011 wrote:

So I got defected yesterday afternoon while near Toolangi national park for my tyres sticking out
not fitting flares would make my life easier since there must be at least 70-100mm of tyre sticking out from the guards.

Matty

Last time I checked the ADR's you were allowed to increase (or decrease) your wheel track by a total of 50mm, and it stated that "the tread of the tyre must be covered" by the bodywork.
The way I read that- if there is no tread on your sidewall it doesnt need to be covered!

It would really pay to read the rule book before throwing big chunks of cash into modifications,

although it would be nice for one set of firm rules to apply across the country- and each states permits to be recognised by all the others

Matty got lucky with his inspection this time- but next one could be painfull

(heres hoping you dont have a next time)

stephen

This is what they are trying to do by introducing VSI50. nation wide rules to vehicle mods . Its not gonna be pretty for anyone if it get through.

If it ever does get painful, I'll just turn it into a play rig and buy a GU Patrol, they're pretty good Offroad, my old man had one, very stable on angles, great tourer, good long range tank.

Cheers

[Gwagensteve]

I think you are missing the point here Matt - I don't know how much private property you have access to, but a defect notice with a RWC requirement is going to need to be cleared or your rego is cancelled.

Driving an unregistered car is a bigger issue than copping a defect notice whether it's on a track or in the bush.

So unless your "play" is 100% on private property, it makes sense to have a car you can RWC, and if you can RWC it, you can drive it anywhere you like.

Steve.