Crazy laws.

[red750]

Did you know that you can be fined up to $484 for using your phone to tap and go at a drivethru restaurant - unless you turn off your engine and put on the handbrake? It is still considered using a phone while driving. So it's more dangerous than leaning out to swipe your eftpos card, or reach out with two hands to collect your meal. ? ? ?

 

 

[Yenn]

You can be charged for your passenger using a phone. They say it is distracting you.

 

 

[old man emu]

Technically you are correct, as the drive-through and carpark of one of these places is a road as defined in the Australian Road Rules. So is a shopping centre carpark.

 

Australian Road Rule 12 What is a road?

 

(1) A road is an area that is open to or used by the public and is developed for, or has as one of its main uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles.

Any officious constable who would book someone for doing a tap'n'go opens the door to being sued for Malicious Prosecution.

 

Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort. Its elements include:

 

(1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting and pursuing (or causing to be instituted or pursued) a legal action (civil or criminal) that is

 

(2) brought without probable cause and

 

(3) dismissed in favour of the victim of the malicious prosecution.

 

 

[facthunter]

If you can be charged for the "Passenger distracting you", surely the defense of that is.. I didn;t notice he was doing it your honour. I was concentrating on managing the car. Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

There's a woman Banned for wearing a bikini, (by magistrate)

 

BUT

 

Not for going topless in her OWN garden.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Marty_d]

There's a woman Banned for wearing a bikini, (by magistrate)BUT

 

Not for going topless in her OWN garden.

 

spacesailor

Where does she live?

 

 

[spacesailor]

Next to a child's kindergarten. were children could see her.

 

Who (kindy staff) took her to court for walking in her own garden,

 

Court Ruled" Not to wear a bikini.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[red750]

Does that mean the missus bending my ear in the car can be called a distraction? What about checking the speedo? What about the GPS?

 

 

[spacesailor]

WHAT ABOUT THE

 

100s OF THOUSANDS of road-side signs, distracting All motorist.

 

Three speed changes per ten Kilometres. In urban area's.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[red750]

Read a report about a woman in the UK who pulled into a service station near the airport to get some petrol. While she was paying, her daughter, who had arrived by plane, put some luggage in the back of the hatchback. She was fined for parking in an area not designated for parking, even though she had just filled up with petrol.

 

 

[spacesailor]

Any excuse to milk the motorist will do !.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Bruce]

We are all guilty of not holding our MP's responsible for these outrages. A majority of MP's in parliament can change things, but they need to be pushed. Alas, most of us are too sheeplike.

 

 

[willedoo]

WHAT ABOUT THE 100s OF THOUSANDS of road-side signs, distracting All motorist.

 

Three speed changes per ten Kilometres. In urban area's.

 

spacesailor

On the highway between Brisbane and where I live, we have these huge digital signs that the Transport Department use to deliver to motorists Orwellian slogans like "Police are watching you". They flash on and off at intervals and are so high up, you have to take your eyes quite a way off the road to read them. Very distracting. The best one I ever saw (while taking my eyes off the road and looking over and up to read it) was "Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers".

 

Question is: is mental retardation a prerequisite to certain government jobs?

 

 

[facthunter]

It often resembles a "sheltered workshop" (with apologies to genuine sheltered workshops). If you were serious all but essentail signage wold be banned from intruding on your concentration. particularly when missing one advisory sign can cost you your licence, in some circumstances .Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

They don't realy want you to lose that licence.

 

As it's a licence for them to print money !.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

One does not have to be extraordinarily cynical to agree with that. It's a big money earner. Speed limits should be indicated by more than a sign which is often obscured by a tree or such. Something on the edge or centre of the road is done overseas I believe. so you don't have to be unsure as often. Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

I was done for 8 k's over, when in the centre lane (of three) couldent see the speed sign, only the trucks either side.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Bruce]

I had a mate who, while driving in the US, went through a town where the speed sign was obscured behind a tree. He was given the choice of waiting in jail till the next day when he could try his luck with the local judge or paying $500 or so. He found out later that speed fines were that town's major source of income.

 

 

[spacesailor]

Also In the US, they use the "school-bus" to harris motorist & collect fines for passing a Stopped bus, or overtaking over the speed limit to get passed that bus !.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

Be OK till they get BUS ted. Nev

 

 

[Yenn]

It certainly appears that mental retardation is a requirement for working for Qld main roads dept.

 

We have the Bruce hwy. changed from 3 lanes wide to 4 and they are still working on it after 7 months on a less than 1km section. Occasionally there will be someone working on the drainage, about 10m off the road edge. Only 2 lanes open to traffic and 1 each side marked off with top hats. Speed limit 80kph, used to be 100.

 

Where I turn off to get to the airstrip, again 7 months working and nothing happening, a bit of fencing around the inlet to a drainage pit about 3m off the edge of the road, again 80kph. I cannot work out if it is being done to reduce speed and accidents, if so it isn't working, or if the Qld government is so short of cash that they can't pay workers. No that can't be right, they have a slasher cutting the roadside grass and a truck with flashing lights, just behind him. The truck has a driver and a passenger

 

Roadworks are a disaster, the red reflectors on the near side of the road are hidden with big white reflectors about 6m apart. All you see at night is a snake of white reflectors.

 

Alexandra pile o sh** says it is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. A pity they are not producing anything, except maybe speeding fines.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Could be worse the m7 roadworks took 4 years and most nights closed all but one lane and dropped speed to 40.

 

No work going on, but the guy putting up cones then later removing them.

 

Lots of fines

 

 

[facthunter]

They are not reflectors It's the Rainbow serpent.. Nev

 

 

[red750]

Tap and go on your phone isn't the only trap.

 

If you’re using a smartwatch inappropriately, you can lose up to five demerit points in NSW.

 

And in Victoria, you can lose four demerit points and receive a $484 fine for interacting with any units with visual displays that aren’t visual displays.

 

“It’s a proven fact that using a mobile phone while driving can be distracting. Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds or more doubles your crash risk. Research shows that the behaviour of a manual or visual distraction whilst driving causes crashes and near misses,” VicRoads has said.

 

Riddle me this: How can I collect my food if I can’t have any part of my body outside the vehicle?

 

The only time it’s legal for drivers to travel with a part of their body outside of a vehicle is if they’re signalling a turn, and the same goes for passengers.

 

This means that, as with the tap and go rule, drivers need to fully turn off the vehicle before they lean out the window to grab their food.

 

 

[Yenn]

So can you have a GPS moving map in the car while driving?

 

I can honestly say that a phone will not distract me when driving. If I am having a conversation with a passenger and something begns to happen ahead of me, the conversation will cease and after whatever got my attention has been attended to I will have difficulty working out where I was in the conversation. I just concentrate 100%.

 

Another thing is I can drive many km and afterwards stat talking about what I have seen and I see far more than my passengers. Don't say it is because they are scared so much they can't see anything.