NSW road laws you might want to know about

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T1 Terry
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by T1 Terry »

supersparky wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:51 am I had an enlightening encounter with a lovely female member of the NSW Highway Patrol whilst travelling the Newell Hwy through Parkes a year or so ago.. As Ray says in the post above about Tiltas. She was going to book me for not having 4 x 2500kg rated retaining straps securing the one tonne Jimny. She was a little more than miffed when I pointed out that method the vehicle was secured was accepted in all other states of Australia and as our vehicle was registered in Qld it complied with that states legislation. She would not let me proceed until I had attached another 2500 kg rated strap across the back of the Jimny. I thought I had won that battle, but then she booked me for speeding. 53 in a 50k zone so she said :cry: . Almost $500 fine for a heavy vehicle.
I now always use additional restraints on both sides as I do believe the NSW regulation does have some merit when you think about it.
Did you fight it? It would have been thrown at the first instance because the NSW courts accepts there is an error factor of more than 5% in all types of speed detection equipment. What method of detection had she used? The favourite is the "Police Special" a calibrated speedo fitted to the vehicle, when the Police prosecutor presents the calibration certificate you immediately question if the vehicle it was fitted to was also calibrated to that speedo less than 100kms before it recorded the offence. As none of them as calibrated to the vehicle the case is dismissed.
Even the hand held radar is copping a beating down this way with a number of convictions being overturned in the Supreme Court and the state being forced to pay all legal and other associated costs incurred by the wrongful conviction. 1something to do with the calibration and accreditation of the officer using the equipment not meeting the Australian Standards ... a real bugger when the law gets turned back on the :lol:

I think you will find this latest nonsense in the Channel 9 report is nothing more than a news beat up story that the police choose not to refute. It probably is based on people overdosing on prescription medication impairing their ability to drive. There is a law about driving while fatigued as well, they just have a hard time proving it when there are no logbooks involved and unless the driver admits to the offence it never gets past first base.
A person may fail many times, they only become a failure when they blame someone else John Burrows
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BruceS
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by BruceS »

Pointless fighting it Terry because they know you won't travel any decent distance to fight it.
They have been doing it to truck drivers & interstate car drivers for years.
It's not just the case of expense to get to the court but days off work as well.
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supersparky
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by supersparky »

BruceS wrote: Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:17 pm Pointless fighting it Terry because they know you won't travel any decent distance to fight it.
They have been doing it to truck drivers & interstate car drivers for years.
It's not just the case of expense to get to the court but days off work as well.
That's pretty much it. The cost to take them on was just not worth it. I'm just glad the they usually don't follow up with the loss of points to an interstater.
It isn't really surprising that the NSW highway patrol aren't on everyone's Christmas list.
I wish that SWMBO had not convinced me to turn of the UHF about 100k beforehand, otherwise I would have known that she was there, waiting, waiting!
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by Busman »

I find that a real problem, do you leave the UHF on and put up with the shite that comes across at times, or turn the bloody thing off ? I know I have done the same, turned it off, only to turn it back on at a later stage and find people are talking about a "splash for cash" somewhere not far away.
Wish the idiots that can't use the bloody thing properly would run into a tree !
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BernieQ2
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by BernieQ2 »

Never turn mine off . Even the hand held in the toad , more interested in what's coming towards me then the police . Especially where we are at the moment log trucks on the road here from about 3am till around 5pm except weekends and they call approaching bridges and tight turns .
I like to know they are coming , they don't seem to know about the double lines here ?
We can live with the swearing both my son and son in-law are truckies . Actually have been known to swear myself (not on the radio)
I know my bad .
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T1 Terry
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by T1 Terry »

supersparky wrote: Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:10 pm
BruceS wrote: Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:17 pm Pointless fighting it Terry because they know you won't travel any decent distance to fight it.
They have been doing it to truck drivers & interstate car drivers for years.
It's not just the case of expense to get to the court but days off work as well.
That's pretty much it. The cost to take them on was just not worth it. I'm just glad the they usually don't follow up with the loss of points to an interstater.
It isn't really surprising that the NSW highway patrol aren't on everyone's Christmas list.
I wish that SWMBO had not convinced me to turn of the UHF about 100k beforehand, otherwise I would have known that she was there, waiting, waiting!
You send a letter to the police enforcement section explaining that this was a tit-for-tat booking and would not hold up in court. If necessary you will attend the court hearing but a full claim for costs will be attached. They usually decide to let you off with the warning letter, not a good look to loose too many cases because it encourages others to contest dodgy bookings.
Even if you choose to pay the fine include a letter saying you plead not guilty to the offence and any further knowledge that would dispute the legality of the conviction will result in a claim for costs along with the return of the illegally gained funds. They have been known not to process the fine payment and they have quite often had to refund the fine monies where the offence was now in question and the defendant had claimed their innocence, no refund if you pleaded guilty though :twisted:
A person may fail many times, they only become a failure when they blame someone else John Burrows
If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine. – Jim Barksdale, former Netscape CEO
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Newcastle George
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by Newcastle George »

On my way to Taggerty last year? at 6am in rain I was doing 60 in a 70 zone, or at least I thought it was a 70 zone, I received an infringement notice for doing 60 in a 40 zone and I immediately thought, it was a Sunday so School Zones do not apply. Unknown to me there was a sign on the side of the road that said that the limit for Trucks and Buses was 40. I forwarded a request that as I had not driven on that section of road for many years and that, as it was raining and dark , I was concentrating on the road ahead and the upcoming traffic lights that I didn't notice the roadside sign. Request denied.

I gave consideration to fighting it on the grounds that I was driving a registered motorhome, not a Truck or a Bus, and the sign did not say Heavy Vehicles. I spoke to a solicitor and he agreed that I would have a good case but warned that if the magistrate did not see it my way then the court and RTA costs would be many times the $420 fine. I gave up and have been saddled with 3 points against my licence.

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supersparky
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by supersparky »

T1, Thanks for the breakdown of what I should have done, and will next time. At the time I didn't want to argue, and the noise from the passenger seat was beginning to get me a little cranky. I have saved your comments and hopefully will never need to draw on them again. But you don't really ever know, do you. :D :D :D
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by Dot »

I love the crap on the UHF, learn heaps about truckies personal lives :) :) What I cant stand are the idiot tourists yapping about their cooking skills etc and when they last stopped to pee gggrrrrrrr
George could you have questioned the "bus" description rather than a "motorhome" ??
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Re: NSW road laws you might want to know about

Post by Newcastle George »

Dot wrote: Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:30 pm I love the crap on the UHF, learn heaps about truckies personal lives :) :) What I cant stand are the idiot tourists yapping about their cooking skills etc and when they last stopped to pee gggrrrrrrr
George could you have questioned the "bus" description rather than a "motorhome" ?? That is what I discussed with Law Assist
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