Sly's General Questions

[EZ2CME]

can anyone tell me how to add a larger size pic with my signature?

Also adding a larger pic along side my username.

Thanks

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To get a larger avatar you need to become a donating member. However, this thread is not for just general questions. This thread is for general questions relating to the traffic laws

[Slymeat]

Cheers for the thread Sly, well done.

Can you be charged with dangerous driving or a higher offence if it is proved that you have modified your car and have an accident that involves an injury or death, without telling your insurance acency....?

Do you investigate T's or similar in road accidents for mods like edits, gutted cats etc.....?

Answer posted in the answers thread.

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I have to add some more to this responce.

Modification of Vehicles and Traffic Collisions.

In preparing this document I make reference to:

Guiseppe Giogianni v The Queen (1985) CLR 473 High Court of Australia

Proudman v Dayman (1941) 67 CLR 536

Bateman v Evans (1964) 108 Sol Jo 522

www.rta.nsw.gov.au

When making modifications to vehicles you must be aware of what constitutes a legal and roadworthy modification.

“The act of driving in a manner dangerous refers to the actual behaviour of the driver and does not require any given state of mind.”

“The actual perpetrator may be convicted in the absence of knowledge.”

The court held that it is an offence to permit a particular state of things although honest and reasonable mistake of fact will exculpate the accused.

An improper modification to any of the listed items as well as acts of obvious neglect can be used to determine whether or not a driver was driving in a manner dangerous.

Although this is usually only for major modifications, advice should be sought from a qualified mechanic as to the RTA’s requirements.

Listed items:

Fuel System Braking System

Body, Chassis or Frame Engine

Driving Controls or Aids Intake / Exhaust

Seating or Occupant Protection Transmission or Driveline

Lighting System Steering System

Wheels, Tyres or Axles. Suspension

Some items as stated above if they are minor can be self verified ( This can be checked on the RTA web site.), otherwise they can be checked by an engineer using the ECS or VCCS schemes gaining rta approval as a peace of mind or by requirement. If RTA approval is sought and obtained then the top statement is negated.

This is only a broad overview and other things need to be taken into account for this type of offence which will not be discussed here.

So the answer is yes the driver of an modified vehicle can be charged with dangerous driving, although this would only become an issue with obvious negligent actions I.e. - removing rear brakes, fitting rocket engines, not fitting equipment properly with the correct fasteners and things similar were the act is not one that would be done by a reasonable and prudent person. That said if proper approval is sought for the modifications then the modification are said to be legal and this can no longer be taken into account. The owner of the vehicle can also be charged if another person is driving having been given permission to do so, or asked to do so when the vehicle is deemed to be dangerously defective and the owner should have reasonable knowledge of the dangerous condition of the vehicle.

There is no mention of software, so those with the edit like me are o.k. remembers though the test is that of the reasonable and prudent person, so some things go without saying and as such there is no definitive list. That said; think would grandad do it or would he think it was dangerous.

[Slymeat]

Sly,

I think you have confused the Eagle3 (Radar) with the Kustom Pro3 (LIDAR).

LIDAR needs to be aimed using the red dot and cannot be vehicle mounted.  They are usually carried on bikes and are very accurate.  The cannot be calibrated with the tuning fork, this is radars.

LIDAR is very prone to operator errors due to the way this system operates.  I have been told that the bike cops do not use the mono/tripod because they cannot fit them on the bikes.

I guess that the inaccurate readings that can be gererated by the user would depend on several factors.  As only about 1% of tickets are fought in court, they would not see a need to operate these units correctly. I would fight ANY LIDAR ticket.

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I stand corrected, like I said highway is not my strong suit.

[Adam]

The info has been added.

[Fat-Tony]

Sly,

I think you have confused the Eagle3 (Radar) with the Kustom Pro3 (LIDAR).

LIDAR needs to be aimed using the red dot and cannot be vehicle mounted.  They are usually carried on bikes and are very accurate.  The cannot be calibrated with the tuning fork, this is radars.

LIDAR is very prone to operator errors due to the way this system operates.  I have been told that the bike cops do not use the mono/tripod because they cannot fit them on the bikes.

I guess that the inaccurate readings that can be gererated by the user would depend on several factors.  As only about 1% of tickets are fought in court, they would not see a need to operate these units correctly. I would fight ANY LIDAR ticket.

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interesting, but what would your grounds of defence be as I know some people who have been wrongly fined, but did not see the sense in fighting it?

[XR64T]

Hi Sly,

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. It is genuinely appreciated.

I know you are from NSW, but I am hoping you can shed some light on this one for me. I recently took the family on a driving holiday around Vic and returned to Sydney via the NSW south coast.

Traveling between two remote coastal towns in VIC (about 150km a part), I was ALLEGEDLY photographed doing 104kph in a 100kph zone. That is 4 kph over the limit. I checked whereis.com.au to see where the hell it was, and it is a dead straight section of road for a good 50kms minimum.

I thought that due to speedo and radar error that you couldn't be pinged for such a small difference. This example is only 4% difference. Or are the radars more accurate now?

Is there a standard acceptable error in car speedometers? I know my car is standard for drivetrain and wheels and my speedo definitely does NOT read the same as my GPS. There is about 4km difference between them (the other way unfortunately for me).

It is not worth taking it to court as it is a $134 fine and it would cost me more than that for the airfare, without considering the day off work, taxis, etc.

Is it worth paying for the photo? $7.50 isn't too much, but am I wasting my time?

I am considering just writing a letter and hoping commonsense prevails and they let me go with a warning. It has been approx. 8 years since my last speeding fine and I have probably covered more than 400,000km in that time.

It is mainly frustrating really as it has put a real dampener on the whole holiday.

Thanks,

Aaron

[Slymeat]

The RTA cameras only allow for an error of I think of 2 to 3 km/hr, your best bet if you have a good driving record is to write a letter and attach it to a cheque for the amount, in this letter you state that you have not been booked for how ever long but they like to see several years and that it was only a small amount, also state that you understand it is an offence and you know you were in the wrong. It's a case of swallowing your pride I know, they will usually send the cheque back if they decide to send you a caution. Although beware doing this prevents you taking it to court at a later date. I do not know if there are minimum legal amounts for the speed measuring devices but they generally have an error depending on the type of radar of +-2km/hr. I believe it is inherently unfair to issue such low speeding infringments, as it is not in the sprit of the legislation. That said the commisioner of the RTA has the final say, not me.

P.S. Radar is not my strong suit so I cannot be exactly sure, as I do not use it.

Edited 28/10/06 04:18 AM by Slymeat

[XR64T]

The RTA cameras only allow for an error of I think of 2 to 3 km/hr, your best bet if you have a good driving record is to write a letter and attach it to a cheque for the amount, in this letter you state that you have not been booked for how ever long but they like to see several years and that it was only a small amount, also state that you understand it is an offence and you know you were in the wrong. It's a case of swallowing your pride I know, they will usually send the cheque back if they decide to send you a caution. Although beware doing this prevents you taking it to court at a later date. I do not know if there are minimum legal amounts for the speed measuring devices but they generally have an error depending on the type of radar of +-2km/hr. I believe it is inherently unfair to issue such low speeding infringments, as it is not in the sprit of the legislation. That said the commisioner of the RTA has the final say, not me.

P.S. Radar is not my strong suit so I cannot be exactly sure, as I do not use it.

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Thanks Sly.

Looks like I need to spend a little while in front of MS Word...

Cheers.

[ZAP]

Aaron,

I may also be able to help.

In NSW the cameras are generally set to +11% of the posted speed limit, but Victoria decided to rewrite the rules and choose a +3km/h over the speed limit.

They have esentially breached the australian standards, international standards and the rest of australia when it comes to speed enforcement.

This is plan wrong, but many people have tried and failed to get this changed.

Depending on how you want to proceed. The Victorians do not go to a normal local court like us in NSW, but a special traffic court, whoes sole mandate is to ensure the fines are enforced. You have very little chance of getting off there, so I would write a letter and tell them about your good driving record, yadda yadda yadda.

You never know your luck, but the speed taxing state is like a dictatorship when it comes to speed enforcement and fines, so there is a slim chance you will get off.

I would pay for your picture so you can put it in the "pool room" as a talking point.

The Victorian members might be able to give you some more ideas, but it sucks that you were done.

I am suprised I have never been booked in Vic as I speed everywhere.

[XR64T]

Aaron,

I may also be able to help.

In NSW the cameras are generally set to +11% of the posted speed limit, but Victoria decided to rewrite the rules and choose a +3km/h over the speed limit.

They have esentially breached the australian standards, international standards and the rest of australia when it comes to speed enforcement.

This is plan wrong, but many people have tried and failed to get this changed.

Depending on how you want to proceed.  The Victorians do not go to a normal local court like us in NSW, but a special traffic court, whoes sole mandate is to ensure the fines are enforced.  You have very little chance of getting off there, so I would write a letter and tell them about your good driving record, yadda yadda yadda.

You never know your luck, but the speed taxing state is like a dictatorship when it comes to speed enforcement and fines, so there is a slim chance you will get off.

I would pay for your picture so you can put it in the "pool room" as a talking point.

The Victorian members might be able to give you some more ideas, but it sucks that you were done.

I am suprised I have never been booked in Vic as I speed everywhere.

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Thanks for the info Zap, I will be sending them a sob story letter next week and see how I go.

I actually thought about getting the pic for exactly that reason.... "that's going straight to the pool room". And I even have a pool room too.

Cheers.