GT86 received Defect for a stock safety feature

[sprinter666]

ok first it wasnt defected it received a traffic infringement notice and a $140 fine for daytime running lights but thats long so i went with defect so apologies.

was hesitant to post this up but... i blame matt. :)

so if you havnt already heard of this a member of vicpols finest, the highway patrol, no idea how to spell his name pettett? whatever its not the important part, many of you Victorians will have heard this name and quivered for fear of him lurking waiting to pull over your skylines, ae86's, corollas etc and get you for anything under the sun, i will not speculate what ive heard but im sure some of you have heard afew of the same stories. he has been targetting import/modified car owners for atleast 10 years so some say.

now this bloke, pulled over a stock gt86, i beleive he might have tinted his lenses or somthing? but stock in essence i may be corrected later, and handed the kid a traffic infringement notice for foglights i beleive yet they were daytime running lights listed as a safety feature in the cars manual and on the TAC website and complies completely with ADR standard, he wouldnt listen to any of this poppycock and handed out the find regardless.

so what? you say, well i dare say it gets worse when neil mitchel and some other top cop have a chat on the radio and call people knuckledraggers and the like and hype it up, have a read and a listen.

http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/breaking-news-blog/facebook-page-setup-to-personally-attack-highway-patrol-officer/20121211-2b6fx.html

the facebook page that resulted due to the incident has since been removed so i can not share anything from there, vicpol did have this link i posted on their facebook timeline, which was an amusing discussion to read to say the least with people knowing none of the facts stating the hoon got what he deserved good on ya! and then those that did jumping on them..

so that is all sorry for the long windedness of it but i was highly amused, also there was an interviewer with cops and a car importer on 9 news last night so look it up, maybe the facebook page was a bad idea but i beleive it got around 1,800 likes/supports what have you.

discuss? thoughts? opinions? facts i missed? cheers.

[johl]

take note s13 drivers.... yes im talking to you and your stupid fog lights on during the day

[Matt]

If anyone knows the person who received the infringement, please forward me some contact details and I will assist him in referring the matter to the appropriate internal police departments for review.

Perhaps this is an abuse of powers, but from a police perspective all they saw was a facebook group being established that effectively was bullying the police officer in question. Sure facebook gains momentum quickly, but posting up a picture of the officer is a bit harsh.

The police like us are accountable for their actions, and like us if we do the wrong thing at work we will be diciplined. I think the best thing is to gather all of the facts and then make comments on what actually happened. If the cars lighting was modified, then it deserved the defect.

[sprinter666]

fair points matt but while i havnt encountered this man personally i have encountered an officer i know he directly trained and i was treated like a criminal, and yes police like any of us should be held accountable but the plain truth is who is a magistrate going to beleive a 23 year old in a japanese sports car or an respected member of law enforcement, without recording the officer somehow your bound to take a loss there, and taking it further up the chain you just know you will have cops keeping an eye on you waiting for a blunder so they can shaft you again. they have said it themselves numerous time that they look after their own.

[jakel]

In QLD it is a $40 fine for having fog lights/daytime running lights as they are sometimes called, you can only have them on when there is fog.

[Matt]

Ahh , i missed all that, but if the guy had the lights on (driving lights / fog lights) and there was no fog then he should cop the fine on the chin and thank himself lucky he didn't get charged for creating the facebook page.

[rthy]

well, the goodnews is all 50bazillion euro, hsv, foglights and diy copy daytime running lights can now rack off

[jakel]

This is in QLD though I don't know what the law is in VIC or other states.

[sprinter666]

guys daytime running lights are legal and will soon be brought in as a legal requirement for all new vehicles as they are standard on almost all new cars now, they CANNOT be switched off by the driver, as i stated these lights are ADR approved and TAC lists them as a safety feature as does the cars manual. they were not fog lights.

[sprinter666]

also he didnt create the facebok page one of his mates prob did but he himself did not

[mcBen]

Yeah daytime running lights are now in a lot of new cars, all the new falcons have them.. I'd be raging if I was defected for a stock standard safety feature

[Matt]

Ah fair enough i take what i wrote back then....



DRLs are lights fitted to the front of a vehicle that increase its conspicuity (visibility to other road users) during the daytime. They should not be confused with driving or fog lamps, which although similar in appearance are not designed for use in clear daylight conditions and are more likely to cause glare or annoyance to other motorists.
There are now a number of vehicles, particularly from European manufacturers such as Audi, Volkswagen and BMW that are on sale with DRL's fitted as standard.


Taken directly from the racv website...

http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Primary/my+car/car+safety/safety+equipment/lighting/daytime+lights

I now change my stance and believe the police officer in question needs some training on the difference between fog lights and day time lights.

Can these lights be switched off???

[mcBen]

In my friends new falcon, no, not sure about others

[sundee]

The sun causes more glare and annoyance, fog lights in the day do nothing at all!
Revenue raising , that's all it is.
Nearly all new mid market to high end market cars have these lights. Same crap as fog lights.
Who cares. Victorians just register your car in nsw and tell the copa to F off

[Matt]

http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/1/7/5/409743.jpg

The lights have drls actually printed on the lense... Its reasonably hard to read from this pic, but given the 2 minutes i spent reading the racv site and it is clearly a mistake made by officer Pettite in assuming these are driving / fog lights

[mcBen]

I think the problem was how the owner handled it. No need to let a facebook page be created singling out and putting down the police, blowing the whole situation up. What is the owner and the import community going to gain from this? Just more disrespect from the public and the police for the so called 'crusading hoons'.

The owner should have kept it quiet, and filed an inquiry stating the clear facts. It would have been dealt with.

A bit of respect on both sides would go a long way.

[Matt]

^^^ Agreed

Does anyone know who the guy is that got the ticket?

[sprinter666]

if vicpol didnt remove the post they put about this on their facebook page real fkn quick i could have told u he posted on there stating he didnt make the page etc and that it was just an infringement, if anyone hasnt yet check out the interview with the kid on 9 news they are the only lot who didnt lash out n actually got both sides opinions atleast one news show or someone apart of it doesnt rkn were all knuckledraggers, fk neil mitchell and that silly cop annoy me :(

[Matt]

You can read the background to the incident http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/policeman-targeted-by-facebook-hate-page-20121211-2b74y.html

And the interview with the driver can be heard http://media.smh.com.au/news/national-news/i-was-wrongly-fined-3881726.html

[sprinter666]

maaaad cheers matt. checkin out now.

[sprinter666]

i may be the only on here just curious, i dont think i would ever make a complaint or challenge a cop for fear of retribution.. i have heard many stories of in particular this guy staking out peoples homes to get them... and his cop mates to... rather pay 140 bucks or so once not every day.

[rthy]

http://www.halfords.com/wcsstore/Halfords/images/specialoffers/10-carlights-cspot2.jpg

[shift_rook]

The way the media handled this was exactly how i expected it. The page clearly stated that it wasn't for posting personal attacks but rather sharing your stories as a lot of people had been treated fairly harshly by this particular policeman and wanted it to be further investigated, the problem was it ended up with a couple of bad eggs to the medias delight posting offensive comments.. It's a lot more than just one case of a kid being fined. I've learnt to just avoid the area myself in which he patrols.

[AJPS]

i dont like facebook or defamation but this cop sounds like he truly earned it

traffic police are a complete joke these days and deserve almost all the criticism they receive

they dont actually realise the negative impact the majority of their work (fining otherwise law abiding citizens huge amounts of money for generally trivial offenses) does to the community

[ae8zn6]

I've learnt to just avoid the area myself in which he patrols.

Hahaha, I apply this concept to the whole state where possible!

[Matt]

The way the media handled this was exactly how i expected it. The page clearly stated that it wasn't for posting personal attacks but rather sharing your stories as a lot of people had been treated fairly harshly by this particular policeman and wanted it to be further investigated, the problem was it ended up with a couple of bad eggs to the medias delight posting offensive comments.. It's a lot more than just one case of a kid being fined. I've learnt to just avoid the area myself in which he patrols.

Its hard for me to comment too much as I didn't get to see the facebook page... though if people are genuinely treated badly, they should come forward and lodge complaints with the Vic police force.

[FoldKing86]

So DRL's are illegal but headlights arent, hmmmm i smell a money raising scam.

[Jacobxxx]

i may be the only on here just curious, i dont think i would ever make a complaint or challenge a cop for fear of retribution.. i have heard many stories of in particular this guy staking out peoples homes to get them... and his cop mates to... rather pay 140 bucks or so once not every day.
Terrible logic.

[dove grey 64]

Terrible logic.
agreed i would challenge anything i thought was bullshit.
im wondering if that cop was the knob who defected two of my friends with ae86's for having 4ages...
my brother in law is a policeman and he tells me the same shit, if you dont agree take it to court. he said you'd be amazed at how many times the public win.

[Matt]

The biggest issue i have with going to court is the time i've got to take off work and how the police just shrug and go oh well... I think everytime a fine is issued that is beaten in court the issuing officer should receive dermit points. If he accumulates too many demerit points in a year he gets sacked.

About 10 years ago i was in the car with a mate, who got a fine for neg driving by accelerating too fast off the lights... When he said it was stupid, the cop told him to fill out the bit on the back. My mate whinged about the time off work, and the cop laughed and said "well i still get paid wether i'm at work or in court..."

My mate then called him a ####, and the cop added on a littering fine as well...

[sundee]

Sounds like the copa has a small Dick, just like his pussy last name

[lolwat]

so people know also(kinda related) HIDS are now legal in NSW if adjusted correctly, as they are standard in most new cars
i might scan and upload the whole RTA book if i get bored

[sundee]

Don't see why not, my stagea has them factory and they are not in a projector lense either.

[jakel]

HID's are a bit of a grey area they require the appropriate lense to carry them otherwise sometimes the light bounces up the road with bumps on some cars, like when you see a silvia going up the road towards you and the light kind of beams up a bit over bumps, a bit hard to explain though.

[Kevspec]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZqpVeD_ePXg

[McLEVIN]

For starters the gt doesn't have driving lights those are foggies. So if it's illegal to have foggies on then he should've got a infringement notice. Only the the gts has driving lights which are the LEDs in the headlights

[sprinter666]

wrong good sir, the gt86 does have driving lights, their in the same area as foggies and noted as such by manufacturer.

[pizzaeater]

The GT86 does have the same lights as the GTS version.

[peter_soj]

So retarded. Never had any trouble with this officer but I've heard he's around knox?

It's unfortunate; obviously the only reason this made the news was because of the abusive etc comments on the facebook page, and the media used that to turn it around.

It's also funny; the media say the fine seems as though it was wrongly issued, yet they show how supportive vicpol are of the particular officer

[greeneyes]

The police like us are accountable for their actions

lol-- you wish... The tightest closed-shop union organisation you will ever encounter! As far as they are concerned they are never wrong.

Anyway, Volvos and similar have had daytime driving lights for years, I don't know what Aussie did about them, maybe changed the wiring to turn them off as they imported them.. But it reinforces my ideas that there is something fundamentally wrong with a Govt that deliberately makes life unsafe for its subjects.

If motorbikes realised 30years ago that having headlights on in the day was safer, why is the RTA so retarded??

If trees kill drivers who hit them why are there trees within 10M of a road verge in the counbtry?

If potholes and deformed roads throw your car off line and into oncoming traffic why do they let the roads get to 3rd world standards?

[sprinter666]

costs to much to solve these problems. dont you know the only way to stop people dying on the road is fines, defects, alot of speed cameras and police crackdowns.

updating laws and safety standard? pfft to much effort!

that said the TAC and even racv have recognised these as a legit safety feature, only because holden or ford did it i suspect, after the audi r8 came out with the angel eyes driving lights everybody did them.

[jakel]

Yeah the news is like a crossdresser, they have no idea which way they're going...

[Vance]

Can these lights be switched off???

yes they can be switched off. they only come on if you leave the headlight switch on auto or higher (parkers, headlights).




http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/1/7/5/409743.jpg

The lights have drls actually printed on the lense... Its reasonably hard to read from this pic, but given the 2 minutes i spent reading the racv site and it is clearly a mistake made by officer Pettite in assuming these are driving / fog lights

just because they have drls on the lens does not mean they are the drl lights. they are the fog lights and ONLY come on if you hit the fog light switch.

[sundee]

Can someone please explain to me what hazard these "driving" or "fog" lights cause?
Considering they are about a 1/2 foot off the Tarmac, pointing towards the ground.

This all just sounds like political bullshit to me.
I don't want some scientific lab result answer, because we all know that's just not how it really happens in the real world.

[Nikkojoe]

Was wondering when something like this was going to happen to an 86 GT owner :)

But yeah there seems to be confusion with a few people on here about the GT having DRL's. Sprinter666 is correct, they have DRL's.



So to clear this up:

GT: Fog lights are NOT fitted, DRL's are fitted (in fog light spot)
GTS: Fog lights ARE fitted, DRL's are fitted in the headlights

This info was discovered early at release of the AUS spec 86. In America, the FRS has the DRL's in the high beams and runs a resistor pack to dim the high beam during the day (since they do not have a spot for fog lights on them).

[Matt]

Some muppet decided fog lights were dangerous, in the late 90's a heap of cars had them mounted in the grills. And it is hard to differentiate between factory and after market so the use was banned.

So the lights come on with your headlights. I'm sure the fine will be reversed and I wonder if the media will cover it or the police actually defend the case

[ae8zn6]

I still reckon this was more likely caused by the attitude of the driver rather than the actual lights... but easy solution either way. Buy a GTS :P

[Matt]

I think you are onto something robbo... But at the same time, I think the cop has a bit of a reputation for being an arsehole. Maybe one of those who gets off on slapping defects on young kids cars.

[sprinter666]

^ this, vic cops are notorious for this the amount of times theyve appeared to get off on it is astounding. i was on a cruise n threatened with a defect if i didnt tell them where my 'mates' were going, i didnt know anyone i was just following along i said that n got a smile out of him n expected a defect before he said your lucky we know where their off to go home. clearly wanting to add more to his quota.

[sundee]

Wow vic cops sound like true cock smokers! Glad I don't live there

[Matt]

To be fair cops deal with allot of the scum in our society and the assume everyone is like that. My old man hit the nail on the head a few years back, call them ####s and they'll act like one.

when he was younger a cop would stop and change your flat tyre, say hello to you walking down the street and be part of the community. Now they act like they are above it

[jakel]

Glad I wasn't around in the 70's when cops in QLD where dodgy, but doubt they would have hassled modified car owners. Mate from work used to have an old LJ Torana back in the early 90's when first got his license and when he went out in it they would see how long till he got pulled up, apparently the most times in one trip was 7, from Keppera on northside of Brisbane out to Willobank to the Drags, but that was mainly because of other things that had happened, they weren't really worried about the car.

Just get a 01/69 or older car that is pre ADR.

[sprinter666]

lol drifting a 66 stang or charger chuurrr.

also matt your dead on back when i was a kid had a great family friend cop came round in the patrol car played the lights n stuff i still have a cop hat he gave me minus the badge on it clearly, but these days your guilty until proven innocent i find, have met afew nice ones mind just because all my experiences or most of ae bad doesnt mean every cop is.

another example of how no life some cops are and a reason i dont use facebook n got over it. Troll party at a random blokes house posted on face book, me and every man and his dog especially the ones i knew laughed n trolled it hard, things like booze, steel caps, fun combo and other shadey remarks with no ntention f going.

2 odd days later had 2 DETECTIVES on my door step wake me the fuck up after night shift and read my comments back to me off pages printed out off face book, i was not impressed... so my local detectives are crcking down on facebook pranks not fkn murder, major crime etc.... still pisses me off till this day. at best this was a trainee's or constables job to ask this and ontop of this they said if anything happens i could be charged with inciting a riot, i almost laughed out loud at that.

[mcBen]

I just don't like that lots if not most of the cars that get defected are for parts that actually improve their performance.

[AJPS]

I still reckon this was more likely caused by the attitude of the OFFICER rather than the actual lights... but easy solution either way. Buy a GTS :P

Fixed for you

[Kevspec]

I just don't like that lots if not most of the cars that get defected are for parts that actually improve their performance.

The argument cops pull out is "the parts on the car were specifically designed for that car by engineers and went thru vigorous testing before being released on the market and you're just throwing Chinese shit in there cause it makes it adjustable"

The cop has no idea wether or not what you've put on the car is safe/er or even installed correctly. Thus the whole engineering/mod plate schemes..

To a certain point I can understand it, reputable car manufacturers have more on the line than an aftermarket parts company..


Dad used to drive trucks and he had RTA inspectors pull him over and go over the truck every now and then. They'd always point something out but be completely wrong. Dad would ask then if they were a qualified mechanic, they'd say no so he'd tell them essentially to get fucked.

If someone is gonna tell me that my car is unsafe, they'd wanna have knowledge/experience to back it up

[Kevspec]

Double post

[Frak]

If someone is gonna tell me that my car is unsafe, they'd wanna have knowledge/experience to back it up

That's the problem Kevin, they don't need the knowledge to defect a car just a suspicion even if they are completely and utterly wrong.

[LittleRedSpirit]

Once my court case is over on monday Ill youtube the video of how the cop acted with me on the side of the highway. Youll be shocked. It happens every day, and it only stops when you fight it and humiliate a Police officer in court. If I win on Monday Ill go after the badge of said Police officer. I let a dirty one off before and that wont happen again.

[AJPS]

Once my court case is over on monday Ill youtube the video of how the cop acted with me on the side of the highway. Youll be shocked. It happens every day, and it only stops when you fight it and humiliate a Police officer in court. If I win on Monday Ill go after the badge of said Police officer. I let a dirty one off before and that wont happen again.

good on you

people just bend over and take it, looking forward to this

i am writing a paper on it

[sprinter666]

linky link please keen to see this video.

[Matt]

Kinda related but off topic a club organised a meet on the weekend and one of the guys showed up and did a huge skid when leaving, the club named / shamed the driver and notified the police.

Was this the right thing to do? I am on the fence, though contacting the police was going too far..

[FoldKing86]

Kinda related but off topic a club organised a meet on the weekend and one of the guys showed up and did a huge skid when leaving, the club named / shamed the driver and notified the police.

Was this the right thing to do? I am on the fence, though contacting the police was going too far..


For a first time offense (assuming it was) & depending on where is was Matt i would let it ride, but 1 bad apple will spoil the bunch if left unattended.

Shaming and naming is totally fine.

There is a time and place for that stuff and it isnt in broad daylight in public viewing.

[Matt]

There is a big difference between drifting a couple of corners in the middle of no where vs going gutter to gutter in a residential street...

[sprinter666]

^ spot on, cops yes a bit to far, naming and shaming on a medium like the forum or if hes at another meet and telling him to keep it in check perfectly ok.

until i read gutter to gutter in residential i thought it was to far, after that... well doing that is just a bit silly to be mild definitely needs reprimanding, cops... well... harsh but that shit cant go unchecked, we've all chirped leaving a meet weather u mean to or not but yeh thats just silly u dont pull that shit thats what gets meets shut down and hastled until you cant have a meet at all unless u organise it like a kgb christmas party.

i do get being on the fence you dont wanna take someones pride and joy off em but when your that unsafe you need to be taught the hard way.

[mcBen]

In a situation like that informing the cops was called for. Better for the car forum to tell them then a member of the public, that way the police know the forum has responsible members that aren't going to tolerate bad behaviour. Then in future the cops will know the meets can be self-regulated, so they won't have to show up making sure people don't do anything stupid..

[AJPS]

Kinda related but off topic a club organised a meet on the weekend and one of the guys showed up and did a huge skid when leaving, the club named / shamed the driver and notified the police.

Was this the right thing to do? I am on the fence, though contacting the police was going too far..

what a fucking joke

skids endanger no one (unless driver is retarded) you are usually going under 10kp/h and your foot is generally on the brake

EDIT: was it gutter to gutter in a residential street? surely the club could of spoken to him first?

[Matt]

If it was one of our meets than I would have given the pull your head in speach and save it for the right time / place. Pending the response ie my bad that would be the end of it.

And yep what I've heard it was at speed lock to lock in a residential street

[sprinter666]

yeh residential sped and gutter to gutter... moron... at a bare minimum warrants the speech, of all the people ive met on here safe to say im certain no1 here is that .... insert your definition here...

still anything like that in a residential zone utterly unacceptable. still... vids? lol

[pizzaeater]

I saw the interview on ACA and thought the guy on there was a smug prick who deserved everything he got...

[ae8zn6]

I didn't see the interview as I refuse to watch either Aca or TT but if that's what you came away thinking, then that is probably exactly what Tracy Grimshaw and co wanted you to come away thinking.

Please keep in mind that those programs are NOT NEWS BROADCASTS, but are 'editorial presentations' where the opinion of the producer comes through.

These are the same people that told us that Adelaide street drifting was the primary cause of road deaths and showed a video from Japan as 'proof'

[mcBen]

Yeah ACA would never portray someone from the young male/import/hoon as innocent, overly safe and law abiding

[Master__09]

BS like this makes me want to sell the hachi and buy a Camry.

Then again, they'd pull me over for having headlights. Unsafe vehicle, major defect.

[killabeez_1985]

This whole thread should have a pink background because your all sooks.