[anotherforumuser]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/motorists-slugged-for-defects/story-e6frea6u-1226058563490

 SA motorists slugged for minor car defects

VEHICLE owners hit with defect notices will have to pay new on-the-spot fines, expected to rake in millions for the State Government.

The new fines - $120 for a minor defect and $250 for a major defect - will apply from July 1.

Minor defects include bald tyres, faulty brake lights and broken windscreen wipers, while major defects include faulty brakes, illegal modifications and faulty suspension. Defect notices do not currently incur a fine, although a vehicle owner must pay $26 to have the notice removed after repairs are made.

The Motor Trade Association's SA president, Colin Clark, said a blown light bulb was an example of a fault which would incur a $120 fine and a defect sticker.

[dkabab]

It's just ridiculous..... What's next, defects for blown light bulbs in your house.
I've never really got into politics, but surely the public has a say in what laws etc are written...
Defect notices are fine and I agree with them, but fining is just revenue raising and should be against the law!

[anotherforumuser]

The biggest problem with this is a cop in a bad mood. He can say your tread is too low or your exhaust is too loud and you have to pay the fine as a defect, even if the car is roadworthy.

[dkabab]

What if while driving your brake light blows.... You are unaware of this because how are you supposed to know. You could be fined without having the chance to even address the issue

[Grkoala]

I was thinking the same thing. Can we trust the Police to be reasonable or have hey got orders to fine regardless of reason? I think the latter, so get ready to cough up if a 30 cent bulb decides to blow

[alvchua]

I was thinking the same thing. Can we trust the Police to be reasonable or have hey got orders to fine regardless of reason? I think the latter, so get ready to cough up if a 30 cent bulb decides to blow

SA Police training in my experience is crap at best and being reasonable is soooooo subjective!!! Years ago I did some forensic work for SAPOL and even then realised the chain of evidence process as well as training in general of cadets was crap!!! My experience recently being a witness in a domestic violence situation and the comedy of errors leading up to the commital hearing (case is still yet to be heard as apparently they could not locate a judge to hear the case just after Easter 2011!!!!) suggests that things haven't really changed for the better hence I fear this is yet again another revenue raising exercise in Rannistan for the the MRH(Mike Rann Hospital)!

[mondi]

I do a lot of country driving, I have a work taxis that has head lights that can't be switched off, they are on all the time when the car is running. I was coming home one afternoon, it was still daylight.....
Anyhoo, I see a 4x4 Cop car coming in the opposite direction, don't think much of it until he does a huge U bolt behind me and puts on all the bells and whistles. One of my head lights had gone out and he wouldn't have know if it wasn't for the fact they are on all the time.

So I cop a Canary(here in Vic that is slang for an Unroadworthy vehicle or defective vehicle notice) on the work taxis. I have 2 weeks of paperwork to do now and the Cop it happy as Larry 'cos he just got his points for the day.

I didn't have to pay a fine or pay a fee to have the vehicle inspected as a minor defect like that does not warrant a full RWC inspection but once I had the light fixed I had to present it to Vicroads to have the Canary removed and the notice removed from their system in 7 days or I would have been fined.

 

[smileone96]

I think just like the other branded taxes, including the so called "Flood Levy" and "Carbon Tax", this defect fine issue is just more general revenue raising to fill up the holes in the State budget.... Or maybe to help pay Tommy Ks own traffic infringements?

[amgsl55]

the money for the oval, desal plant, hospital etc ( all those things that we desperately need) has gotta come from somewhere

it's not like labor's policy is to spend like crazy and then to consider where the money to pay comes from.

[dkabab]

the money for the oval, desal plant, hospital etc

Speaking of the hospital.... its meant to cost something like 1-2billion....
there was a news story on the radio the other day saying it would cost $1mil a day for the next 30 years....

In reality the total cost to South Australians over 30 years for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital will be almost $11 Billion; about one million dollars per day over the life of the contract.