Dom,
thanks for letting me know about this.
As this is a (very) public Forum it would be completely naive to assume that people who have law enforcement responsibilties aren't monitoring it as part of just a general watching brief on all car club sites.
This is one of the reasons why we are doing things differently now, like distributing the detailed Run Sheets, because it is a solid indication to whomever is watching is that we plan properly, we take note of and highlight safety issues, and we stay within the road rules at all times.
You will no doubt see more of these so-called defect stations in the future because they are not just targeted at modded cars, but at all cars in general. As you know unlike some of the other states Queensland doesn't have annual safety inspections, so the approach by government has to be one of selective action in areas where the largest amount of defective vehicles could be expected. Despite the local media telling us how costly it is to register a car annually in Queensland, I have just transfered my SW20 registration from NSW and saved over $190.00. A large part of the cost in NSW is that vehicles must have compulsory inspections after a certain age, and the only place the subsidy for this comes from is increased rego fees.
I actually support these random checks happening because as a member of our Club I know that my fellow members look after their cars, unlike some of the mobile junk you see being driven around. I followed a Hk Holden sedan earlier this week which had two bald rear tyres, the drivers door mirror hanging off the side, and a crack running the full width of the windscreen. I have yet to meet anyone in the Club whose MR2 is like that, and being part of a Club group on a Run, and behaving responsibly, makes police consider closely whether or not they are wasting their time pulling us up, when they can be more effective catching wayward Skyline drivers.
Just as an aside NSW at the start of this year has also done away with registration labels, so if you renew your registration there now post 1 January 2013 you don't get one. I understand this is because the police vehicles in NSW are now equipped with number plate recognition cameras and software that permits the mobile patrol to get a full history of the vehicle and supposed driver within 30 seconds, and in some locations can actually scan all cars within sight of the police vehicle to pick up unregistered, defected or stolen ones. I recently asked Queensland Transport if they were going to move to this stance, but was told it was highly unlikely given each computer-linked NSW police car costs around $120k to put on the road and the Newman Government has no spare cash.
This constant mobile surveillance on the road should be a bit more worrying in my view than being possibly randomly pulled up in Ipswich.
I am looking forward to enjoying a great day out tomorrow - I have the recorder set for the GP - and when I get back after some great twisty roads I can unwind in front of the TV watching someone drive around Albert Park in Melbourne just to prove they can.
Walter
Domma_aw11
Again tonight in ipswich theres a defect station set up with Queensland transport on the centenary hywy.. as eric said there realy cracking down up there..