Former CAR editor Cedric Wright on the latest happenings on the roads Down Under.
MAGAZINE “SPEED STUNT”
With Australia’s restrictive speed limits a hot topic at present, a British journalist sponsored by a local motoring magazine, Wheels, drove the 800 km from Melbourne to Sydney at 130 km/h—at least 20 km/h above the highway limits, and then boasted, in print: “..We didn’t die, and didn’t get booked.” Defending the stunt, the editor stated: “We’ve been told for years that drowsy drivers die—but increasing the speed limit would reduce fatigue.” He claimed that, although the driver slowed occasionally for speed camera’s, the stunt cut 70 minutes from the normal journey time.
Although the magazine’s published article amounted to a confession, police stated that they would not be prosecuting the driver—but added: “…If he had been caught…he would have been placed under arrest and put before a magistrate.”
MOTORISED BAR STOOL!
There have been some silly vehicles on the road, but a slightly-pickled New Zealand motorist took the cake when he crashed on the way home from a pub, driving a motorised bar stool. The 62-year-old had left an Auckland pub on his makeshift vehicle—a go-kart with a bar stool mounted on it—when the accident happened. He wasn’t wearing a helmet when he took a tumble on the roadway, sustaining serious head injuries.
Police said the vehicle “wasn’t road-legal”, and had been confiscated. And the driver faces some tough questions when he recovers…
THERE GOES HONESTY!
Until a decade or so ago, Australians were able to pride themselves on their honesty. Unstaffed farm stalls with “honesty boxes” were commonplace, and there were even sports clubs and sales points which relied on people to pay up without supervision. This extended to petrol filling stations, where you filled your car’s tank, then went into the office to pay. But how this has changed…!
Many farm stalls have been withdrawn, and in the past few years, petrol station “drive-offs” have become so commonplace that special police squads have been assigned to pursue offenders, using footage from security camera’s. Exasperated police authorities have suggested that petrol stations should introduce pre-payment facilities to counter these thefts. But a major motoring club has pointed out that most of the offences involved criminals in stolen cars, or with stolen number plates, so police “should be left to do their job!”
HOLDEN FAVOURED?
With Australia’s indigenous motor industry under pressure of falling sales and tightening subsidies, there have been signs of jealousy between the three remaining manufacturers–Holden, Ford and Toyota. A recent “Buy Australian” campaign by the outgoing Labor Government caused concern to Ford and Toyota, who felt that it could be interpreted by the market as “Buy Holden”. This was spurred by falls in official purchases of Ford and Toyota vehicles, while Holden Commodore sales surged by 15 percent during that particular month.
Traditionally, local manufacturers are heavily dependent on government and fleet purchases. In the case of Toyota, up to 70 percent of local Camry sales are to government departments. And when comparisons are made, it has been pointed out that Toyota is far-and-away the biggest automotive manufacturer, employer and exporter of the three, and that both Ford and Toyota use more local content in their cars than Holden does.
COPS ARE ROBBED
Following recommendations by a public inquiry, the Queensland Government is planning to privatise road speed trapping, taking it out of the hands of law-enforcement officers and handing it to commercial operators. Police are up in arms, claiming that this would “compromise the system’s integrity”. The move would deprive 600 trained officers of a lucrative overtime bonanza, which earns them an estimated $10 million (close on R100 million) annually, or an average of $15,000 (R147, 000) each.
But the cops do have a case in claiming that commercial operators would be “looking for the best return from their investment”, and would tend to concentrate on high-traffic areas. There would also be some uncertainty about who would conduct prosecutions against offenders.
But Queensland is the only state in which police still operate speed camera vehicles, so the writing is on the wall…
GIRLS ARE “BEST TRUCKIES”
One of Australia’s biggest heavy transport operators—Transpacific Industries—has started a campaign to recruit more female drivers for its 7,000-strong workforce, claiming that girls often make better drivers than men. The company operates fleets of refuse-removal trucks in both Australia and New Zealand, and currently has women drivers in a one-to-five ratio. But the CEO, Kevin Campbell, points out that women drivers are more productive, get better fuel consumption, and produce less wear-and-tear on the vehicles.
“TWEENIE” CAR THIEF
A 12-year-old boy has astonished police at Townsville, in Queensland, by stealing a big car and going on a crime spree lasting two days and covering 340 km.
The boy boldly went into a private residence, took the keys of a Holden Commodore off the kitchen bench, and drove off in the car, which was parked outside. He picked up three companions, and after stealing a tankful of petrol at a filling station, he drove onto the highway and started a string of burglaries—often one every 10 minutes, according to police. Their run of crime was halted when the 12-year-old was apprehended by a resident when he broke into a block of flats, two days and 340 km later, and was handed over to the police. His three mates escaped.
The young criminal has appeared before a magistrate facing charges of car theft, unlicensed driving and multiple burglaries.
FORMULA FORD AXED
With Ford car manufacture in Australia due to end in 2016, the marque has suffered a further blow with the decision to end the national Formula Ford Championship for 2014. Formula Ford has been the breeding ground for generations of Australia’s racing drivers, producing more than 90 percent of current V8 SuperCar drivers, as well as international stars such as Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo, Marcos Ambrose and Will Power.
The decision to end the championship is blamed on skyrocketing costs and lack of corporate backing, but the Formula Ford Association has announced that it will continue with a modified, lower-cost national series. And Australia’s motor sport authorities are planning to introduce Formula 4 as a replacement—an international formula with wings, slick tyres and carbon-fibre chassis.
Good news for Ford fans, however, is that Ford probably will remain in the V8 SuperCars series next year, with the US headquarters reportedly agreeing to maintaining its long-standing presence for another 12 months.
