DEFECTIVE REASONING
THERE’S nothing quite like heading into the bush for a wellearned camping holiday in your 4WD, right? Well, not so much if you were these blokes, who found themselves and their off-road machines in the firing line of a Victoria Police blitz over the Easter long weekend, with multiple vehicles issued with defect notices while on specific off-road trails. Well-known fabricator Lachy Poole’s 79-Series Land Cruiser, POOOLY, was defected for a suspension lift that already had approved Vicroads engineering certification. We shared the story on our Facebook page; here’s what you had to say about the blitz.
John Bajada – I’m sure they could be out catching real criminals. They would have a field day at the local Coles car park if they want to put canaries on cars.
Darren Wellington – Soft-target revenue – nothing to do with reducing the road toll.
Hugh Cameron – I’d love to know what mechanical courses these officers do to make them qualified to make such calls.
Richard Bosward – Saving the world one defect notice at a time.
Damian Keleher – They are on trails, what’s the harm? Book them when they are on the highway.
Grunta Stevens – Modified vehicles rarely feature in accident numbers or as the cause of fatalities, and yet our police forces have entire departments geared to ‘combat’ the modified scene. It creates resentment when the vehicles we love get targeted, and the net result is an Us vs Them culture. We all need to find better ways to get the powers that be to focus where the real safety issues are.
Thomas J Wilson – I didn’t mind the fact they were out there doing breathos and drug tests. But defecting vehicles like that out there is just nuts, and then to brag about it! Talk about trying to get the public back on side backfiring!
Daniel Cantrill – If a cop doesn’t take an engineering cert into account then he is not doing his job correctly.
Trent Campbell – What a waste of police resources. Exactly what these vehicles are built for, and to issue defect notices for fully engineered mods because the officer thinks they’re “too crazy” is just a joke. I look forward to the judge’s comments when this goes to court.
Kieran Whale – They don’t make money trying to catch crackheads stealing family cars.
Rus Taylor – There’s more legitimate defects in the local supermarket car park on any given day. While Aunty Joan’s Camry with three bald tyres is perfectly safe, a lifted 79-Series could kill a busload of children without warning as far as the authorities are concerned.
Matthew Ursell – People getting high on lift kits is at epidemic proportions, and it must be stopped!
Peter Mcdonough – So I have my Patrol passed and plated by an engineering company certified by Vicroads, and some wet-nosed kid copper can deem it illegal? What’s the point of paying a load of cash to get a vehicle engineered then?