85 replies to this topic

[yel327]

Most accidents waiting to happen are because the driver is not roadworthy rather than the vehicle.

 

It is true there are people driving around that shouldn't be, but that is a Country wide problem. From drug takers to "Sovereign Citizens" to sheer incompetence to International Drivers Licences and many, many more. I agree with Dr Terry though that if you mix that with unroadworthy vehicles then it is even worse. Annual inspections for rego is a no-brainer, and easily removes most of the unroadworthy vehicles from the equation. There are people out there doing it tough at the moment, and while most want to do the right thing they'll tend to rego/insure their car but not necessarily service it as often as they should, and not change tyres or brakes as often as they should. In NSW that stops at rego time. We all know that two of the best things you can do to any car to make it a lot safer for everyday road use is have good brakes and at least 50% tyre tread followed closely by steering and suspension operating without slack (eg worn tie rods and ball joints). You will not legally get past a pink slip inspection without all of these functioning acceptably.

[Dr Terry]

And add a dash of unroadworthy roads.. and bingo.

YES !!!!

 

Dr Terry

[RallyRed]

lol...interesting to see the difference in accident stats, from States with and without annual checks, with a side dish of vehicle age.
That data may not exist, but if it did, it would shw that annual checs do / don't acheive much.....maybe

[S pack]

lol...interesting to see the difference in accident stats, from States with and without annual checks, with a side dish of vehicle age.
That data may not exist, but if it did, it would shw that annual checs do / don't acheive much.....maybe

Was just looking at the QLD stats for 2017. Of 247 fatal crashes, 8 involved a defective vehicle.

If I recall correctly, some QLD stats I read some years ago relating to 2012, of all crashes involving a fatality or hospitalisation poor road design or sign marking featured higher as a factor, at about 1.4%, than defective vehicles.

 

[RallyRed]

Hmm...sort of suspected that Dave, but didn't know where to look.
Ta

[yel327]

It was in the media this week that the only State and Territory with a decreased road toll in the last 12 months were NSW and NT. However defective vehicles probably normally cause more lower speed accidents as you'd imagine they'd be staying closer to home. Maybe.

[Bigfella237]

You'd have to break-down the statistics further, for example, I'd reckon a fair proportion of those numbers would be truck drivers claiming "the brakes went out, mate"... Would this count as a defect, of course, would it be picked-up by a yearly inspection, I doubt it.

 

As I said elsewhere, brand new vehicles aren't inspected at all for the first 5 years, but we once had a 6 month old Hiace towed in with 180,000km on the clock (yes, that's 1,000km a day, 7 days a week, used as a newspaper truck). It had only ever had very basic servicing, never been near a dealer, and the thing was near shagged!

 

Yearly inspections are a joke, it's just red tape that all other states besides NSW have long since abandoned (the ACT was the last to abolish them and that was probably over twenty years ago). I'm not talking about safety items so much as compliance issues, where going for a pink slip just means having to change-over a heap of stuff and then having to change it all back again afterward! Aside from finding an odd suspension part or tyre that needs replacing (and most that got replaced really didn't need replacing anyway), it proves nothing.

 

It was common practice for one guy I worked with to say to people: "If anyone asks, that had standard wheels on it when I saw it"; or "You had that window tint done after I inspected it, didn't you?"

[yel327]

Yes but that is the system being bypassed. Pink slips are supposed to be a safety check. Brake test, tyres, indicators/lights, steering etc. NSW Govt do a lot wrong but keeping annual inspections is absolutely the right thing to do. I always thought the 5 year thing was crazy. It should be time or kM like Warranty and Servicing.

[Toranamat69]

FMD

[Uncle Chop Chop]

I had a sticker on the back of my HJ "Sandman" van in the mid 80's:

 

Ban low performance drivers, not high performance cars.

[Adz1604]

Hi all. Just to update again, I have once again had my pink slip completed and a full Check was covered. Up on the hoist, all lights, steering, suspension and brakes. Plus numbers checked.
Club paperwork completed were I mentioned I had been called in and passed on my experience. They had also confirmed that others in the club had been checked with no reported failures. They also told me they have heard first hand that in the past they have had inspectors come to peoples houses or business’s with police to inspect cars and if they were in an unroadworthy condition. IE engine, gearbox removed. Under restoration, rust repairs they have defected the car and had to have the car towed for inspection before driving on the road.
I am sure we all know someone that in the past had done something that seemed good at the time but isn’t so good now.
I can remember a friend with a cheap mini and a blue bottle on the back seat with a hose and a ball valve beside the front seat through the firewall and into the air filters 30 years ago. Was funny then but not so much now.
I suppose what I am trying to say is we need to help each other out. That is what is great about this group. I would never of asked this question on FB because of all the keyboard heroes
Thanks again
Adam

Edited by Adz1604, 25 May 2023 - 09:31 PM.