Yes the fluffy dice, toys and chinese lanterns are all a ticket to a ticket. (excuse the pun)

Just didn't have the spare time to devote to NS until recently. Thanks for the welcome back.

I don't think there is such a thing as a stupid question, as long as the enquirer is sincere in the asking.

I always treat genuine posts with the utmost respect. Anyone who is arrogant, offensive or plain ignorant; well its just open season on them.

Cheers,

The Prof.

Got a license question.

My mother in law is here for a year under extended tourist visa, does she require to get vic license?

Thanks

depends on what licence she holds, and whether it is recognised in vic. If international, no. Only need a Vic licence within 3 months of getting a permanent visa, or if you have no other licence.

If not a vic licence, must be carried at all times when driving.
cheers
dave

Davidra gave a pretty concise answer to this thread, but I just wanted to ad my two bobs worth.

A driver (who is in Australia as a tourist, or on a temporary VISA which may include longer term students) who legitimately holds a driver's licence (FOR THE APPROPRITE VEHICLE CLASS) in their own country, may drive a similar vehicle class in Australia, provided that they carry their licence at all times whilst driving in Australia. The driver must also hold a valid translation of their licence into the English language including a full explanation as to which vehicle types the driver is qualified to operate.

Any failure to meet any of these requirements would immediately lodge the driver into the category of an unlicensed driver.

It is also very important to acknowledge that an individual must obtain a 'local' driver's license within three months of obtaining or being granted citizenship or residency. No exemptions at all.

Regardless of all this, any sanctions, suspensions or disqualifications, etc, imposed on an overseas licence holder are enforceable and can be fully pursued in our legal system.

I trust this may help.

The Prof.

The Professor

One of our family business staff members was killed in a car accident a year or 2 ago, he was involved in a head on collision with 2 french student who got confused and were driving on the wrong side of the road. 3 days after the accident the 2 french students checked themself out of hospital and left the country the same day, is there any legal avenues we could use to bring these french kids back to Australia to enforce some kind of punishment on them for shitty driving?

Thanks
Sid

Um... o.k.

You would need to have a comprehensive understanding of the collision, including a copy of the full police investigation and the relevant coronial inquest. Then you would at least know what the judicial system made of it all.

In simple terms, no there is absolutely nothing you could do as an individual to pursue this matter. If the case was deemed to be absolutely significant and outrageous in the greater legal scheme of things, presumably the authorities would consider deportation of the offenders.

My best guess is that the whole case has just been filed as 'inconclusive' and 'not viable to pursue' in terms of whether the potential outcome is proportionate to the significance and costs of engaging in deportation proceedings. International deportation is realistically limited mainly to only very significant criminals and major fugitives, due to the overall costs and legal issues involved.

I can't think of too many figures who have faced deportation back to Australia in recent years, even for criminal activity. (Richard Skase, Peter Foster, Tony Mokbel.... I'm struggling)

I'm not commenting in any way on your case, merely on how the 'system' works. I know the police also have a great number of problems, particularly with the foreign students in our country whose wealthy parents keep them kitted out with high powered exotic vehicles and a contempt for the consequences of misbehaving on our roads. All they can do is keep doing their job and knocking them off like everyone else.

My condolences to you re your loss.

The Prof.

Got a few questions smokey/the prof.

First, what's the legal requirement in Vic for p-plater towing a trailer. I know there was a law that the trailer is only to be 6x4, but I was told that this was abolished. How strict is this, as I need the trailer to tow my motorbike and our trailer is an 8x5.

Secondly, rear-view mirror. Can this be obscured by luggage in the back - ie if I have a stationwagon and a safety cage, can i load up the cage so I can no longer see out the rear window. I see (personally) no issue with this as ute's/trucks/vans and some car particularly work vehicles have this obscured by ladders/logos etc.

Thirdly, If you lose your driver's license, can you still get a motorcycle license?

And finally - can you have points taken off your drivers for riding a motorcycle (dirtbike) w/out a license (in a state forest or the-like)? Does Victoria still offer recreational registration for off-road (dirtbikes etc) vehicles?

cmarico,

I can try and assist you here but smokey/prof will have to confirm.

1) There is no issue with a 'P' plater towing a trailer as long as it's registered (if not exempt from trailer reg) and the rear 'P' plate is visible.

2) There is no issue with obscuring the interior rear view mirror, as long as your vision is clear from the two side mirrors.

3) Car/motorcycle licence is deemed to be one, so no you cannot get a bike licence if you lose the car licence (same thing).

4) Cannot answer this but my mate has a dirtbike with some form of recreational rego. I'm not sure whether you lose points from your licence if you are riding on somewhere other than a road???

I hope this helps as I don't want to look like a *richard cranium*.

^^ Thanks for the help champ, I think your on par as its pretty much what I was thinking myself, but hopefully the prof/smokey will confirm and answer the last question for us just to be sure .

Thanks guys. Yes I understand the 3 months of getting residency/citizenship but my case is that she's on extended tourist visa and i don't think that's consider resident.

Cheers

No probs cmarico, I hope smokey/prof confirms the advice.

Now smokey/prof, I have an interesting one for you. This seems unusual but I can assure you it happened. Last Saturday night at about 9pm, my wife's 20 year old brother was outside a pub in Richmond (on Swan St) with his girlfriend and some other friends. They had just had a meal and were discussing where to go next. He reckons there was about 8 of them standing around talking on the footpath near the gutter. Suddenly, a car flew by and threw a bag of flour all over them. When he told me, I pissed myself laughing and was on the floor. They didn't even see what type of car it was or even which way it was travelling as it all happended so fast and they were all in shock. Anyway, a few of them went inside and spoke to a manager and requested they look at the video footage of outisde the pub to see if they can get a rego (he reckons there is a camera outside that faces onto part of the road). The manager said no and that they'll have to come back another day and report it to the police. Two things:

1) Is there any offence for drenching someone in flour (still pissing myself) from a moving car?

2) Does the pub 'have' to show them or the police the footage?

3) Is it really worth the hassle reporting it? (I told him, while trying hard to keep a straight face, not to worry and just put it down to an unfortunate and bad experience)

Thanks,

Marty

Dead simple. As long as she holds a tourist visa, she can drive on her 'native' licence. See my previous post re other conditions she must abide by.

The Prof.

Pretty much exactly what 350Z said.

An 8 x 5 trailer will exceed the weight and drawbar exemptions (by a mile) that would let you claim the trailer as 'private trailer - exempt'. You must register this guy and it is not expensive - so just do it. P plate makes no difference nowadays.

Point 2. You can fully obscure or even remove the central interior mirror as long as you have a functional left hand mirror on the near side front door.

Point 3. Yep all the same. No car licence = No bike licence = You are walking = Sorry ! They are one and the same re points.

Point 4. Points are points. If you are issued a Penalty Notice by the fun police, then all offences incurring points count against your license. Doesn't matter where the ticket was issued within Australia.

Point 5. Recreational registration is still available in Victoria... but the conditions have been tightened up considerably. Talk to VicRoads or sus out their internet site to explore the relevant conditions of current Rec Registration. Its a lot tighter than previously.

The Prof.

Ok excellent. So as long as the 8x5 trailer is registered (as a trailer?) the trailer is fine? I think it's registered anyway. Also, as we have a boat, quite a big boat, am I allowed to tow that too - ie there are no size restrictions for p-platers what-so-ever?

Thanks on the other points - they've registered a-ok to me

Simple:

1) Discharge missile. (And even assault charges would be considered) That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm a traffic copper...it's been a LONG time since I have had to deal in something like this!

2) Nope. The CCTV remains the property of the venue. Having said that, most venues are quite cooperative with police should we request to see the tape. Having said that, if something was to happen inside the venue, there may be powers/obligations under the LCRA but again...I'm a traffic copper! There would certainly be no obligation for them to show reporting persons/victims.

3) In my opinion, yes. Who's to say that this isn't one of many crimes of this type? Who's to say that a suspect hasn't been identified in any of these crimes? If nothing else, it will give police an idea of the local issues in their area so they can target patrols accordingly.

Thanks for that smokey - I'll pass on the advice.

Cheers.

Actually a very relevant post.

All trailers carrying a boat or watercraft of any type MUST be individually registered. You can't even carry a 'tinny' on your box trailer as that breaks the rules.

There is no size restriction relevant to your licence as such re trailers. Off the top of my head, you can tow a total vehicle and trailer combo of up to 12.5 metres length on a standard car licence. I would ask Smokey this one though. In any case, you are one lucky bastard if you have a speed boat that is longer than 6 or 7 metres on its own, as your car will only come at about 4 metres including the drawbar on the boat trailer.

Make sure you whack your P Plate on the back of the trailer as well.

The Prof.

Ok thanks for that prof.

Now that we've brought up the boat issue - have a few questions.

1) Are boat licences required for ALL boats (i heard that under a certain size/eng capacity there is no license required)?

2) If I carry a tinny on the roof of my vehicle (using roofracks etc) is this fine, and can the boat be unregistered (as i've heard that some boats don't have to be registered??)?

3) If my trailer is carrying a motorbike and some other junk, and then on top of that there is a boat - securely tied of course, does the trailer need to be individually registered too?

4) What, if any, boats do not have to be registered? And, are their certain registrations for certain uses (ie limiting to freshwater etc)?

I know this doesn't apply to roads, but you may have knowledge on the trailer questions.

Regards, Chris.

Have a read of the Marine Act for licensing/registration requirements.

2) It is not an offence to tow an unregistered boat. The offence is to use the unregistered boat. In exactly the same way that there is no offence for towing an unregistered car. If you are carrying it on the roof of your car, you would need to ensure you do not exceed any mass or dimension limits, and there are no sharp projections or other safety issues created.

As for Q#3...as soon as you put a boat on a trailer, it becomes a boat trailer and must be registered.

my bro recently got pulled over in my s13.. he was on the tradeplate simply due to running the engine in. He was issued a canary on the trade plate (wtf) and told not to drive the car home, instead to get it towed back mind you, he wasn't speeding or doing anythign stupid (as you would imagine when running an engine in).. any regulations on cops not allowing you to drive your car back home? can this be contested?

Can anyone tell me the penalty for 2x rear tyres, not enough tread to be legal?

How much tread is needed to be legal?

And with the penalty, can car be driven home or to a shop? Can your license be suspended/points put on for driving a vehicle that is not defected, but defected while your pulled over, or previously defected and not cleared?

Are there diff meanings for diff defects (like say one kind u can drive but faults must be replaced within such a timeframe whereas other's car must not be driven etc)?

Hmm, this probably has been touched on before sometime in the past. I remember reading it somewhere but I don't recall it was resolved.

I am considering purchasing a Mazdaspeed vented carbonfibre bonnet for a RX7 through Mazda Australia. It is not something they sell of the shelf and will have to be ordered in. This is quite an expensive purchase including air freight and taxes, about AUD$4,000+. Before I decide to go a step further and purchase the item, I would like to know if these factory option CF bonnets are illegal in Australia. They are factory options, but I am not sure if they are ADR tested, because I don't recall these being factory options when the RX7 was released here in the early to mid 90s.

I hope you can help clear this up because I would hate to buy it and not be able to use it.

Thanks,

Jon

Hey NuR.spec,

Your brother did pretty well by the sound of things.

I would need to know a lot more detail than what you have included in the post, but it sounds fairly conclusive that the cops didn't believe that your brother was entitled to use the 'trade plate' in accordance with Section 303 onwards of the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regs. The most 'correct' manner of dealing with this situation would have been to issue him with a Penalty Notice for driving an Unregistered Vehicle. (You know the $500+ one) If he doesn't meet the criteria for use of that plate, it's validity evaporates. (Running in an engine is really not covered in the eligibillity criteria)

I suspect that the officer in question exercised discretion in not issuing a Penalty Notice in this case and instead did issue a 'canary' in relation to defects apparent on the vehicle.

Your brother may have misunderstood the instruction not to drive the car any further. In any case, he could not legally drive the car at all because it was 'unregistered'. If the direction was in relation to actual faults, then the officer presumably considered one or more faults to be 'safety issues' or major defects.

I accept that your brother wasn't acting stupidly. There is absolutely no right of review or appeal in either of the cases I have outlined. If the officer advised your brother in accordance with the scenarios above, then not only did he/she act 100% correctly and properly, but I reckon he/she was pretty leniant in not issuing the $500 buck fine. (They went up with CPI some time ago, I know) He/she may have wanted to set your brother on the straight and narrow, but no way did they really get 'in his face'.

Before anyone bashes me...

He could have got 500+ fine for unregistered, 165+ fine for driving an unroadworthy vehicle. All he got was a canary that has no real effect as the car is effectively unregistered in any case. The cops did nothing but inconvenience him a bit by saying 'don't continue to drive it'. They ARE obliged to do that as this case presents.

The Prof.

This has been covered 'ad nauseum' in previous posts. 3mm tread depth across entire face and no lower than the tread wear indicator bars in the tread.

Licence is not effected by defect notices. These notices are purely to get the car fixed or off the road.

Yes, the severity of the defect in terms of safety, has an effect on the terms of the 'canary'. The police can choose (ultimately - pretty much at their own discretion) whether the car gets some time driving lee-way (normally to a max of 7 days). In the case of any defect considered to effect the general 'safety' of the vehicle, they can order the car immeditely undriveable. (Must be towed and not by another car. Literally 'off the road' !!!)

Yes there are fines that can accompany any of the scenarios you mention, particularly driving a vehicle with an uncleared defect notice. That is just sticking it in the face of the cops.

The Prof.

I will stand corrected if Smokey suggests otherwise, but I will add my 2 cents worth.

I am quite certain that 'bonnets' are a very flexible and reasonable subject.

Firstly, you MUST have one fitted at all times. Real easy. They cover the sharp bits that peds might get impaled on if you mow them down.

Bonnets aren't really covered by ADR's per se. In other words, as long as you have a functional bonnet (with compliant scoops and vents, but that's another question) you are roadworthy. I am 99.9% certain that a factory carbon fibre bonnet will be completely legal to use here in Australia, provided it is basically similar to the profile of the steel item.

VicRoads are very approachable re these sorts of questions. Get in touch with them and they will certainly give you rock solid advice. Just have all the answers they might ask and be up front about any 'other areas' (i.e., the fact that you will have a 2 foot GM 8/71 blower stack sticking out of the centre) You will get a definite answer from them, no problem.

I'm certain that it will be YES.

The Prof.

(P.S. Corvettes and some Mustangs have a factory fibreglass bonnet that is pure shit and flimsy as a sheet of wet newpaper. They get approved, so why would a C.F. item be a problem?)

just a quick question
whats the go with having a fibre glass bonnet and no cat on a 20 year old car? is it legal or not cause ive heard conflicting stories

Quickie, whats the go on catch cans legal or not legal? i got defected recently and my car has a lil filter thing on the side of the engine, I'm getting sent to EPA and was advised to remove it, my car came like taht so i don't have the stock things for it so thinking of putting a catch can in. Are they legal?

correct me if i am wrong as i am uncertain about the age range here for the seatbelt question

if a passenger is below 16 years of age and is not wearing a seatbelt or above 16 years of age. do you have your license suspended on the spot? or just a fine?

No suspension provisions in Victoria at all. Just the question of whether the adult (16 orover) or the driver gets the Penalty Notice.

Its really very clear.

The Prof.

I believe that the bonnet is fine per my previous post. As long as it is sturdy, secure and fits the body shape of the car, etc.

One question though ... Why ??? 20 year old cars had so much steel in them. Why would you bother.

The cat question is obvious. If your model /year car came with a cat - it must have one fitted and must be running on ULP. You can bin the cat if your car runs solely on LPG. (not dual fuel tho !!!)

The Prof.

the 20 year old car im reffering to is an ae86 and im asking the question because it comes with a firbe glass bonnet and straight through exhaust
just want to check if its ok to keep them on or not thats all

hi guys!
great work with the legal advice!! i havent scanned thru all of it, so u may have answered dis question.
if ya have just direct me to the thread.
i received an epa notice like 2 yrs ago. on the day i was due to go to get it off i had the car at d mechanics cos
the turbo n engine had s*** themselves (damn dodgy car yards!).
i told the epa people and they were kool. since then my rego has been suspended and expired. now i have the
cash and time to get it back on the road. i spoke to the epa today and found out what i have to do to get it off
and i have to make an appointment and take it down for checks. after all of that....
what will they be looking for ads i will be towing it and dont want to have to make repeat visits..
im puttin a stock exhaust on it. will i have to take my fmic off and what else should i do?
thanks guys ur lifesavers!!

Um, if your car was binned 2 years ago, then this is all irrelevant. Your car just has to pass a normal roadworthy and VicRoads inspection like any other unregistered car.

If you have an RWC and no glaring problems, Vicroads will simply issue new registration. The cars history is of no interest and you don't have to clear the EPA notice first at all. You are under no obligation to nominate the cars last registered number in any case, so its history is just that, history.

Your RWC issuing mechanic is really the only guy you have to impress, so just go and speak to them in advance re the exhaust and FMIC, etc. If he clears it, your gold.

The Prof.

thanks heaps mate. uve just saved me heaps of time!
champ!!

dunno if someone else has said it, becasue i didnt read the 30 odd pages in this thread, but all the links in the first page that i'd be interested in reading dont work no more.

Yep, that sounds about right. Active participation in a Newgroup or Forum requires that you keep up to date, more or less. Absolutely no value in reading years old posts and their links.

The Prof.

ive just had a discussion with a few mates and they reckon that an oil cooler is illegal. i have absolutely no clue so i thought ask people that would know. coz i currently just got a greddy oil cooler and radiator and didnt think if it was illegal or not. but with common sense i thought it would be legal coz its not increase your cars power just cooling it down.

cheers mike.

Prof / Smokey can you guys elaborate weather oil catch cans are legal? the re-ventilating ones not the atmo ones.

Questions re licence loss;

I am due to get off p's at the end of September, but I was unable to find the answer to my question involving the new laws and licence loss. Say I lose my licence between now and the rollover to fulls date, will this add any additional time to my probationary licence? Or will I go straight onto fulls as my mates who have had licence suspensions last year been informed (they are on to fulls around the same time).

Question :


Basically i am wanting to upgrade the engine in my 1989 s13 silvia, i am really after a sr20det or RB20det just for the age fact,
i am just wondering whats the go with the legal side of this, eg. engineering wise, i read somewhere that if i put in a CA18DET (car is ca18de at the moment) i just had to change the engine Number, whereas with a SR20DET i needed and engineer's cert, and that RB20dET was actually illegal in victoria ?? (can't remember where i read this, was like a good year ago but was on NS.com)


if anyone could give me some info about this, as my current engine has almost had it and looking at doing up my car a little bit, and trying to do everything by the book


cheers.

[Edit] : Been doing some more searching and found that if the engine i am wanting to fit came in the car then i was able to fit it, so if sr20det came in like 1991 + or whatever it was, then i could fit, but just have to upgrade suspension and brakes?

also the car is 4 speed auto, and i am wanting to convert to 5 speed manual, does this make things more difficult ?

and just one other thing, would i have to get this carried out by a garage or could i do it myself ?...


thanks again.

My understanding on this is that all time spent on suspension or disqualification is purely added to your Probationary time. It wasn't so until fairly recently, but it is now possible under the Road Rules to spend your entire adult life on 'P's.

Your mates are dead wrong. Oil coolers are absolutely legal in any form, provided common sense is applied. i.e., they are securely mounted, don't project as a sharp protusion, don't have any leaks, etc.

Same as the radiator. Absolutely no problem with fitting an alternative radiator, provided that there are no other issues like needing to cut large pieces of the body out to make clearance.

100% Prof Guaranteed.

I just don't know the answer to this one. I made some enquiries through the EPA, but they started talking about whether the can interferred with the PCV system and whether it was atmo sealed or vented. I got the impression that these are a fairly useless accessory that is merely fitted for looks. In any case, it is clear that oil vapour fumes are a potential emissions issue.

All got too hard for my poor old brain. Sorry.

If you know your gear, just ring the EPA testers at Altona. They are pretty reasonable guys to talk to.

Prof.

i asked the epa when i was there. i had one on. it was not vented. they only have a problem if its vented thats what they told me.

A few questions about RWC.

Just got a stock 180sx.

PROBLEMS I MITE OCCUR.

- Had a accident on the side guard and I pulled it out and hammered it out and just sanded it down, didnt' want to replace because getting fenders, side indicator light was broke therefore no indicator light.
- GKTECH catback ? Unsure if it would go through
- Need a wheel alignment ( Was going to fix it when I get the RWC )

Besides that nothing that would be a hazzard on the roads.

Thoughts on going to a RWC and acutally getting one with my car in this state?

PS. PM me answers if possible.

got a question regarding the p plate laws. my cosin has a 02 wrx which he uses for work (sales) he has been on the 1 point for 12 months. and he lost that point. what i was wondering seeing as he is being suspended will he be affected by the turbo laws or no. thanks

Question; If your licence is suspended and not cancelled, do you go straight on to full licence once the suspension is up if you are due to?

Thanks!

yes

i was in the same situation as u were.

got my fulls without any troubles

oops just realised i asked the same question twice. thanks for responses. how long ago was that s2susan?