26 replies to this topic

[S pack]

Since 1st July 2013 a driver in QLD can be charged with an offence for traveling 2kph or more over the posted 60 kph.

Now I know other Aust states lowered the speedo error margin in relation to traffic offences a long time before us but surely this can't be legal?

 

The Australian Standards allow manufacturers a margin of up to 10% for speedometer error, please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

So, I find it disturbing that on one hand we have the Aus Standards that manufacturers and/or importers of almost every product legally sold in this country must comply with., however, on the other hand we have State Governments that have basically said "we don't recognise, nor care, about the Australian Standards that apply to the manufacture of motor vehicle speedometers".

 

Fines can be and are applied to manufacturers that sell products that are found to have breached the Standards but it seems there are nor repercussions for any level of Governance for ignoring the Standards that everyone else in this country relies upon to protect us as consumers.

 

Your thoughts?

 

Cheers

Dave.

 

[ls2lxhatch]

The Australian Standards allow manufacturers a margin of up to 10% for speedometer error, please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

You are slightly wrong. The current ADR prohibits under-reading.  The pre 2006 ADR did allow +/- 10% but typically they would not under-read on the factory recommended tyres. Typically when the speedo is indicating 100 km/h a GPS will report the speed as around 96 km/h.

 

I believe the over-reading speedos are starting to cause problems on the road. A person travelling at the speed limit relying on their over-reading speedo will annoy people using their GPS as a speedo who want to travel at the speed limit.

 

The current ADR prohibits any under-reading:"5.3. The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle. At the test speeds specified in paragraph 5.2.5. above, there shall be the following relationship between the speed displayed (V1 ) and the true speed (V2).0 = (V1 - V2) = 0.1 V2 + 4 km/h."
This formula means that the vehicle's actual (true) speed must not be greater than the displayed speed. (Displayed speed minus true speed must be greater than or equal to 0, and less than or equal to 4kmh plus 10% of true speed).

This means that if your vehicle's actual speed is 100kmh, the displayed speed is permitted to be anywhere between 100kmh and 114kmh.
ADR 18

Prior to July 2006 the ADR allowed the speedo read ±10% of true speed. This means that cars sold new prior to 1 July 2006 could comply with the ADR even if the speedo under-read by 10%. Despite this being theoretically possible, due to the testing procedures and the reasons stated below it was unlikely to occur in practice.

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 21 July 2013 - 01:02 PM.

[orangeLJ]

Its just the hassle of taking it to court that sucks.

[S pack]

You are slightly wrong. The current ADR prohibits under-reading.  The pre 2006 ADR did allow +/- 10% but typically they would not under-read on the factory recommended tyres. Typically when the speedo is indicating 100 km/h a GPS will report the speed as around 96 km/h.

 

I believe the over-reading speedos are starting to cause problems on the road. A person travelling at the speed limit relying on their over-reading speedo will annoy people using their GPS as a speedo who want to travel at the speed limit.

Thanks for that, I didn't know the ADR for speedo's had changed. Also looks like I probably should be talking about ADR's for speedo's not  Australian Standards.

 

So where does that leave the owners of pre 2006 vehicles who may have a speedo, that complies with their applicable ADR, and does for whatever reason under read with the OEM's recommended tyre size?

 

Up shits creek I presume!

[Uncle Chop Chop]

So where does that leave the owners of pre 2006 vehicles who may have a speedo, that complies with their applicable ADR, and does for whatever reason under read with the OEM's recommended tyre size?
 
Up shits creek I presume!

A lawyer made it very simple. You have to prove that your vehicle has the correct gearbox, diff ratio, speedo gears and tyre size AND provide proof that the vehicle speedo reads less than the actual road speed. In short, it costs more to prove the above than to pay the fine.

[lakeside]

In the Nanny state they have had 2km margine for a good 5yrs with mobile cameras everywhere. How to fix your speedo problem is don't speed or don't get caught.

[burty]

What sh#ts me is the pollies are supposed to be reps for the rest of us. Some where along the way they began treating us all like a cash cow. No matter how much they f*#k up and take no responsibility for it we pay for it. Over the years the road toll has plummeted due to people slowing down etc. etc. so they tighten the margins to keep collecting the cash!

Bring on the "Motoring Enthusiast's Party"

My rant for the day!

[S pack]

I have only ever been booked for speeding once, on my Ps in Sydney in about 1979.

But when you have driven 85klms at 90 to 100kph to town to go shopping and suddenly you are in a 60kph zone it is quite easy to slip over a fraction.


2kph is ridiculous, there is no other way of looking at it.

The margin for error is effectively 1 kph over the 60 kph limit. A shit load of people who would not normally be fined for inadvertently going a few km's per hour over the limit will now find themselves in the firing line, and for some it may well be an unexpected blemish on a long standing unblemished driving career.

 

What do they want us to do? Spend more time watching our speedometers instead of the road/traffic in front of us? It is a known fact that driver inattention causes accidents.

 

I believe our roads would be a safer place if drivers concentrated more on the road around them rather than having to worry about not going a few measly k's over the posted limit. If traffic is flowing nicely at, for arguments sake, 65 kph in a 60 kph zone then so what, let it. Target the idiots that are weaving in and out of the traffic trying to get somewhere just that little bit quicker.

 

IMO it's all a load of revenue raising bullsh#&t and has very little to do with road safety or sensible policing for that matter.

Edited by S pack, 22 July 2013 - 09:04 PM.

[Uncle Chop Chop]

IMHO the margin should be no less than 5 KPH, but I don't see it changing any time.

[S pack]

If you are unlucky enough to incur an infringement notice for exceeding the 60 kph limit by 2kph then you may as well be doing 70, 71 or 72 kph, at least it may feel warranted as the penalty is the same. LOL.

[Pop's-SS]

 MY speedo's

 

Don't own a pair and besides that, it would not be a pleasant site if you saw me wearing them  

 

Barry

[S pack]

 MY speedo's

 

Don't own a pair and besides that, it would not be a pleasant site if you saw me wearing them  

 

Barry

Barry, just the suggestion of you wearing a pair of speedo's is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much information.  

[StephenSLR]

Haven't wore Speedo's for years, always preferred Trackers.

 

s

[Uncle Chop Chop]

If you are unlucky enough to incur an infringement notice for exceeding the 60 kph limit by 2kph then you may as well be doing 70, 71 or 72 kph, at least it may feel warranted as the penalty is the same. LOL.

In Mexico, it's the same penalty for any traffic offence.

 

 

You get shafted.

[S pack]

not true at 72 you would up yourself into the +10km's over zone incurring a bigger fine and one or two demerit points....well in the state of wait awhile at least

In God's own country (QLD) the next step up in the infringement level is 13 kph apparently, but it used to be 15 kph. Got no idea when they dropped it 2 kph, bastards don't tell us anything they think we don't need to know.

[LX2DR]

As far as I’m aware cameras will take your picture from 2+ above.

 

So long as you stay inside 10+ (& not doing anything stupid) the mobile boys aren’t interested.

 

I drive by my GPS at 105,107 everywhere and have been radared many times and never been stopped.

 

I do about 40k per year and get done once every year or so, mostly because I’m not watching the parked cars closely enough.

 

 

 

On the other side of this,

 

The government now puts in their budget that they will get umpteen million per year from fines.

 

Because they budget for this, it is my civic duty to get at least one fine per year to help the government achieve their budget forecast.

 

This I concluded also means it is a tax not a fine, so definitely revenue raising.

Edited by LX2DR, 25 July 2013 - 01:43 PM.