mx5cartalk.com

Hi all,
Following this story today in the Courier Mail (Queensland newspaper)

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/quee ... 6793936291

I checked the relevant legislation and, technically if like me, you occasionally leave the roof down on your car when you just duck into the shops or visit a friend etc, you can be fined $44 for failing to secure it!

I didn't know this til today, so just keep it in mind folks.
cheers,
Magnum

Magnum wrote:Hi all,
Following this story today in the Courier Mail (Queensland newspaper)

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/quee ... 6793936291

I checked the relevant legislation and, technically if like me, you occasionally leave the roof down on your car when you just duck into the shops or visit a friend etc, you can be fined $44 for failing to secure it!

I didn't know this til today, so just keep it in mind folks.
cheers,
Magnum

Gone are the days of common sense. Leave top down - potentially suffer the consequences of stolen goods...maybe the officer could just put the top up as a kind jesture instead!

I,m thinking if the windows are all the way up and the doors are locked, your good.
Does the law mention having the top up?

Keeping in mind almost everything in Queensland is becoming Illegal.
Don't take your hands off the wheel when stopped at a light.
And god forbid if you ride a Harley.

doc wrote:I,m thinking if the windows are all the way up and the doors are locked, your good.
Does the law mention having the top up?

The law doesn't specifically mention having the roof up, however it mentions having to have the car 'secure' if you are more than 3 metres away from it. I would suggest that if you have the roof down, regardless of whether the doors are locked and the windows up then they will argue it is not 'secure', in the same way that they fined this bloke for having his windows down more than 5cm.

It is ridiculous though. I agree with a previous comment - that it is your personal responsibility and decision to leave the roof down or not - I just make sure there is nothing worth pinching inside. still lock the doors as that activates the immobiliser too. The QPS' argument that it encourages car thieves is a little weak I think. It is very difficult to steal a modern car without a correctly coded key. It might encourage opportunistic low-lifes to take things from inside your car, but as I said, if you have any sense you don't leave anything valuable in it.

And I'd rather they steal my $10 cap or the ratty old towel I keep behind the passenger seat, than slash my roof & still only get my cap & towel.

Gladiator wrote:And I'd rather they steal my $10 cap or the ratty old towel I keep behind the passenger seat, than slash my roof & still only get my cap & towel.

+1

Already an existing thread:
viewtopic.php?f=53&t=61522&

What if you own a mini moke, that car has no doors or windows to secure?

CQYD wrote:What if you own a mini moke, that car has no doors or windows to secure?

I seem to recall the wording of the law is something about "windows, where fitted, must be up"

And I imagine whatever wording relates to the roof would be the same.

hks_kansei wrote:

CQYD wrote:What if you own a mini moke, that car has no doors or windows to secure?

I seem to recall the wording of the law is something about "windows, where fitted, must be up"

And I imagine whatever wording relates to the roof would be the same.

There is no wording relating to the roof. That's why it's another piece of vague legislation that's open to interpretation. It says the car must be 'secure', without specifying what that means in the case of a car without a roof/doors etc.

Trackphotos wrote:There is no wording relating to the roof. That's why it's another piece of vague legislation that's open to interpretation. It says the car must be 'secure', without specifying what that means in the case of a car without a roof/doors etc.

I would have thought "Secure" would be interpreted as being closed up to prevent external access to the extent that the vehicle allows. (ie: as secure as you can)


A moke with the keys out is as secure as they get.
An MX5 with the roof down is not as secure as it can get.

Makes you wonder?
With people like me who work for a living
I use a ute, where the rear cab/boot is open, with tools and parts for jobs etc...
Still I've not heard of anyone fined for the same offence,With regards to this last time. so you would of guess. That the police have been told not to fine people for this.

My brother is a cop,(well over 10 years) as he states you would have to be a real c#%t to fine someone for this and this sort of crap makes his job so much harder!

Most legislation is aimed at the lowest common denominator.
The intent of the legislation is to encourage people to secure their vehicles to the maximum extent possible.
This avoids the situation where someone leaves stuff in an unsecure vehicle that subsequently gets stolen and results in wasting a lot of people's time.
Smart people don't need laws to encourage them to do the smart thing. Unfortunately a big proportion of the community don't fall into the "smart" category.