Thread: Sneaky cop's ...

Originally Posted by Rohan

On my way home yesterday, saw an un-marked police car. He (or she) had pulled a ute over. What was a little surprising was this police car was a black La***ruiser with all the off-road type stuff on it, big steel bull bar, snorkel and IIRC a roof rack too
The poor revenue donaters don't stand a chance

We have a black Hummer up here (all kitted out) pulling over unsuspecting motorists.. and a couple of plain white high top delivery vans.. the other day my friend was booked by an unmarked car that was towing a jet ski!

I'm all for the cop standing on the road with the hand held radar gun.. the speed camera's I am not so keen on as I tend to see that more as revenue raising and not safety etc as locals tend to know very quickly were the normal set up spots and fixed cameras are and just slow down in those spots.

I also would am a little worried about the 'No Tolerance' policy that QLD is introducing - ie if you are doing 101 kms in a 100 km zone then you will recieve a ticket. How does that work with speedometers that are not always correct?

I am in a the middle of an awful predicament at the moment as a few weeks ago I borrowed my sons car to drive to the city (I can't fit the Defender in the car car parks lol) and then I travelled to my work. The next day he casually mentioned that when he picked the car up a couple of weeks earlier from the gent he had bought it off the guy mentioned that the speedo was 'out a little bit'.. immediately alarm bells started ringing for me as I had travelled through the airport link tunnel and I believe there are 3 speed cameras in that tunnel.. in addition to another fixed speed camera on the hwy and I also drove past a mobile speed camera on the side of the road on the way home..

I would like to point out that my son had only just bought the car a week earlier and this was the first time I had driven it. And before anyone asks why I didn't notice I was driving faster than other cars on the roads.. that day I worked night shift so left home mid afternoon so very little traffic and drove home around midnight so there was little to no traffic on the road. Besides, everything feels fast after driving as Defender!

Still being unsure and not wanting to panic I took the car and my GPS for a short spin this afternoon with the intention of finding out just how 'out' the speedo is.. and it turns out the speedo is out by about.. ohhhh... 17kms!! What the! If the speedo in the car say's 100kms the GPS say's 117kms.. if the car say's 80kms the GPS says 93kms.. I feel sick. I may have in one day accrued enough points to lose my licence (which would mean my job also).. not to mention the fines I am expecting to receive.

I took the car to RACQ for a 'proper' speedometer check and it seems that my GPS is correct the speedometer of the car is out by a long way! According to RACQ I have no chance of fighting it. I may very well lose my licence as a consequence my job over this and I find it very unfair that there is no leeway or any chance to explain the situation. I am a good driver and this was an honest mistake, yet I will most likely be punished severely.

Just an interesting fact , fatalities increased in the NT when speed limits where introduced. That means more dead as a result of fatigue not speed.
The last time I was booked was dec 2011 going down heathcote rd east, just past the Lucas heights lights, I was a bit slow dropping the van back to 4th to engine brake down to the turn, two cop cars opposite direction, one chucks a u turn below the crest of the hill(70kph zone) across unbroken double lines just short of the lights, he overtakes 2 cars behind me in the single lanes on bends again over unbroken double lines and by this stage I'm doing 60 along with 3 other cars behind a truck. I get pulled over near the bridge, and explain that I have been driving this road daily for the last 2 months and used to work in bankstown and drove it for 5 years ,20 years ago,when the limit was 90 not 70 so had to remember. I get booked for 15 over but whose driving was most dangerous?
Not 100% sure sue but you should be able to appeal if you go to a mechanic who can fix the speedo/check with dynamometer and put it in writing that the speedo was out by 17-20 kph, as I have heard of it working in NSW by direct appeal to the fines office.

G'day Sue

I would get that speedo test by RACQ as a print out if possible,then if you receive a fine/fines,I would then appeal them,using the printout as proof,also make note that the vehicle was not to a correct roadworthy condition,just make sure it has the correct size tyres fitted for it.


Worth a try.


My 85 Rangie is 9klm slow @ 100 kph, on standard size wheels 31 inch,GPS reading.


My 98 Disco1 300TDI reads 105 @ 98 GPS indicating.


So go figure.




cheers

I just stumbled on this & thought of this thread.
Cheaper than most fines. Think I'll get one for my daughter when she turns 18....

Polaris GPS Speedometer HUD

SOURCE RACQ

The accuracy of vehicle speedos is covered by Australian Design Rule 18. Until July 2006 this rule specified an accuracy of +/- 10 percent of the vehicle’s true speed when the vehicle was travelling above 40km/h.
That is, at a true vehicle speed of 100km/h the speedo was allowed to indicate between 90km/h and 110km/h.
An odometer accuracy of +/- 4 percent was also a requirement.
From 1 July 2006 newly introduced models of a vehicle available on the market must comply with ADR 18/03. Also, from 1 July 2007 any newly manufactured vehicle (excluding mopeds) must comply with this rule.
This new rule requires that the speedo must not indicate a speed less than the vehicle’s true speed or a speed greater than the vehicle’s true speed by an amount more than 10 percent plus 4 km/h. Significantly, this change means that speedos must always read 'safe', meaning that the vehicle's true speed must not be higher than the speed indicated by the speedo.
That is, at a true vehicle speed of 100km/h the speedo must read between 100km/h and 114km/h. An alternative way to look at it is; at an indicated speed of 100km/h, the vehicle's true speed must be between 87.3 km/h and 100km/h.
Significantly, this change means that speedos must always read ‘safe’, meaning that they are not permitted to read lower than the actual speed of the vehicle.
Additionally, there is now no requirement to have an odometer, and therefore there is no accuracy requirement.
This change was made to align Australian vehicle rules with those already in place in Europe.
Note that some vehicle manufacturers chose to comply with the new rule before 1 July 2006. This is acceptable. END OF QUOTE

My questions are:
If the car does not comply with the Australian Design Rule 18, is the car road worthy?
If not and passed the yearly inspection who is the responsible for having a car on the road that does not comply with the rules, the owner or the mechanic that passed the vehicle inspection?

unless it can be reasonably proven that the assesor (they dont have to be mechanics) was lapse in his duties at the time of the assement it is the owners repsonability to ensure the vehicle is compliant with the roadworthy standards.

A roadworhty is just a snapshot to say that at this point in time this vehicle is road worthy.

ADRs are not retrospective.

The onus of proof would be on the owner or driver as speedo accuracy is not part of a road worthy just that it is there