The boy and I have a car each. But for a couple of months we had to make do with just the one, because the boy's car had something wrong with it. And two months passed before he could get it fixed because the spare parts weren't available. I think they had to be freighted in all the way from Japan. By canoe, I reckon.
So, two months came and went and finally, the spare parts arrived and the boy could get his car fixed. In that time, the car's warrant of fitness expired. The day before the boy drove the car to the mechanics' garage to get it fixed and warrant-able, he got a fine for having a car without a current warrant of fitness.
Ah, you say - but he hadn't been driving it. And he couldn't get the WOF because he was awaiting the sparts, etc. I said that too. So the boy rang the police (for they are the dudes who collect such fines). And it turns out that, if your car doesn't have a current WOF you'll get fined for it, whether you're driving it or not. The only way to avoid paying the 200 smackeroos is to hide it off the road, like in a private garage.
Well, that's all well and good if you have a garage (we do, but that's beside the point). But what if you're one of the huge proportion of households in or around the inner city who don't bloody have one?
It seems pretty bloody unfair if you ask me.
11 comments:
We used to have those.
You'd have to pass an emissions test before registering your car for another year.
However if your car was ten years old or older you didn't have to take the test.
So the dirtiest cars on the road weren't being regulated at all.
Now we've done away with emissions testing so we have pollution equality.
We are also currently waiting for a part to be canoed from Japan, due here on the 9th December. They have given the husband a service car to drive though so we're not as put out as you guys have been but it's still annoying.
As for the fine, seriously write in to them. I had something very similar happen to me about driving to get my WOF when they stopped me and I got the ticket and the cop said I should just write in to the place where tickets come from with photocopies of the WOF bill, highlighting the date and also the date of the ticket. I think I also threw a sob story in there about getting pinged $800 for an unexpected plumber bill and I was already struggling to pay that.
Anyway, the short version is that I got off the fine. They wrote or rang me to let me know (was a while back now) and it is worth trying because your situation is definitely unfair.
You don't have to put it in a garage, you can put it up on bricks in your front yard. As long as it's off the road.
If it's off the road long enough you can pay a reduced reggo as well
How frustrating.
Hope you get the ticket thrown out
That's certainly not fair at all!
"shaphit" was the word verification.
TELL me about it! My car was written off earlier this year, but while it was parked outside our garageless house waiting till the insurance assessors confirmed it was written off, I got the $200 fine for the WOF I didn't get because a) I knew I wouldn't get it without panelbeating and b) I wasn't going to get the panelbeating if the car was going to be written off. I gave my best "this makes no sense" story to the fine people who were completely unmoved. My word verification is warrys. Must mean wallys.
HI agrees with Leo - write in and tell them the circs. As you say you wouldn't have been able to get the WOF while you were waiting for parts, so it's a bit of a Catch-22 situation. If poss get the garage to give you a copy of the order they made and the date the parts arrived. Send that in with a copy of the repair bill (dated) and the ticket. You should get off the fine (we think).
I'm pretty sure there is some kind of leniency period - if you go and get a warrant within 'x' days of it expiring you can send in your receipt with the ticket and have the fine waived.
nigel: that makes no sense at all!
leo: if the boy hadn't already paid the bill, I would have done this. But it's probably too late now :-(
cathi: if only I had known earlier, I would simply have put his car into our garage and have the WOF-current other car parked on the road. If only.
angela: fat chance - see reply to Leo.
PBS: a better coined word would be shithit ;-)
the editter: ah, "warrys". That's "wallys" in Chinese.
donnasoowho: see Leo above. Also, aparently the WOF was about 4 weeks overdue...
If you managed that long without 2 cars, why not just get rid of one and save yourselves lots of money.
kazzer: it's worse than that - the boy wants to get rid of one and get a sports car...
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