NSW Corvettes
General Discussion Area => Corvette Related Chat => Topic started by: 69VETTE on June 24, 2008, 08:18:45 AM
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Hi Guys,
Im sure this topic has come up in the past, but can anyone further explain or enlighten me as to why the residents in Western Australia can register left hook C4's and we cannot?
Has anyone ever written to our belovered.. cough, cough, cough... Transport Minister?
Why is it So?... Why is there such a inconsistancy in the RTA in Australia, or is RTA only applicable to NSW?
Why is that older vehicles (greater than 30years old) without the current safety requirements, like seatbelts, ABS, laminated glass and other modern equipment can be easily registered (and some should NOT) and newer vehicles (like C4's in Western Aus) are given the thumbs down.. In NSW?
I can understand that older ones, may not be driven regurlarly, and the newer ones might, but thats a bloody stupid argument!
Another P...sd off Australian ;29
M;36
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Originally posted by 69VETTE
Hi Guys,
Im sure this topic has come up in the past, but can anyone further explain or enlighten me as to why the residents in Western Australia can register left hook C4's and we cannot?
Whenever you have individual state and territory governments you will have individual laws and regulations on everything you can think of.
Given that cars cross state borders frequently you'd think that automobiles would be covered by Federal regulations, but don't hold you breath for that to happen. Look at the trouble involved in getting a national education syllabus in place.
And my guess is that if vehicle regs were to be nationalised, a committee of so-called experts would be set up to compile them and you know what happens when a committee gets involved in deciding anything.
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Originally posted by 69VETTE
Hi Guys,
Im sure this topic has come up in the past, but can anyone further explain or enlighten me as to why the residents in Western Australia can register left hook C4's and we cannot?
Has anyone ever written to our belovered.. cough, cough, cough... Transport Minister?
Why is it So?... Why is there such a inconsistancy in the RTA in Australia, or is RTA only applicable to NSW?
Why is that older vehicles (greater than 30years old) without the current safety requirements, like seatbelts, ABS, laminated glass and other modern equipment can be easily registered (and some should NOT) and newer vehicles (like C4's in Western Aus) are given the thumbs down.. In NSW?
I can understand that older ones, may not be driven regurlarly, and the newer ones might, but thats a bloody stupid argument!
Another P...sd off Australian ;29
M;36
I feel your pain brother! As much as I love older cars like mine, it doesnt make sense that newer cars cant be left drive? It is supposedly to do with protecting our car industry? We are one of a very small amount of countries that drive RHD, and one of even smaller amount that dont generally let LHD's drive on our roads. Does that mean British drivers are better than us because our Government doesnt trust us driving LHD cars? Thats the general consenses that Govt. Heirachy has...they think its dangerous! Thats what I've been told by several Govt. people including nieve Police officers and RTA people I come across in my job! I could go on and on.....we should at least be given a choice wether we want to convert a car to RHD not be forced too! a $50000 car becomes $250000!;47;47;47
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I agree, my C3 is LHD and I have no trouble driving it on local roads. In the ACT a car must be 30 years old to have LHD (that's why I bought the newest Corvette convertible I could leave as a LHD: 1975).
As much as I love my C3 I would have preferred to buy a C5 convertible. But if I couldn't leave it LHD I wasn't interested. FYI; in WA a car must be 15 years old to be registered as a LHD.
Personally I think we should switch to the right side of the road like the other 2/3rds of the world. If the powers that be won't do that then we should at least be able to drive LHD cars like they can in the UK and Japan.
:x
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Originally posted by humphbri
Personally I think we should switch to the right side of the road like the other 2/3rds of the world.
When you stop and think of how much road infrastructure alone needs to be changed across the nation to accommodate that, there is no economic case to be made for it.
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I would seriously think about selling if I could get/drive a the new ZR-1 in LHD!
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I personally don't mind which side of the road we have to drive on. MY grievance is the fact we have to chop up a perfectly good car to make it comply with our ridiculous regs.:b4
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Thanks guys for all your feedback. I totally agree with you all that we are really treated unfair here in NSW! :o
Im looking at some really nice 96 vettes in the states, particularly some really mint and low mileage 96 Grandsports, and its sad, that they seem so cheap... ;eek
The convertible ones (not the Limited edition ones) are even cheaper! ;37
I reckon you could have one over here, a GrandSport (with shipping) if you didnt have to convert it for aound 50k.. and thats a mint low milage one!.. it sxs big time.... ;47
And its a virgin unadulterated machine!....
Anyway, im not going to think about that for the moment, as it upsets me... im going to think of holidays.. cause in 3 weeks i will be on the greek islands...:spook
M;36
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How many more Vettes would we have if they did't have to be converted :an
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Originally posted by MR 502
How many more Vettes would we have if they did't have to be converted :an
Yeah... i reckon we would all have at least two.. so times that by the number in ourt club and that nearly 450...;40
M;36
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Okay okay.. i know i cant count... cause the real figure is 225...:bold
M;36
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MR 502 right on it with, how many more we gotta convert? And how good was it when the limeys went down in the rugby the other day up ginst the All Blacks!!
My belief for the future - The government will take more. Particularly our proudest petrol users.
That means us, I think the government targets the car lover, for very good reason.
We love cars
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All I can see is to get a combined petition from ALL the clubs
and get this silly rule updated to 15yr old cars as almost no one converts C4's, not enough profit for the license cost.
Its unsafe and unprofitable to alter a ton of developement on the track to achieve this fine model which is the launchpad for todays
great vettes,so let act now!!
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Originally posted by coradict72
All I can see is to get a combined petition from ALL the clubs
and get this silly rule updated to 15yr old cars as almost no one converts C4's, not enough profit for the license cost.
Its unsafe and unprofitable to alter a ton of developement on the track to achieve this fine model which is the launchpad for todays
great vettes,so let act now!!
I agree with you, even better we need to pettition the Minister for Transport and complain as to why they cannot be in co-hesion with the western states!
We need a solicitor to draft something up so all the clubs can sign it and get ti to them to change these antiquated laws we operate under. ;30
Here Here ;)
M;36
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Theres a few Victorian members on here that could poke a cracker up the arse of a few local clubs as well to get some more autographs!
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It wasnt that long ago that you couldnt drive any LHD car on the road except for ex army jeeps and cars that were registered before Moses wore sandles. Firstly it was club rego then cars more than 30 years old. I think what you guys want will come in time. I drive my car to work and back a fair bit and Ive never had any trouble or close shaves. Dave
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^ Yeah, I remember when left hookers had LEFT HAND DRIVE in red tape letters across the rear bumper.
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Originally posted by humphbri
As much as I love my C3 I would have preferred to buy a C5 convertible. But if I couldn't leave it LHD I wasn't interested. FYI; in WA a car must be 15 years old to be registered as a LHD.
:x
The quirky thing is that you cant import a vehicle built after 1989 (ie 19 years old and increasing...) unless it is going to be RAW'd to RHD so that 15 year window is going to blow right out.... and is effectively a 19 year rule unless the car is already in the country.
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Yeah and I remember getting my car filled ,oil and tyres checked.Lets get to today.
Only thru the clubs can one make the changes.
The minister for transport doesnt really know about the differences WA to NSW and you need a concrete plan as to why it needs to be updated and unsafe to change a car from what it is.
We have historic plates maybe the first stage could be with club plates and being a member of a club pay a bit more to enjoy driving as is.
Constant pressure on the government thats how eastern creek drags got started.
So approach ur committee they work for you get a plan I'm ready to sign
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I see one main irrefutable reason why we need to have right hand drive cars...........
How the hell do you place an order at McDonalds drive through with a left hand drive car? ;58
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Originally posted by Cameron 77C3
How the hell do you place an order at McDonalds drive through with a left hand drive car? ;58
Easy, just drive through in reverse.;-)
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Originally posted by MADVET
Originally posted by Cameron 77C3
How the hell do you place an order at McDonalds drive through with a left hand drive car? ;58
Easy, just drive through in reverse.;-)
;53
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If someone can clarify this for me. A friend of mine is convinced he can register any LHD car in the ACT qld and WA if its a personal import ie You own and drive the car overseas for 12 months. Is this true?
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Originally posted by bootlegger
If someone can clarify this for me. A friend of mine is convinced he can register any LHD car in the ACT qld and WA if its a personal import ie You own and drive the car overseas for 12 months. Is this true?
I can speak for the ACT. It's basically the same as NSW,ie 30 years+ regardless if it's a personal import or not.
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Originally posted by bootlegger
If someone can clarify this for me. A friend of mine is convinced he can register any LHD car in the ACT qld and WA if its a personal import ie You own and drive the car overseas for 12 months. Is this true?
First it must meet DOTARS import approval criteria:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/sevs/index.aspx
Then it must meet individual registration rules of the state or territory he is going to use, and they're all bloody different.
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Here's a short clip that shows the way a Corvette should be driven, overtaking lane..........swiftly with steering on left!;54
110kph?.........;wtf;59;47:an
http://de.rofl.to/achtung-corvette-ueberholt
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Havent been on for a while.That Dotars document is so hard to understand.Made in 1989 now 2006 i believe even c3's had to be nutered then, only 21 yrs old.Ok there have been updates ,seeing this is an australian governemnt document please explain why WA can drive 15 year old cars LHD and we cant..this was mentioned already in this post........
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Originally posted by coradict72
Havent been on for a while.That Dotars document is so hard to understand.Made in 1989 now 2006 i believe even c3's had to be nutered then, only 21 yrs old.Ok there have been updates ,seeing this is an australian governemnt document please explain why WA can drive 15 year old cars LHD and we cant..this was mentioned already in this post........
Exactly, all the above links go to the Australian Governments, Department of Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development and Local Government... So why is WA exempt? ;27 Isnt this applicable to all in australia
This is the question on everyones minds.... we really need to look into this! :mmm
M;36
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Hey Guys,
Someone asked me the other night at the car club meeting about the registration and conversion of Left Hook cars.
Some time ago i mentioned that in WA, the car (lets say the corvette, cause we really dont care for any other brand. - right?) only had to be 15 years of age, and not 30 likes it is in our glorious state for it to remain as a left hook car. :grr
This would mean that you could bring in some really nice C4's into the country... hmmm.. Grandsports! :{
I have looked a bit futher into this and found that in WA, the RTA, only really administers the road and maintanance and not the registration of the vehicles.
In Western Australia, the registration of vehicles is managed and regulated by the Dept of Planning.;wtf
Well, at least the Dept of Planning has got something right over there, ;42 cause the one in our state, has totally stuffed the building legislations truely! and for those who dont know, or havent heard... they have introduce new planning laws which could mean a person can get an approval technically in 10 days to build a two storey house next door without your say in the matter.
Yes thats right, but thats another topic!!
Here is the link for those interested.
http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/licensing/yourvehicle/1381.asp
Cheers
M;36
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75 countries Drive on the LEFT hand side.
Today, only four European countries continue to drive on the left: Cyprus (500,000), Ireland (4.5 Mil), Malta (400,000) and the United Kingdom (60 mil). All are island nations, and as such none shares a physical border with a country that drives on the right; all were once part of the British Empire. Some Commonwealth countries and other former British colonies, such as Hong Kong (7 mil), New Zealand (4 mil), Australia (23 mil), India (1 bil), Pakistan (173 mil), Malaysia (23 mil) and South Africa (50 mil) continue to drive on the left, but others such as Canada, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the United States drive on the right. Other countries and territories which drive on the left are Thailand (65 mil), Indonesia (450 mil) and East Timor (1 mil) in Southeast Asia (593 mil), Suriname (500,000, Japan (110 mil), the U.S. Virgin Islands (120,000) and Macau (84 mil). Most Pacific countries (14 mil) drive on the LEFT.
Approximately 2 Billion people are not serviced by GM. I KNOW that the majority of these 2 billion are not in the market for a Vette but I have to ask one question….WHY IS GM NOT BUILDING A RIGHT HAND DRIVE VETTE TO SERVICE SOME OF THESE COUNTRIES? My answer is as follows: Apart from the time and expense required (like all businesses in the world) I believe that GM is an insular company. They are old and Grey and have not moved with the times therefore they have been “LEFT” behind. Toyota sells it’s products in every one of the countries mentioned above (including most right hand drive countries as well such as the USA). If GM and the US Government were serious about being world competitive with it’s products then surely they would consider a left hand drive Corvette and other models?
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the reason i was told we drive on the left comes back to medievil times, when like today most people are right handed, they could still have control AND swing a sword with their right hand...dont know how true it is though.
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Originally posted by nifty
the reason i was told we drive on the left comes back to medievil times, when like today most people are right handed, they could still have control AND swing a sword with their right hand...dont know how true it is though.
Thories abound. Nobody knows for sure.
Here's a bit from the Wiki:
"In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on the right side were observed to be much deeper than those on the left side, which would make sense given that carts would be driven without any load on the way to the quarry, but would return laden with stone. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location.
In fact, some, for example C. Northcote Parkinson, believed that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins with their left hands and keep their right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend themselves with swords, if necessary.[citation needed]. It is often suggested this practice was brought about by the use of Postilions on coaches, in some countries they sat facing forward, in others back.
The first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to remain on the left occurred in 1756 with regard to London Bridge. The Highway Act 1773 contained a recommendation that horse traffic should remain on the left and this is enshrined in the Highway Act 1835.
In the late 1700s, the shift from left to right that took place in countries such as the United States was based on teamsters' use of large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so a postilion sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver preferred that other wagons pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side of the road.[citation needed]. Other countries, for example France, adopted driving on the right as a result of Napoleonic occupation/control.
Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the British keep-left rule, although many have since changed. Canada, for example, where the maritime provinces and British Columbia drove on the left, eventually changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier. Nova Scotia switched to driving on the right on April 15, 1923."
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Totally awsome gTc
Loved reading your find... who said corvette owners wernt smart cookies :fun
We need new ministers to over turn RTA decisions! ;56
M;36