Ok, firstly, apologies for not being able to jump on sooner and fill you in. Secondly i'd like to thank Roo for tagging along with myself and Ben. There were a couple more offers of people willing to come along but i though 3 would plenty seeing as there were only 2 officers present at the meeting.
Thirdly... i apologize for the novel sized post... but there is much to tell!!... Now .. where the hell do i start...
The meeting went for around 45 minutes.. First thing on the agenda ( for me at least ) was to find out what Neil's expectations of this "relationship" would be.
*Neil would like to be notified about cruises that are organised. A police presence WILL NOT be shown at every cruise. The reason they would like to be notified is so the police in the areas we are cruising through Know who we are, and there fore by knowing we are in good graces with sapol, it will be less likely we are randomly "picked on". For larger cruises (eg, charity cruises) Neil has advised that with this notice, he has the ability to assist in keeping the group together, by way of having police direct traffic to stop traffic on particular tricky corners, intersections and traffic lights.
Neil understands that there are "hoons" and there are "motoring enthusiasts". And he is aware that sometimes people can ruin things for others. We don't want to be cruising with people who are idiots on the roads, we want ourselves and our cars kept safe.. In turn, if there is someone acting inappropriately and endangering the people around them, then Neil is more then happy to assist by coming out and telling serial trouble makers to move the hell on. This can include members of other clubs, or just random cars who decide to tag along and show off.
* Defects : Minor defects can be dealt with a written warning. However, Major defects will be dealt with on the spot. Major Defects include BOV'S, turbo timers, and Gauges (only if they are mounted in the wrong position) Gauges that are positioned on the A pillar are considered a major safety risk, due to countless times where police have had to assist at an accident scene where these gauges are what have caused very bad head / facial injuries. Non compliant steering wheels are also a major defect as they are also seen as a major safety risk when accidents occur.
*Cars that are modified correctly by reputable workshops, using quality products and particularly ones with engineering certificates are NOT what they are looking to defect. They will however, defect cars that have been modified with cheap products, and that are incorrectly installed by people who do not know exactly what they are doing, as ofcourse, this compromises safety.
*What are police doing to prevent "Car enthusiast" being labeled as hoons, and ALL high performance cars being picked on, due to lack of knowledge from the police force?: Police are undergoing training to specifically identify what is and isn't defectable. A proposal has been put forward to create a "unit" specifically trained in modified cars.
*Neil went on to say that there is NO car club in south Australia with a reputable name. However, by us taking these steps to build a relationship with SAPOL, it will enable us to become known as a respectable car enthusiasts car club in the south Australian community. Therefore, with the support of SAPOL, petitioning to re - open a race track in South Aus will become very realistic.
Guys, its already a well known fact that Neil reads these forums, as he openly spoke about yesterday. What are peoples thought about having Neil set up an SAU account, So that members have a direct point of call, when there are questions about Mods ect?
* Neil would like to show his Support to The Victorian bush fire victims, aswell as beginning to get to know some of our responsible club members... So it was discussed that Neil may Represent SAPOL at the Bushfire Gala hosted by SAU.
I think i have covered everything, if I've missed something roo... feel free to jump in
Please keep this thread full of constructive, and useful opinions. Any kind of derogatory comments will be deleted by moderators.
Thanks for reading, Nene
