Be careful what photos you post online

[Lemonskin]

In the end it comes down to not doing things that are illegal.

This.

There are so many legal mods you can do, why do anything illegal?


Regarding obscuring numberplates, I remember about 10 years ago an imported car mag I used to read (EVO) had an advery for a glossy spray you could put on your numberplate, so if a speed camera flash went off the flash would bounce off and not show your numberplate. I wonder if this kind of product still exists? It's surely illegal if it does.

[wai]

Regarding obscuring numberplates, I remember about 10 years ago an imported car mag I used to read (EVO) had an advery for a glossy spray you could put on your numberplate, so if a speed camera flash went off the flash would bounce off and not show your numberplate. I wonder if this kind of product still exists? It's surely illegal if it does.

It is illegal as you cannot do anything to obscure the number plate. Even the ones that sopposedly put a bright flash are illegal as you have fitted something for the express purpose of preventing the number plate from being read by a speed or other traffic camera. You can be fined for failing to keep your number plate clean, and even the Victorian number plates (the first reflective green on white ones) that fade will see you get a fine if you do not get them replaced when they fade. Generally you will get a first caution, and the caution is recorded. The next time you get picked up you will get a fine.

[Lemonskin]

It is illegal as you cannot do anything to obscure the number plate. Even the ones that sopposedly put a bright flash are illegal as you have fitted something for the express purpose of preventing the number plate from being read by a speed or other traffic camera. You can be fined for failing to keep your number plate clean, and even the Victorian number plates (the first reflective green on white ones) that fade will see you get a fine if you do not get them replaced when they fade. Generally you will get a first caution, and the caution is recorded. The next time you get picked up you will get a fine.

Haha "failing to keep your numberplate clean"? They've got a law for everything! I'm guessing it's the same in NSW. Funny that you could get a ticket for that even if your numberplate IS super clean apart from the spray. However every day I drive I see people with super old number plates where the dirt and diesel/fuel gunk has dirtied the plate so badly even I can barely read it. I wonder how people get away with that for so long.

[Transporter]

However every day I drive I see people with super old number plates where the dirt and diesel/fuel gunk has dirtied the plate so badly even I can barely read it. I wonder how people get away with that for so long.

It's simple, not enough police on our roads and what is worst they don't even use the resources they have to it's full potential; like cameras at the intersections and in the city streets. Should use the cameras they have for checking the regos to also check the condition of the cars. I mean, if they were 100% serious about the road safety. I see the cars burning oil so badly that you can't drive behind them for any length of time, so why not give them hefty fines for polluting the environment and get them of the road.

[Ben J]

I'm not suggesting obscuring numberplates on your cars while they are on the road, hope people haven't taken it that way, just suggesting that people should edit their photos and remove number plates before posting them online. Trying to hide number plates to get out of speeding tickets etc is an awful idea, will get you in more trouble than it will save.

In the end it comes down to not doing things that are illegal. It is not something that people might want to hear. If you want the law changed, then go through the proper process otherwise more will end up in a similar situation. Blurring number plates is only possible on forum photographs. You can't do this elsewhere as then that becomes an offence in itself.

How would one go about getting the laws changed? Even if we had every person who participates in the car scene protesting for changes to these laws I doubt anything will ever be changed.

The moderators already have enough to do without going through and editing even more posts. People should have the common sense to keep thier illegal modifications offline, as this is, a public forum, after all.


It's unfortunate that this has happened Ben. It would sadden me tremendously if it was an active memeber of this online community that shared that information with the Police.


Best of luck with the court appearance. I fear however, it won't end in your favour.

Thanks Jarred. I'm not suggesting moderators should change anything either, it's not their responsibility, people who post their cars should just be extra careful. I normally am, but let a few photos slip through with number plates and all this happened...

I hope whoever it was that reported it if they are an active member on here chimes up and lets us know who they are

if you modify your car, get it engineered as a modded car and you are fine. Hotrodders do it all the time.
Modify it properly and safely.

This.

There are so many legal mods you can do, why do anything illegal?

The thing is there really isn't that much you can do legally. I'm willing to bet at least 2/3 of car owners on here have something on their cars which is technically illegal. Sure there are things you will not be caught for and might be able to get away with, but as the police were telling me yesterday pretty much anything modified is illegal, even if you try to keep it with in their guidelines. There is a big difference between "safe" and legal. I would be willing to bet my car is much more safe than the majority on the road, I always drive around very sensibly, it is meticulously maintained, it is on upgraded brakes and good tyres, it hasn't just been hacked up to sit low using Chinese ebay junk but has had many thousands of dollars spent on quality parts which in practically any other part of the world would be legal.

If it wasn't near impossible to make everything on my car legal I would do it, but to have an air bagged car legal over here it has to meet a long list of ridiculous requirement, which completely defeat the point of air bags and would cost thousands of dollars to install, and then getting engineers to go over it and check everything before writing up a certificate costs thousands again, with a good chance they will just say no. Even after you get everything engineered though I have heard of way too many people STILL GETTING FINED for defects regardless of the engineers certification.

[wai]

How would one go about getting the laws changed? Even if we had every person who participates in the car scene protesting for changes to these laws I doubt anything will ever be changed.

You get laws changed by putting a sound engineering case that there should be a change to the law.

In the case of lowering the vehicle, you are unlikely to get anything changed. The minimum ground clearance is to protect the assets you drive on (roads and other services). Basically, if you had to go to the RTA in Sydney for a defect to be cleared, you had to drive the car over the pits. There was an angle flange around the pit opening and your car had to clear that.

You need to have the same steering lock as the original vehicle. The stops on the stsrem must contact before any wheel/tyre contacts body work. Also there is a minimum bump stop clearance that must be maintained. If the bump stop is designed to work with the suspension, then it must meet the manufacturers requirements.

On things like spacers, it is a case of the engineering data and tests to show that there is not a reduction in safety.

Doing this is not cheap.

A while back, the 4WD community was complaining about the limiting of vehicle lifts. What the lift kit manufacturers should have done was do the testing to show that strength, stability and driveability were not adversely affected. They did not want to spend the money to get their products approved and got quite put out when that was suggested.

To get it passed by an engineer, it is not a case of making the changes and then expecting the engineer to sign off. You need to work with the engineer from the beginning.

On the cost of engineering certificates, look at what happened in NSW. Engineers are now required to carry $10,000,000 in PI/PL insurance and must include legal defence insurance. Premiums for this alone can exceed $20,000 per year. You have to carry this, and when you give a quote to prepare a certificate, the customer walks away. You still have the premium to pay. This is why certificates cost as much as they do. Many walked away from doing this because they were paying the premiums but not getting a chance to actually write certificates and get paid.

[tigger73]

Yes it's called the fun police - meant to protect the general population from people doing stupid things. So technically your car may be a lot safer than other cars of a similar age but you'll still get pinged.

I agree the laws are pretty average in that you can let a car run down, be poorly maintained and fall apart but still drive it. Yet it's illegal to make improvements without paying large sums for engineers reports (and yes this is the sad case of legal liability going through the roof).

At the end of the day I think the laws are all about selling new cars. The guys that would have influenced these laws would have been the lobby groups from the car industry and what these guys want is new car sales. In other coutries the car industry has even greater influence - look what happens in Japan.

It's a real bugger that you've got a defect notice on your car now. I can tell it's going to be an absolute pain in the a$$ to get to drive the car again. I know you don't want to hear it but given your current situation you may be better off not fighting it, parting up the car, selling all the bits and buying a new clean car.

At the end of the day you've got to sit down and cost up the various options, pick your battles and then just get on with it.

As soon as the law is involved the only ones who win are the lawyers.

[Tom87]

Ouch, tough luck man and right at Christmas too. Spewing.

Unfortunately though this is one of the risks you have when driving an illegally modified vehicle.

My car is staying completely standard. I'm kind of lucky in that I actually enjoy my Mk5 GTI in its standard form...I just wish I hadn't been rear ended the other week. 'Tis the mad season indeed.

[Lemonskin]

My car is staying completely standard. I'm kind of lucky in that I actually enjoy my Mk5 GTI in its standard form...I just wish I hadn't been rear ended the other week. 'Tis the mad season indeed.

Mine too. I don't intend on modding, as I don't do track days or anything, in the real world there's not much that modding can offer me. May consider new wheels, and I've got personalised plates, but no performance mods. Definitely not while its under new car warranty!

Sorry to hear about you getting rear ended. That truly sucks... hope you were in the right and the other person has to pay for your repairs.

[JustCruisn]

I assume the police had a search warrant for your property when they arrived.
If not you should have respectfully declined their request to enter your garage. Then you whip out and remove the rego plates and stickers.