Annual vehicle checks

[BrizXJ]

Qld is one of the few states that doesnt have annual vehicle inspections.......every so often someone suggests that we do, this call most commonly comes from the MTAQ (Motor Traders Assn of Queensland), a group with a vested interest for sure.
I would like to speak out against the introduction of SC's (Safety Certificates, used to be RWC's, (Road Worthy Certs)) for two important reasons. 1, the accident rate in Qld where a contributing factor is determined as being a vehicle fault is no more then, and in some case less then, other states that do have annual SC's (even to NZ where they have twice annual checks!) and 2, the Qld Police have sucessful* ongoing 'Wobbly Wheels' programs where roadside checks net large numbers of vehicles on a random basis in a similar fashion to RBT's.
*...I say sucessful because even though the frequency of Wobbly Wheels has increased the number of apprehensions has dropped)

Annual SC's add to the cost of motoring, by far most drivers ensure that their vehicles are safe...it is in their own interests and that of their famililies to do so!
Safety Certificate issuing, if carried out by the motor vehicle industry members, is open to abuse, if you own a service station and you are having a lean month you are not going to let a chance go by!, there are many, many examples of this reported each year in southern states.
The current situation in Queensland is working well, if you knowingly drive a vehicle that is unsafe there is a good chance you will be caught because in addition to the 'Wobbly Wheels" program traffic police officers are instructed to be constantly on the watch for breaches, get caught and you will get a very hefty fine.
Having said all that I do accept that there are a lot of 'dubious' looking things getting around and if we are to have annual tests let it be by official government departments funded by the massive increase in speed camera revenue and not by the private rip off operators. >:(

[big red]

then you come into the subject "whats safe"
for instance, i had an EH panel van with a disc brake front end but when i moved to queensland i could not register it up here.
sold it years ago so it doesnt matter now .
Now i have stronger trailing arms and panhard rods but are they legal..........who knows?
the transport dept in qld dont play by there own rules....
a mate had a certain modification done and engineered according to their rules and they just said NO not allowed.
When asked why they said " we dont have to give a reason"
I wont say any details about it that might predjudice things.
shane

[BrizXJ]

I guess this is a little off what I was talking about.....to engineer an alteration to an important mechanical system like the brakes and then expect a responsible motoring authority to approve it is somewhat different to driving around with worn brakes!.
The point I am trying to make is that unroadworthiness as a contributing factor on accidents is a small percentage when compared to speed or DUI, this being the case, it is a waste of resources to have to take a motor vehicle to someone who will gain financially in finding something that needs fixing....! ::)

[locktup]

IT IS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO HAVE TO TAKE A MOTOR VEHICLE TO SOMEONE WHO WILL GAIN FINANCIALLY IN FINDING SOMETHING THAT NEEDS FIXING.

Briz, isn't that why you take it to an authorised inspection station, to find some faults?.. and if he didn't find the obvious fault/s, and the vehicle then had an accident, contributed to by the missed fault, you would be the first tosser to want to sue the poor bugger..

Briz, the person who inspects the vehicle and maybe finds a fault, doesn't have a right to fix it, it is up to the owner to arrange or authorize a competent person to fix the vehicle.

Now please don't think the boy's in blue are going to pull over every vehicle they see that has a defect, far far from it mate, the majority of them know diddly squat about the mechanical appraisal and roadworthiness of a motor vehicle, and thats why we see so much blatent crap on the roads up here, and yes, roadworthiness is not the major contributor to road accidents..stupidity is !!

The majority of the motoring public don't have a huge appreciation of the complexities of vehicle roadworthiness, and I would say that $45 is rather cheap insurance to have a qualified mechanic and authorised inspector cast an eye over your jalopy, once a year!

[BrizXJ]

Yep, most of what you say is fair comment.....you perhaps miss my point a little, or more likely, I didn't make my point too well.....I regulary have my vehicle serviced by a qualified mechanic, I expect him, or her, to identify and correct what could be deemed to be unsafe...this is my choice. Having said that, why now would I need to take it back again to have a RWC??, sure the police are not going to find every bomb on the roads but there in lies the problem...if you think that the states that do have RWC;s do not have fault contributed accidents then think again!!
I repeat what I said earlier, road accidents in Queensland where an unroadworthy vehicle condition has been a significant contributing factor in those accidents do NOT rate any higher then those of the states that do.....this info is freely available from motoring associations.
Regarding your comment on the fact that there is no requirement on to whom you must take the vehicle to have it fixed once a fault has been detected..this is true but remember, you still have to pay whether you have the fault fixed or not and you still have to take the car back to have it checked after having it fixed....even if you do it yourself...is that for free??...I think not!
Also, I would imagine that the type who would put a carton of beer on a higher priority then a new tyre or new brake pads would probably not be worth suing by this tosser!..or to add to what you say, stupid is as stupid does!!
Just for the record and on an entirely different subject, I am also of the opinion that speed cameras should be installed on every street in the state, sure they are used to get revenue, thats great because none of the money is mine, but the benefit is!! And hey...we may even prevent a death or too!!

[locktup]

I can't disagree with you about the accident statistics, as they are occasionally published in newspapers, usually when some public official is doing some friendly back slapping, but they are statistics, and mostly the investigation to achieve those statistics comes from 1 authority, unless it is a heavy vehicle, very serious, a very public event, or involves multi agency resources, it is a 1 agency investigation.
That particular agency, like others ain't gunna give the raw stats, if it may hint as to an ineffective ability to kurb the causes of accidents, and if it was the transport authority doing more accident analysis, I guess the public results may be a tad different.
Queensland has a history of poor government intervention for driver competency maintenance, and the Transport/Mains road side has a inability to accept proven ideas, from southern states.
How often do you see "keep left unless overtaking" signs on our highways, and what seems to be a frustrating pastime by many.
Why won't they paint the local 50 km/h speeds on the suburban road surface, more effective than signs, not damaged by accidents, vandals etc, and cost less.
Why are roadwork areas not signposted and patrolled for offenders like in NSW, and this is often the fault of the company doing the work here, as they are very inconsistent with their signage, so motorists get complacent with them and end up largely ignoring the situation, NSW seems to be the best for the private companies providing consistent signage and traffic flow/information at roadworks.
Why do the emergency authorities still have a red/red light combination only here, when it is proven that a red/blue is most effective in a low light, sunrise sunset and night environment. This is why the police went from a blue/blue to blue/red, as it is ineffective in a day environment.
The light color combinations (red/blue) around the world except QLD indicate that the vehicle responds to life threatening emergencies, but here some agencies think that it means who owns the vehicle, so much for contempory implementation of proven safety iniatives.
Now, as for all the smokey datsuns, sigmas and the like doing the shopping run and the kids to school jaunt..geez...

Finally, why should the government attempt to do what is currently available..I mean annual vehicle inspections..private industry already has the premisies and skilled personnel to do this task, all the Government has to do is provide legislation, guidelines and then supervise the whole practice.

Ok, off my soapbox, ;)

[BrizXJ]

Well Locktup, you views are somewhat cynical and frought with 'whys!'....perhaps your questions would be better aimed at the local authorities.........I guess what you say about blue/red warning lights might well be true, as too is the lime green fire truck colour....or so someone must have said once because they came and went, still used at DCA establishments however???.
My info re state road accidents is supported by the Federal Govement Statistician, and is available to all. In my experience when one discusses speed and speed cameras it is just a matter of time before somone will introduce the age old, and to me, somewhat boring, comment about 'slow' drivers in the right hand lane, commonly statements like "They cause other drivers to take risks"..will surface...what a wank, "Officer the old bloke in the Volvo was only doing 90, I had to get past him, had to cross the double line", had to get to my destination 15 minute before him!!"
To suggest that the auto repair industry can operate effectivly and efficently under close government control is naivety el extremo!
My soapbox is also packed away now.

[Kelly]

Annual rego checks are a pain in the proverbial!
$27 0r is it $28 for a five minute check over.
A friend of mine had an old HJ wagon and the front ball joint totally fell apart the day after a rego check.
And they worry about torn seats and crap like that.
I try hard to make sure my vehicles are always roadworthy and fix things that need fixing but I always wonder what they'll find.
I think it is a great way of making money for the garage owner and more paper work for the RTA with no real gain for any one.

[locktup]

Hey Kelly, when they check the balljoints in a HJ , its done in a loaded position, the jack under the lower control arm, and this does not give an indication as to the integrity of the innards of the balljopint, only tells you that the seating and fit of the ball and seat is within tolerance.
These balljoints can come apart from neglect, lack of greasing, damaged dust covers, and extreme UN-LOADING, from driving over a undulation so as to unload the front suspension.
It's not the inspection guys fault that the balljoint fell apart, more your mates.

[Roscoe]

Instead of vehicle checks, shouldn't we have annual driver checks for competencies on the road? I am sure there are many drivers we would like to see taken off the road for various reasons. Some are deadset dangerous. Just a thought.

Seeya, Roscoe.

[mudnut1]

You see candidates for that kind of testing everytime you hit the road.

[Kelly]

Locktup,
I wasn't blaming anyone.
My point is that a pass on the rego check does not equal a safe car.

[BrizXJ]

The nail has been hit on the head.......the nut behind the wheel is the most improtant part that needs checking....being a responsible driver involves more then stopping at a stop sign or not speeding, knowing that your tyres or brakes are up to stratch is part of it...!! As Kelly points out, all the checks in the world will never guarantee safe roads while we let drongos drive.