geschman

This post may be a bit controversial but here goes. I know that statistics show that less females are involved in accidents than males but could this be because men are behind the wheel more often? I mean most of the time through mutual agreement the male in a relationship does most of the driving, especially long distances (unless your significant other happens to be giving you a lift home from the pub ). Do the statistics actually take into account the amount of time and distances that each sex spends on the road or do they just take into account the overall number of licenses held? My other observation is that although females are less likely to "drag and drive hipo cars" they are also less defensive drivers than males. The majority of female drivers have little mechanical knowledge and take the mechanical systems in their cars for granted. They know the go and woh pedals and give little thought to the limitations of the vehicle and the fact that these systems may seise to operate in their car or the cars around them. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a female driver in a 2 tonne four wheel drive doing 20 k's over the speed limit, brake at the last possible moment before a red light and then floor it off the green light all the way through the city, I would be a rich man. I also have a female friend who reversed over a concrete traffic island, rupturing brake and fuel lines. She then proceeded to drive the car 10km while leaking fuel and without brakes to get to the dealership. Somebody with any mechanical knowledge would have known not to drive the car as the potential for disaster was huge. My intentions are not to offend anybody as I am well aware that there are some men who wouldn't know which end of a spanner to hang onto and many women who are more mechanically apt than some men could ever hope to be. Please don't think that I am stereotyping any sex here but these seem to be issues that the insurance companies choose to ignore by use of their statistics.

My Dad is a firefighter here in Queensland and tells me that the rules are no more than 10% over the speed limit and they must come to a complete stop before passing through a red light. These are of course only "the rules" as he has told me many a story about four wheel drifts and insane speeds in 13 ton fire trucks I also remember a story about going at such a speed on the highway that the red perspex flashing light covers created enough drag to rip the light assembley from the roof of the truck! I much prefer the thought of an ambulance or fire truck speeding to save a life than a cop car speeding to give a ticket or even worse just mukkin around.

I don't blame them the way things are today. If I was a cop, I'd live in my bullet-proof vest day & night. What are your options if you are informed that your conversation is being recorded? I think that using a tape recorder is a good idea, as with asking for the names of the police, but does anybody else worry that this might escalate things? I have only been pulled over a handful of times but on all occasions I have struck fair dinkum coppers, once for 140km/h in 60 zone (industrial estate, sole occupant of vehicle, 1am on a Sunday morning), who when treated with respect and told no lies have given me warnings. I worry about meeting one of these arsehole coppers and am thinking about using a tape recorder to protect myself but it could be more trouble than it is worth. What happens if you come across one of the "good coppers" (Yes, they are out there... trust me ) and you piss him/her off by getting all 'I know my rights, name and number' with him/her. At the end of the day they have the power, and a simple ticket or RBT could end up as a ticket as long as your arm if they feel like it. Where I live you do not want to piss off a cop. I haven't been on the receiving end of it but have an insight into how things work through parents friends and former neighbours who are cops. Piss off a cop (directly by being a smart arse or indirectly through hooning in a cops mate's street) and word gets around the station. Any spare moment they have someone will follow you around until you speed, forget to indicate, park too close to a corner, etc. and whamo! There seems to be no such thing as 'the one that got away' for the coppers up here. It isn't right but that is the system and I can't see it changing in my lifetime.

Thanks to all for the information. Very helpful indeed.

Here is something you might find helpful. It is part of an article from the December 2001 Australian Issue of RALLY XS magazine. The article is titled "Richard Burns Driving Masterclass - Sideways School" so there is to be no arguing about the accuracy of the content, OK! There isn’t a lot of information, but there is a diagram that may help with your understanding.

I was wondering what the differences are between the HR33, ER33 & ECR33 (specifically for the R33 GTS25, but for all types would be handy to know also). Is there any physical change in body shape? Also, did the R33 GTS rb25de come with an LSD? Is there any way of telling from the firewall plate? Thanks