Watch out, they're about....

[Glen]

Just like to share a letter written in to The Open Road (the NRMA magazine) by some knob.

Light up

Once a month, I take friends out to dinner. We travel about 40 km each way and to amuse ourselves we watch the oncoming traffic for headlight defects. We call "one light" when someone spots one and keep score until the end of the night. So far the highest has been 42 in one night.

Although this is our entertainment, the reality is serious. With so many cars driving with just one headlight, can they be sure they are seen as a car and not mistaken as a motorbike?

L Cromer, Umina
WTF difference does it make if it's a car or a bike. Clearly L Cromer from Umina takes extra care when a car is coming at him but, gee if it's a bike then you don't need to worry too much at all as they can't hurt you too much when you splatter them.

Scary attitude. Even scarier is that the knob jockeys from the NRMA awarded this squid the letter of the month. I don't know what you get for the Letter of the Month in the Open Road, probably a set of blinkers to wear over you eyes when your driving.

[JamesLaugesen]

Ditto mate, number of people driving around with a light out is scary.
It's also very illegal; but clearly it's not well enforced...
mid you; if someone is speeding in a car with 1 light and crashes into someone pulling out in front of them mistaking it for a bike on the far right side of the road (we all know people cut across our virtual lane a lot). Speed will be to blame.

Just another example of how self-centred most road users are... they can see the road ok with one light so they don't care.

[Cath]

If that's what they do for amusement in the car, I bet their parties are a total riot! Imagine the fun and games! Guess how many grains of rice on everyone's plate, then we'll keep count as we eat and see who wins! How many carefully timed sips of coke are there in my glass - let's keep count and see how many there are! Weeeeeeeeeee! The excitement! I'm hyperventilating! Can we play the car colour counting game next, pretty please! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Then again, it *is* Umina we're talking about here. They should need a passport and visa to be allowed out of that suburb.

I wish I knew where L Cromer lived exactly, because I would seriously consider knocking on his door tod ask him what difference it would make if it was a motorbike or a car that was oncoming. *Off to check the local phone book for his address*

[photomike666]

Isn't it obvious, as bikes are really skinny and disappear through the tiniest of gaps cage drivers don't need to worry about them.

I find it almost as worrying is the number of tail/brake lights that don't work. You often see cars that appear to have no lights on but when you pass them the headlights are working fine. I've seen cars stop sharply and have all three brake lights fail to come on, and yesterday there was a car K after K with its brake lights on (faulty sensor or foot slightly on the pedal I don't know), neither help to read the cars actions.

The system needs to be updated so every car (and bike) has a roadworthy every year, then people can't keep driving unroadworthy vehicles.

[Smitty]

..snip..
Then again, it *is* Umina we're talking about here. They should need a passport and visa to be allowed out of that suburb.

is Umina one of those suburbs with an attitude problem
in that they have a problem with the rest of society?

[JamesLaugesen]

..snip..
Then again, it *is* Umina we're talking about here. They should need a passport and visa to be allowed out of that suburb.

is Umina one of those suburbs with an attitude problem
in that they have a problem with the rest of society?

Hahaha pretty much.
My sister & nephew live in Umina with, and my brother & sister-in-law live in Ettalong. Both are nice enough areas... Just typical low-tree-population (it's a bastard in summer... barely any trees anywhere) suburbs.

BUT, there are lots of grumpy kids and skinny guys with tiny shorts, thongs & singlet riding around on push-bikes (some upgraded with chainsaw motors) drinking beer. But pffft, nothing wrong with that, they're just having fun.


Mmmhmm, lights not working - Totally not cool.
Check out most road rules vs penalty.
There's an obvious relation to "ease of detection" and penalty.
Speeding is very easy to detect; so it's a great money maker / public relations improver.
Someone with a light missing will only cop a fine for it (maybe) after they've caused on accident.

It's all BS I tells ya.
And stupid PR moves from the govt. like the latest P plater restrictions will make bugger all difference, asside from giving the media more angles to spin.
With the amount of time and resources that went into that whole P-plater crap, we should have at least got real restrictions such as power:weight. But really, the only thing that will work for cars is a LAMS-type list for them; specific (or maybe semi-specific groups) of 4-wheelers indentified as safe enough for new drivers to drive.

Thanks to the brilliant "no turbo charger" rule great safe little cars like Charade turbos will be death machines without the turbo. Short wheel-base front wheel drive car with small wheels, and now - under-powered. It's just asking for trouble.

*big breath*
Sorry, got a bit off topic, bahaha.

[Neka79]

seriously..SA has no yearly roadworthy....and sum of the pieces of crap getting around..the problem is the cops harrass the fully sick turbo's/imports etc to defect them..i guess they figure they have more $$ to pay the fines, than defecting sum POS dato with rust,holes & bald tyres , all because they cant afford to buy sumthing better....
this is just my speculation, im sure jase could give us the kind of response from the other side...
i do realise a lot of the tools in these imports/turbos etc DO drive like tools, but id rather see a well maintained import on the road, than a POS car that is severely dangerous...

[Duane]

Neka you're dangerous without a vehicle!!
But I suspect you're already defected

[MickLC]

It's the same in the ACT now too Neka, we used to have yearly inspections, now we have nothing except when a vehicle is sold and then only if it's an old one.

Some of the pieces of crap driving around these days would never have been on the road back then.

[HemiDuty]

I like my Crusty old Valiants. As long as the lights and basic safety bits work (brakes etc) I do not have too much problem with it. It has often been all I can afford, and things like a bit of rust or bad paint etc (not hideous structural cancer mind you) I couldn't care less about.

[Neka79]

mate..im talking abt cars that dont deserve to b fed!!

[raffiki]

I like my Crusty old Valiants. As long as the lights and basic safety bits work (brakes etc) I do not have too much problem with it. It has often been all I can afford, and things like a bit of rust or bad paint etc (not hideous structural cancer mind you) I couldn't care less about.

ah i had an old vc with a 265, dedicated gas research, sport ryder shocks and an lsd... mmmmm fun, oversteered like a bitch
then i found structural cancer that some prick before me had bogged up (did a good job hiding it too) and the rego was almost due so the vc became my dads parts bin and i got an au in an attempt to 'grow up'

then i got the kwaka ........... mwhahahahahahaha

[dave#3]

I am about 99% sure I went to primary school with L Cromer's (late) son, and also knew her daughter reasonably well

[Ratmick]

I had a strange experience on the way into the city last week. Coming towards me what looked like a really really wide truck taking up both lanes on a dual carriageway. It was actually a matching pair of EB Falcons with opposite headlights blown. The effect was like: O o o O with the parkers only working on the inside, it looked surreal...

...well it did if you were tired and suffering from a caffiene deficiency.