Supersparkies new toy.

[pet-els]

Dave, Terri can tie you in knots, can't she?

Knots should not be required now as you are not allowed to use rope to tie loads, only straps [NSW].

PeterH

[SteveW]

Medium Rigid

[Boblebago]

Dave, Terri can tie you in knots, can't she?

Knots should not be required now as you are not allowed to use rope to tie loads, only straps [NSW].

PeterH

Peter I have never had a rope come loose but have lost a ratchet strap and seen plenty laying on the road.
Regards Geoff

[supersparky]

Medium Rigid

Yep, That's what the driving school mob reckon. I don't think the load restraint is part of the test anymore, at least up here. She will have to reverse around a corner and stay parallel to the gutter though. And if she touches the gutter/ kerb whilst negotiating a roundabout it is an instant fail apparently.

[Dot]

For the reverse bit around the corner it is only using the mirrors and 1ft from the kerb all the way around.. I went for 10 lessons in the guys truck, he was a real tough guy but fair, he gave me a few tips for doing the reverse corner thing i.e showed me a marker on the truck and that was when to start turning the wheel. Then he had the hide to take me through Hahndorf's main street, down the big hill and then back through the winding back roads of the hills to Mt Barker. Glad I did it that way rather than just the written one day thingy.

[T1 Terry]

Medium Rigid

Yep, That's what the driving school mob reckon. I don't think the load restraint is part of the test anymore, at least up here. She will have to reverse around a corner and stay parallel to the gutter though. And if she touches the gutter/ kerb whilst negotiating a roundabout it is an instant fail apparently.

Down here when going with the RTA/RMA it is a point system, you start out with 100% and loose points for each thing you stuff up and different things have different point values. From memory the required pass was 90%, any road rules broken was an instant 20 points so an instant fail, this includes a tyre crossing onto an unbroken white line, 3 moves allowed for a reverse park and 3 points loss for each additional move required. Touching the gutter meant start again, so at least 6 points lost, miss a gear but recover 10 points, select the wrong lane when moving from a single lane intersection to a multi lane road 3 points, roll back at all on a hill start 10 points, the point values might not be correct but you get the idea.

[SteveW]

It's different going for an upgrade in the heavy vehicle licence types - at least in some States. While ultimately you do have to do everything correctly, the process is one of teaching you until you can do everything correctly - rather than a simple "pass or fail" test. Who ever thought of that as an idea? A wise person once said that understanding is better than knowing.

[Mrcoolabah1au]

Got mine as an upgrade cost nothing

[Dot]

Got mine as an upgrade cost nothing

They knew the way to move you along hey Wayne

[Greynomad]

When I went for my MR licence, I explained to the instructor that it would only be used to drive our 8.1t Winnie.
Unfortunately he did not pass on this piece of intelligence to the examining instructor, who thought I was planning a late career change!
He was red-hot on all the rules!
I was training on a 5-speed manual, but would leave it to Girt's auto box to make those decisions. I missed a gear approaching a corner & selected 5th when I wanted 3rd. Half-way around the corner I realised I'd stall it unless I changed gear, and got an instant fail for Not Being In Full Control Of The Vehicle.
Second test booked, the instructor worded up the examiner. Result: Success!
Although there were a few occasions when the instructor remarked, "I wouldn't do that in the motorhome if I were you."


Changing rego from NSW to Vic was even more hilariouser - if it hadn't been so stupid!
Took Girt and all the paperwork - including a 1-week-old NSW Roadworthy Cert - to local VicRoads office.
Nah, NSW Roadworthy not acceptable. Had to have a Roadworthy Cert issued in THIS colony. So off I went, & booked RWC with local Authorised Bloke.
He reckoned the Winnebago Explorer was a converted bus, and therefore required a stack exhaust extension to take the outlet above the roofline!
Showed him the Manufacturer's Plate alongside the door, and the manual from Chevvy, explaining that Winnebago imports the rolling chassis & builds the whole m/h on it at Emu Plains in Sydney. No. Wouldn't listen. "It's a converted bus!"
So I told him where to insert his Rego Inspection Authorisation Certificate & asked Roberts RV who did their RWCs. Their bloke walked around Girt, laid on his creeper & looked underneath ("Hmmm, 4-wheel disc brakes, huh!") then took it for a run around the block. Came back; tick, tick, tick, and lots more ticks on his clipboard and I had my RWC for THIS colony. I was also $220 lighter in the wallet department.
But there's more!
Revisited the Vicroads bloke waving my brand-new Victorian RWC, only to be told he couldn't register it if it had dual rear axles, but HE wasn't authorised to count to two... I'd have to go to Geelong VicRoads office for that. The nice young lady in Geelong told me she was authorised to count up to ten!
Ran a tape-measure all over Girt, and remarked that she assumed I would be removing the towball from its socket when not actually using it.
"Of course! Wouldn't dream of endangering other traffic by leaving it attached! "
And I had my shiny new number plates issued on the spot.

SIGH... we're still six colonies!
Even though I live just 10km from where the Federation Movement started in Corowa.