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Oh F*#K, here we go.

Now that they are looking at taking licences off "hoons" (What ever they are as it still isn't defined); not only now do we not get a motorsport park, none of us will have a licence.

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How perfect it this letter, it covers all the points perfectly. Mind you he is a jouro so he'd want to be able to write a letter.

Andrew Mara

As a motoring journo and former editor of Fast Fours and Hot4s magazines I am disgusted that governments score so many political points by taking cheap shots at modified car enthusiasts.

For a start road toll has been steadily declining for the last few decades, in proportion to the amount of cars on the road. Secondly, modified car enthusiasts are grossly under represented in the statistics!

The old line of "speed kills" is a misrepresentation of the facts anyway. It's a play on semantics to justify revenue raising through installation of speed cameras. When collating the statistics on road accidents, the term "speed was a contributing factor" is used by accident investigators. The fact is that speed can be marked as a contributing factor, even when a driver at fault is travelling under the speed limit! How?

Say a driver is travelling at 55km/h in a 60 zone, but it's pouring with rain and they run over a pedestrian because they couldn't stop in time. Because they might have been deemed as driving too fast for the conditions, the accident investigators will mark down "speed as a contributing factor" - At no time was that driver actually breaking the speed limit!

Poorly maintained roads is one of the leading causes of fatalities. Pot holes, cracks and any uneven road surface can cause the tyres to lose what is called "contact patch" - the part of the tyre that is connected to the road. When this happens, you have no grip! Braking, cornering, or avoiding another vehicle in an emergency situation are made much harder with loss of contact patch. Braking distances are greatly increased, as is the chance of losing complete control of the car.

Of course, most drivers run out of talent when they crash. Somehow, there is a severe lack of focus on improving driving skills. Why is it so easy to get a license? Because it would cost too much to implement harsher testing regimes. It's much easier to look like you're doing something about the problem by labelling a scapegoat and hammering them every opportunity you get. Modified car owners are that scapegoat.

The power for police to issue defect notices to car owners was originally introduced to rid the streets of "unsafe" cars - cars with excessive rust, bald tyres etc. Over the last decade police have increasingly focussed on using these powers to crack down on "illegal" modifications of modified cars.

Trawl through the statistics on road accidents and it's no doubt that you'll find that bald tyres, under inflated tyres, worn suspension etc are the cause of many deaths... improved (re: modified) suspension, braking systems etc are not!

In the last decade I have seen the modified car scene, and the industries built around it, torn to shreds by knee jerk legislation against "hoons". By the way, have any of the governments provided a definitive description of what a "hoon" is? Without one I have no idea how the "Hoon" laws stand up in court.

According to the AAAA, the automotive aftermarket industry "has an annual turnover of $5 billion, exports of $600 million and employs 30,000 people. In NSW, the AAAA membership is 400 companies employing 8,000 people." So why are the state governments so hell-bent on destroying it?

When it comes to the argument by the ETA that modified cars are heavy polluters and they should all be pulled off the streets, surely this is a joke. Why focus on such a small portion of the cars on the road, while letting business get away with stacking their fleets full of 4WDs, V8 and V6 powered cars? If you want to be serious about car pollution reduction, stop wasting money cracking down on modi!fied cars and legislate that all business fleet cars must meet stringent emissions targets in order to qualify for the tax breaks!

Finally, the act of confiscating a "hoon's" car is disgusting! How is doing a stationary burnout worthy of such a punishment when repeat offence drink drivers are allowed to walk free from court with a fine and suspension of their license, only to jump back in the car that afternoon?

If you actually cause grievous bodily harm by assaulting someone, glassing them in the face, are your possessions seized by police? Are murderers' houses sold off or demolished? Give me a break!

Cheers,

Mara

PS: send complaints to [email protected]

Some Funnies Kristian posted on NS;

http://www.27bslash6.com/5pm.html

http://www.27bslash6.com/guaranteed.html

Edited by D_Stirls
f**k that

i intend on fighting these cockmongers

no retreat, no surrender

-D

I'm sorry to say that you will lose, they don't need to listen to us as we are a minority. If we were a majority they wouldn't be in power.

Besides, there's nothing to fight for now. John Russo said that the consortium will be withdrawing the money of labour won the election as they have wasted to much so far.

So we will never have a motorsport park.

I'm sorry to say that you will lose, they don't need to listen to us as we are a minority. If we were a majority they wouldn't be in power.

Besides, there's nothing to fight for now. John Russo said that the consortium will be withdrawing the money of labour won the election as they have wasted to much so far.

So we will never have a motorsport park.

we lost a battle, that doesnt mean we lost the war

as long as there are people with cars that want to participate in motorsport, there will be a need

nothing in that regard has changed

and the rann govt has to pull their heads in now, cause they got served

its time for the same lobby groups for motorsports to continue doing what they did before, sustaining the pressure and speaking to their local MP's

mine is robyn gerharty, so I'll be giving her a call as a concerned citizen to outline my grievances with the Labor Govt.

Don't give up. The ideal makes sense. Once everyone gets past this spin about car enthusiasts, everything will fall into place.

Same stuff happened to kids who like cars in the 50's and 70's. It seems every 20 or so years it becomes fashionable for the govt to hate on the kids to score votes. I know its like banging ur head against cement, esp when you have an electorate that puts koutsantonis back on the front bench, but thats one of the flaws of democracy.

im not changing my plans, and if any sob wants to accuse me of being a hoon, he'll find his bitch ass in court for slander.

-D

does anyone know what thesaurus means lol

yer my cousins brothers room mates uncles ex wifes illegitimate sons god father says its a type of dinosaur

i think its a book of words tho. call me crazy....

-D

going to start taking EOI on my car for those that know it, not interested in joy riders or anything like that atm... but if you know anyone that might be serious about buying it im thinking somewhere between 32-35k atm, but will need to do some more research on what out there it can be compared to and what they are going for

but if you hear anyone asking, point them my way

sad day for me =(

Lukey... Nooooooo why?!?!!?!?

pritty much down to $$$, if i can work out a way to keep it i will, but atm it looks like i'll have to sell =\ doesnt help that the rebuild stole ALOT of my passion and $$

problem will be figuring out what car to buy next...

I reckon the hoodies are WAY too busy - do you really want crap written ALL OVER your hoodie like that? Sorry, but it looks a lot like the ricer stickers down the door of a "Mugen" Honda lol

And with those cars down the front, what does it look like when it is unzipped - not great I would suggest.

And I am willing to bet the graphics are screen printed/bake-ons, so wouldn't last terribly long - the roughly half that amount of graphics we are having on the SAU:SA club shirts costs $45 per shirt JUST for the embroidery believe it or not - but it will still be there long after the NS jumpers are dead and buried.

But hey, I am sure Kellie is open to suggestions for the general SAU hoodies if you guys are willing to fork out $100+ - looks like the billion or so sponsors will be footing most of the cost of the NS hoodies, so good luck to them.

gas sublimation is all the rage at the moment Andrew (same as our show and shine t shirts) i dare say thats the technique they will use for them. I mean they look alright, but its not like they have club events they can wear them at :P

Also, note what brand they are...

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