AUSTRALIA

export mate, the bogans beer of choice

Cheers mate... I must look into getting some up here in the great white north

seriously, i am as un-australian as you can get...i hate our beer

carlton cold used to be good till they reduced the alcohol, same with tooheys new, emu bitter tastes like piss, ted's is crap these days, carlton mid is woeful and the multitude of designer beers i wouldn't wash my ass in

Question for you Aussies: In December 2010, I got a letter from the SA government saying that their speed camera in Adelaide caught me doing 8km/h (5mph) over the speed limit. Given that they wanted $235 for such a minor infraction, naturally, my reaction was this...

... & I threw it away without replying. So, with that in mind, how long do I have to wait before I can visit the country again without them locking me up on sight?

you would probably get fined $300 for that now...

no idea, but i dont think a US plate would register here in aust on their system, so even if it was like someone who stole a car and put fake plates on...(which just happened to be the same number as yours)...wouldn't register, so.....i think your safe.

i think......but still pretty funny though, you should have kept the letter

No, they apparently found out where I lived by running the plate of the campervan I rented from Wicked (That company Sucks, btw!! The Piece of shit they rented me leaked fuel til it was half empty & they provided NO pillows or blanket), went to them, & asked who was renting it when the pic was taken. And naturally, the twats ratted me out.

Seriously though, $235 JUST for going 8km/h (5mph) over???

yep...welcome to aust, they just keep upping fines to curb the speeding, doesn't work though, its $500 if you get done without a seatbelt....$1000 if its double demerit points like easter or christmas holidays or just long weekends, awesome huh?

there is higher fines for no seatbelt than speeding or running a red light.. yet which one endangers lives more?

....douches

Running red lights endangers the most other drivers. Not wearing a seatbelt is responsible for the most deaths (but just of the idiots not wearing a seatbelt). Speeding fines are really just a revenue generating measure. The danger in speeding is relative to how much your speed deviates from the flow of traffic. If the speed limit on the interstate is 70 mph, but almost everyone is going 75 mph, you're going 80 mph, and one driver is going 55 mph, the guy going 55 mph is the biggest danger, even though he's the only one obeying the law.

WOW!

And to think, in New Hampshire, they don't even have a seat belt requirement. Nor helmet law either. I guess its because they understand that you're an adult and you're going to either wear it or not regardless of what the law says.

Actually, not wearing a seat belt is more likely to endanger your life than speeding. Red light, is of course, more dangerous than both, by a lot.

failure to obey traffic lights...$300 fine and 3 demerit points, (we get 12 in 3 years, if they get used up you loose your license)

i think no push bike helmet is a on the spot $100 fine, not sure about motorbikes

mobile phones is another big one here at the moment, talking while driving, if i recall its a $250 fine and 3 demerit points, but these all vary from state to state and different if your on P or L plates

we also now have 'anti hoon' laws, where people can be reported by the general public and have cars impounded for 28 days

Yeah, phones & driving are biggies here too. I'm surprised new cars these days don't just come standard with bluetooth.

As for the "Anti hoon" laws, you can get your car impounded for 28 days just on someone else's say so? No evidence required? What's to stop an ex girlfriend / boyfriend from doing that to you just because they're pissed off?

sort of, it did used to be that way and its been changed, now you must have evidence...like a picture, or the police have to catch you doing it, but you can report a car without evidence and they have to check it out.
but its only part of the hoon laws, they mostly focus on the police being able to impound cars for offenses like smoking it up on the road or doing burn-outs, so in reality it is a good thing...takes all the fuckwitts off the roads

also, if your in a 60kmh zone and you accelerate to fast from 0-60 you can be done under antihoon laws, i know this because a friend of mine did

seatbelt/helmet fine will not apply if you are over 18...
under 18 you will receive a fine...

the new hampshire state motto is "live free or die"

and when living there i asked a cop about the seatbelt and helmet laws, and his response was...

"just weedin em out..."

These days, seat belt laws are by & large pointless anyway, IMHO, since just about every car acts like a bomb about to explode with the noise they make when you don't buckle up. And if you're an adult & don't want to buckle up, let Darwin take its course.

Shit, they might as well ban all sports cars then.

You're an American citizen, you don't have to pay shit. You can come back anytime, a traffic infringement will not be held against you. BTW yes Wicked car rentals is notorious in Australia. If you hire a van from them, MAKE YOUR PEACE WITH GOD!!! People have actually died on the roads due to the fucking defective heaps they've leased out!

we get heaps of those things on the road, they are used by all the backpackers cause they are cheap....and it shows

The thing is, when I first rented from them back in 2007, the van they gave me was in great shape. Worked perfectly, I tell ya. It had pillows & blanket provided also. Only issue then was the little portable gas stove was empty. No big deal. Fast forward 3 years & holy Fuck!

Had to cancel my booking in New Zealand after my experience with them & instead rented a car from Europecar instead (Brand spanking new Toyota Aurion, btw). That car had Much better gas mileage & was cheaper to rent to boot & I used the savings to just stay in motels along my route.