A Current Affair

[tr3nt]

I just watched the Current Affair (melb tv) and they had an important issue which got me fumed. They had a shot at all the (and I QUOTE) "hoons" bitching about getting defects, by the (quote once again) "Hoon Squad" and the media/police are pretty much laughing in the faces of those drivers/passengers and saying yet AGAIN I quote "and they wonder why we do it" (as a wrx i think rolled in, revving up before the engine was cut off)

One thign that absolutely gets the ****s up me is, yes, the police DO target P Plate drivers, and particularly modified vehicles. We have a neighbour who has an XF era falcon wagon, which by NO means is roadworthy, in fact I could probably walk over the road and list 5 things without even openeing the bonnet. Still the car is never pulled up.

The main thing that P Plate drivers/modified vehicles are getting defected for are mod "defects" like unsecured pod filters, too low (fair enough) or "too bright" lights.

Personally, I think the police would get MORE revenue raised (as thats all they're doing) if they were to go on a weekend and pull up the legitimately dodgy looking vehicles (the datsun 120's, the beat up VB/C/H commodores [as much as i swore, facts are that there are beat up commodores], the ford falcons etc)

Coming from my perspective, and I'd say most P Plate drivers who are NOT earning a large wage, we get excited to earn the money to modify our cars one by one, and personally, I never take a "dangerous" car out, yet if I was to be pulled up, knowing my luck as a p plate commodore driver, I would take home a major defect with the car on the towtruck.

Excuse my language, but it's straight plain bull****.

let me know your thoughts, I know that people will think completely opposite to me, or maybe back me up. but please don't start fights.

A Current Affair will definately get an email from me sharing my thoughts.

[vlv8vic]

Unfortunately this will keep on happening. There will always be ********s amoung us who tarnish the name for everyone. Ive argued before that our cars are probably safer adn more looked after/ loved / cherished than joe blow and his blue smoke blowing old magna around the corner.
I could go all night agreeing and adding to what you said, though i am tired of it and seem to (sadly) just accept now that small minded fcuks will call us hoons because our hobby is our cars and not stamp collecting.

[Peanuts Inc.]

where i live, the cops dont even look at the little pieces of crap that are driving around because people will just dump them at the wreckers because the defects are worth more than the car is. I got a canary for having my front end 5 mm too low wasnt happy about that but i got over it..... its simple.....if you have P plates, you cant have a nice car! everytime i go out of my house for a drive i get pulled over. i got pulled over and fined for putting my seat belt on while still reversing out of my own driveway!!!
i think that the cops should be sticking with targeting drink drivers and speeding, not waiting for people to make a slip up in their own driveway....

[tr3nt]

A-Men.

ACA (A Current Affair) just got this email from me:

Hello ACA,

After your story aired tonight (Monday 22nd August) about drivers (particularly young or P Plate drivers) receiving defects, I became very unhappy with the way it was portrayed. The way the officers acted were as if they were doing exactly what people accuse them of doing, revenue raising.

I, myself am a first year P Plate commodore driver, I often go out on the weekends with friends for a drive out, however, I always make sure my vehicle is what I personally would class as safe – put simply if I didn’t think it was safe, I wouldn’t drive it. I have been complimented by mechanics and random public citizens of how well kept my car is, however if I was to have gone down Chapel Street the night of when A Current Affair was filming and the “hoon squad” were out in “force” I would have most likely gone home with my car either defected or towed. I agree with not every P Plate driver is trustworthy enough to have a safe car, but then again, not every P Plate driver come from “well off” families and can afford to have their car perfectly 100% roadworthy 7 days a week, myself personally on first year apprenticeship wages, cant always afford certain things.

If I was to go for a walk around my town with a list, I would quickly fill the list with what I could see as potential defected or “canary” vehicles that I know are not owned by P Plate drivers, or young drivers for that matter. It’s common knowledge that particularly local police in my area DO target young Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and Nissan Skyline drivers, approximately 90% of them being P Plate drivers, and most the time their cars look respectable enough NOT to be unsafe.

I thought I would share my opinion that the Victorian Police and Traffic Commission need not only to target younger/P Plate Drivers, but also the “dodgy” looking Datsuns, the “beat up” Commodores and the “warn out” Falcons.

Thank You,
Trent.

[Troy711]

simple as this... if you drive a car that is unsafe or unroadworthy you deserve to get it taken off the road. people who modifiy cars usually have a fair idea of whats legal and what isnt its just that they are too stupid/ignorant to care if it is safe or not.

as they say, do the crime do the time. dont bitch because you have done something illegal and you got caught

[tr3nt]

Troy711;

Thats all fair and well, and I agree, however, im not a mechanic, and personally I'm useless at mechanics, however, I know what CAI, Supercharger, Exhausts, Extractors, Lowering is etc etc, but then again, I don't know every defect there is.

The point im trying to put out is that I'd say three quarters or more of the modified cars out there are well maintained, and are actually quite safe, yet under close inspection have one or two things wrong with them (most the time not life threatening).

[Troy711]

Originally Posted by tr3nt

A-Men.

ACA (A Current Affair) just got this email from me:

Hello ACA,

After your story aired tonight (Monday 22nd August) about drivers (particularly young or P Plate drivers) receiving defects, I became very unhappy with the way it was portrayed. The way the officers acted were as if they were doing exactly what people accuse them of doing, revenue raising.

I, myself am a first year P Plate commodore driver, I often go out on the weekends with friends for a drive out, however, I always make sure my vehicle is what I personally would class as safe – put simply if I didn’t think it was safe, I wouldn’t drive it. I have been complimented by mechanics and random public citizens of how well kept my car is, however if I was to have gone down Chapel Street the night of when A Current Affair was filming and the “hoon squad” were out in “force” I would have most likely gone home with my car either defected or towed. I agree with not every P Plate driver is trustworthy enough to have a safe car, but then again, not every P Plate driver come from “well off” families and can afford to have their car perfectly 100% roadworthy 7 days a week, myself personally on first year apprenticeship wages, cant always afford certain things.

If I was to go for a walk around my town with a list, I would quickly fill the list with what I could see as potential defected or “canary” vehicles that I know are not owned by P Plate drivers, or young drivers for that matter. It’s common knowledge that particularly local police in my area DO target young Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and Nissan Skyline drivers, approximately 90% of them being P Plate drivers, and most the time their cars look respectable enough NOT to be unsafe.

I thought I would share my opinion that the Victorian Police and Traffic Commission need not only to target younger/P Plate Drivers, but also the “dodgy” looking Datsuns, the “beat up” Commodores and the “warn out” Falcons.

Thank You,
Trent.

yea, fair enough, some things are stupid but the law is the law and i think the difference between your neighbors beat up **** box and a P platers in hotted up cars is that your neighbor probably doesnt go 'cruisings' the streets and doing burnouts.

yea, p platers get a bad rap and are stereotyped and it isnt fair. but stereotypes are usually based on fact. fact of the matter is P platers have the highest death rate on the roads. why do you think cops target them for unsafe cars? to reduce the death toll.

you may call it revenue raising, i call it life saving. potentially unsafe cars not only put the driver at risk but also everyone else on the roads...

[tr3nt]

Each to thier own mate, your opinion is yours, and mine is mine

[Troy711]

life threatening or not.. the law is generally common sense. if it isnt to manufactures specs or australian standards its illegal. if holden wanted people to have LEDs on their window washers they would have installed them and had them passed to meet aus standards

[Troy711]

PS i can see this turning into a flame war

[ElDubya]

Originally Posted by tr3nt

The point im trying to put out is that I'd say three quarters or more of the modified cars out there are well maintained, and are actually quite safe, yet under close inspection have one or two things wrong with them (most the time not life threatening).

That would be the main reason why police target modified cars. For the occasional one or two cars that DO have defects. And remember, a defect is a defect, there is no such thing as a "safe" defect.

de·fec·tive ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-fktv) adj.

Having a defect; faulty: a defective appliance.
Marked by subnormal structure, function, intelligence, or behavior: defective speech.

I feel for you man, I really do. I was young once as well. And believe me, as a 34 year old car enthusiast (and father of 4)I get picked on too from time to time in my VN SS.

I know why I am getting picked on though, and it's all my own fault. My window tint is actualy Sunblock 5% house tint. I knew it was illegal when I put it on there, I knew if I got pulled over the police would do me for it, but I went ahead anyway because it looks so damn sexy. A defect.

I also have fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. Why? Once again, I like them, they look cool. Gives it a 60's feel. A defect.

I also have a large sticker that runs the length of the bottom edge of the windscreen. I like the sticker. A defect.

Not having a go at you mate, just re-itterating what I said before. A defect is a defect, and defective cars need to be put off the road until said defect is fixed.

Just think. If your car (or anyone elses for that matter) was genuinely 100% defect free, you wouldn't be worried about being pulled over.

[By the way. For people concerned that I am a father and have a defective vehicle, this is MY car, NOT the family car. The family car is a very sedate and VERY stock Commodore wagon, and this is the only car I would cart my kids around in. That or a taxi.]

[YellowVH]

yeah i wish they would just make the line LESS blurry. blatently BULLS**T fines like. the seatbelt in the drive way make me wanna :b:
for gods sake!! i wish it was all just about mechanical defects. visual defects. (like a sticker blocking the view) and the REAL dangers. also fire risks and bad wiring.
some fines are so petty it makes u wonder who the clown is who pens them in the first place.
AND! while im at it. i wish for gods sake there was somewhere to go around here CHEAP! and without this rubbish public liability crap that we can go flog our cars around. i would get so used to it i wouldnt bother on the actual roads!
sigh.. this is gonna go on for ever . how do the older blokes get used to it? and no. dont tell me to drive a magna lol