have you registered a cobra in NSW?

[Treeve]

G'day all,

I'd like to give details on the 'moving goal posts', so that it is clear that this is a two way street.

First up: The RTA side of things.

with regards to Steering columns, the NCOP requires ADR 10/01, which is no problem. The latest ADR is 10/02, which is a problem. However, the RTA have begun to request 10/02 compliance, even though they have not ratified the NCOPv2 as the working document. This leaves people in a position where it is not possible to comply to the actual rules, as the RTA are relying on rules which are not in legislation yet. Unfair, but at the end of the day, if you work to the ADR's you should be right (you would think).

Well, that brings me along to my favourite topic: Seat belts, and multi point harnesses. The NCOP (and NCOPv2) both say no to road legal harnesses. However, ADR 4/04 and ADR 5/05 make specific allowances for harness type installations, and I have emails from the Department of Infrastructure detailing their interpretation of the ADR's and hence that harnesses are legal. What happens if you apply the most recent ADR in these cases? well, I'm afraid no harnesses - the RTA will chop and change between the NCOP, the NCOPv2, and the ADR's as they see fit, to flummox you and waste your time and resources.

That is the side from the RTA however, it isn't all one way - we've all heard the stories of people suing the RTA for allowing them to register their car (I think such as story was in this thread about the unlucky bloke whose wife lost their unborn child). I've also heard about seatbelt mountings through fibreglass panels (which sounds ridiculous, but I'm assured it's true).

Another side to look at it from is not from an ICV viewpoint, but from a modifiers viewpoint. Having owned some silly cars in the UK (V8 hilux with 5" spring lift, 2" body lift on 36" tyres), I know that you can legally modify all kinds of stuff. I also know you can illegally modify all kinds of things too - e.g. you can bolt on massive turbos - who gets their car re-engineered after this? you can fit 'fully sik' noisy exhausts - where was the engineering on the noise levels? (oh wait, that's not something you need engineering for - but you need it to be engineered to register the car... thus making it legal to have a registration set of quiet rear exit pipes, and a set of side pipes at home for you to install after engineering is complete without breaking the RTA's rules - but I didn't tell you that). what about fitting 22" rims to your hilux? well, the vehicle needs to be de-rated so you can run car tyres on it - it should be registered on Light Truck tyres only as it has a tray. Do you honestly believe they've all done that?

Part of the issue is the RTA not using repeated standards, however a larger part of the issue is the general public not having the awareness of their legal requirements. The RTA are trying to improve the situation from their end, it is just hard to see an end game that suits both them and us (and the engineers).

As a small note, the NCOPv2 was supposed to be in place from 1/Jan/11; the RTA were significantly involved in the compilation of the new NCOP. less than 3 months after this date, they have already emailed the engineers asking for NSW specific modifications to the National Code Of Practise. What are they wasting my taxpayer money on now?

Cheers,

Treeve