gotta say I'm disgusted

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by seduced_xr

i made it 70km up north in the fairlane on a space saver doing 110... its a steel rim with a tyre.. why is it only 80kmh?

The reason they say to do 80 KPH on this rim, is only because it's a slightly smaller size width wise, than what is fitted to the car. It does make the car drive differently. eg If it's put on the right hand front of the car, the car will "pull" to the right.

If you were to put 2 of the same rims, with this sticker on the front for example, the car would drive perfectly straight. After all, the rim/tyre assembley is rated well above the 80 KPH stipulated on the sticker.

So basically, the sticker is on there as a forewarning that the car will drive differently and to be mindful of it.

Hope that helps and you can follow what I've written.

[TZENU]

Originally Posted by dave289

Hey tuff guy, she was obstucting traffic which is dangerous and against the law, not to mention frustrating drivers even more making things more dangerous again. The problem here is 2 things, 1 the person that bought the car with a spacesaver and 2 the manufacturer who makes such crap which should be illegal.

So I suppose it is illegal for L-platers to be driving on these roads, given that their maximum limit (as per RTA) is 80km???

[prydey]

i don't have an issue with the story in the OP but i would suggest, if there is an alternate route available, then use that, rather than travel on a highway/freeway.

[vibe_xr6]

as its been said before on here, obvisouly she thought she was doing the best and safest thing, and obeying the tyre's recomendations, some people in this world arent as perfect as some others, its wrongwhat has been said in some of these post's and it makes me wonder what your mrs's would do if she was stuck in this situation....
i give credit to the other people who understand...

[KYSBF]

Common courtesy anyone and a bit more tolerance maybe? Gee some of you are BOGANS.

[RG]

And as usual it's the usual AFF suspects that come in, give a good old down south flaming and work off information that that is so incorrect it's actually laughable.

OP - The only thing your mrs did wrong was drive in the emergency lane and have her hazards on. She was well within her rights to do 80 in the left lane. There are laws stating you musn't cause a traffic blockage (due to speed) but this is only ever enforced if you do so without a valid reason. Having a space saver on there and not exceeding the recommended max speed is quite the valid reason.

To all you who will disagree with what I have said I suggest that you first actually have a look at what the laws state, not just what you think they state.

[Bucknaked]

Without space savers, lots of young drivers couldn't do fancy boot installs.*
*
I hate space savers.* I guess the alternate is either* a full sized spare or one of those cans of foam.

Originally Posted by seduced_xr

i made it 70km up north in the fairlane on a space saver doing 110... its a steel rim with a tyre.. why is it only 80kmh?

i now have an XR6 alloy in my boot

I know what you mean.* I was running low on fuel and pulled into a petrol station and put diesel in my petrol car.* I just don't understand why the car stopped when I refuelled at a petrol station.
*
You know there are experts who test space saver tyres to an inch of their life in all kinds of conditions, and deem that after multiple tyre failures, you as a driver with one fitted should drive at 80 because this is the speed they are most likely going to be ok.* Can you imagine what your insurance company would have said if the tyre exploded at 110 and you destroyed your car.

[trippytaka]

But aren't P Platers are limited to 80km/h and they are allowed to drive on the freeway...

[BuckTooth]

To the OP- I agree with RG, your partner had the right idea, apart from the hazards going.

To everyone else against the space savers. Yes they are a problem, but i welcome you to put 1 on your car and do 100/110kmh. We'll see how far you get.......

As for the drivers that passed the OP's partner, must be a city drivers thing with the stress. In the country i guess we're just used to it i.e Tractors, Headers and the like doing 40/50kmh up the road. We don't feel the need to drive erratically past them.

[RG]

Originally Posted by trippytaka

But aren't P Platers are limited to 80km/h and they are allowed to drive on the freeway...

Not in Vic they aren't, but you do make a very good point.

As for the spacesaver hate, fair enough I don't like them either but on some cars (mine included) there is no choice. It's either a space saver or an emergency tyre repair kit.

[Smoke Pursuit]

She should have just done 80 kms an hour in the left hand lane with no emergency lights on, they are annoying and are a hazard themselves on a motorway... The best advice here would have been to stay away from the motorway, or do 90. The space savers are safe to do 100 for a short period but not hundreds of kms.

Lesson when your ordering a new Falcon make sure you pay the extra $250 for a full size spare!!

[MO]

Well much ado about nothing.....again.
To the OP your missus did the right thing as far as I'm concerned,ok so there maybe one or two minor points of law in question. Big deal.
At least she tried to do the right thing and let ppl know she had a problem.
As for the abuse side of it not needed and some of it may have been taking the p!ss.

I think its way past time for everybody on the road to take a chill pill and calm down.

[XCwillo]

Space savers are rated at 80k's for the worst possible conditions.
It's so no one gets sued, if they rated them at 80k's standard freeway driving, people who use them on dirt roads and do 80 in rough rocky roads will get their lawsuit on.
So a standard freeway road in the dry you would be able to do 100 safely
BUT in the odd chance it blows out or divine intervention occurs and your car gets wrecked, you will a fun time with insurance thats for sure.

[Fev]

I'll bet if she drove home in the right hand lane she wouldn't have copped any since everyone is so adamant about driving 20km under in that lane..

And Dave that is the biggest load of rubbish i've seen on here (well almost)

[MAD]

I think having the hazards on is a good idea. It is suggesting to the other road users that there is an issue with this car that is preventing it from being able to do the posted speed limit. It is also huge amounts of fore warning for the other road users to have time to merge right and go round. Mind you some people still wont see the flashing beacons up ahead when they only look 3 feet in fron tof their bonnet.

Her pulling over to the emergency lane to let traffic pass was probably not the best idea but the intentions were good to let people pass. (just like so many people towing caravans that I wish would use the slow vehicle pull off zones)

[RG]

Originally Posted by MAD

I think having the hazards on is a good idea. It is suggesting to the other road users that there is an issue with this car that is preventing it from being able to do the posted speed limit. It is also huge amounts of fore warning for the other road users to have time to merge right and go round. Mind you some people still wont see the flashing beacons up ahead when they only look 3 feet in fron tof their bonnet.

Her pulling over to the emergency lane to let traffic pass was probably not the best idea but the intentions were good to let people pass. (just like so many people towing caravans that I wish would use the slow vehicle pull off zones)

Whilst it may sound like a good idea (as does driving in the emergency lane) it is still illegal. I found this out when I blew the box in my old EL (manual) and only had 3rd left. Had to drive it 30k (no hope of a tow) in 3rd @ 80. Did the hazard lights and got pulled over by the Police, lucky for me they were a nice couple of blokes and told me that I just needed to sit in the left hand lane to remain legal.

[DJR-351]

This is just another fine example of the attitude of some of our road users in this country....
Irrespective of the reason given here, if i saw someone going at a slow speed in the emergency stopping lane with their hazards on it just seems obvious to me that they or the vehicle are in some sort of distress, blowing by leaning on the horn and hurling abuse just proves that you are a self centred ***** with no regard for those around you....
A similar incident occurred a few years ago where a motorist started to suffer chest pains, he pulled over to the emergency lane and flicked on the hazards, he had no mobile and could not safely get out of the car to flag someone down due to the emergency stopping lane being so narrow (he tried waving his arm out of the window to no avail and was terrified about getting out and passing out in front of the traffic) so he decided to proceed the next two or three kms in the stopping lane to the next off ramp where he was able to safely pull over and get some assistance, all the while copping the same abuse the OP,s wife did....
The point is we don’t always know the reason why the individual is doing what they are doing, yet we seem to always grab the negative and carry on like pork chops....

[EB#]

Originally Posted by kennyboy

Hi All, gotta get this off my chest!........

Kenny...
Sounds like a rotten experience that's for sure ! Frankly I don't see any
problem driving (left side) at 80km/h on a multi lane highway. Learners and elderly
drivers do it all the time.

It's such a shame that your wife copped all of that, but I do hope that
doesn't lead you to stop your courteous driving practices.

I believe it's a good thing that you drive in that way and would encourage you
to continue..... Hopefully a rant here will help dispel the bad energy, so to speak.

[Simple6]

Originally Posted by dave289

Hey tuff guy, she was obstucting traffic which is dangerous and against the law, not to mention frustrating drivers even more making things more dangerous again. The problem here is 2 things, 1 the person that bought the car with a spacesaver and 2 the manufacturer who makes such crap which should be illegal.

Ok so i guess you wont be complaining when youre teaching you son/daughter to drive on the freeway and highway patrol pulls them up and books them.

Or are we going to book every truck/bus/caravan etc everytime they cant maintain the 100 or 110 speedlimit due to their weight.

And nice for blaming the OP on buying a car with a space saver - i would base my purchase on other things rwther than whether its a full size or space saver.

I do agree with someone elses post - i probably would have stayed in the left lane and had hazards on. But i think she did alright.

[350125GO]

I see 80 o the freeway daily, learners are restricted to it, P1s 90 and P2s 100. I believe this is just plan dangerous.

I think your missus copped some unfair abuse as well, the learners going 80 I never see getting abused, they just sit in the left lane whilst people overtake (hopefully) safely.

[Fled74]

Hey, this is Victoria, home of some of the most aggressively impatient drivers I've ever seen, and I grew up in a Third World country where the standards of driver education, road maintenance and traffic management are questionable at best.

That said, I've also encountered more polite and considerate road users here than where I came from - it's so easy for us to focus on the negative and forget that many road users are actually courteous.

[TheInterceptor]

So its illegal to use the hazard lights whilst the vehicle is in motion, but what about in very foggy conditions?


Such a big deal made over nothing...

Slow down.
Change lanes.
Get on with life.

Is it really that hard?

[MO]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

So its illegal to use the hazard lights whilst the vehicle is in motion, but what about in very foggy conditions?


Such a big deal made over nothing...

Slow down.
Change lanes.
Get on with life.

Is it really that hard?

But is it illegal we only have the word of the bush lawyers for that.

[Rodp]

Such hostility over a woman trying to do the right thing on the road and warn other motorists of her speed differential.

If I'm required to put a space saver on my car and it's labelled 80kph max, I'm not going faster then 80kph. It's that simple. People can and have been booked for doing significantly lower than the speed limit on a highway for no apparent reason. She had a perfectly valid reason.

I would have tried to find an alternative route that took me off a 100kph+ road but we don't know if there was an alternative route for the OP's missus and if it wasn't a reasonably straight alternative route in good condition, I would have stuck with the highway.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by dave289

Hey tuff guy, she was obstucting traffic which is dangerous and against the law, not to mention frustrating drivers even more making things more dangerous again. The problem here is 2 things, 1 the person that bought the car with a spacesaver and 2 the manufacturer who makes such crap which should be illegal.

Sounds like you ought to cut down on the Red Cordial.

Driving home on a freeway with a stopping lane would be preferable to taking an alternate route (if there was one) with no room on the side of the road to try to get out of the way.

Driving with hazards on was a smart move, legal or otherwise. It told other motorists that here was someone with a problem.

As for obstructing traffic LOL... so do, in NSW, Learners, P platers, some Caravans/Motorhomes and 4.3 metre wide Headers on single lane roads doing 20kmh!

Sounds like there were far too many city drivers picking on Mrs kennyboy

[Ben73]

Some of the post in here belong in the "Epic Fail" thread.

davway
dave289

You are both pathetic. Doing 80 in a 100 zone is hardly dangerous at all. If you cannot safely pass a car that is traveling 80 while you are traveling at 100, please go and hand in your licence now. Because you obviously are the one with the driving problems and should not be on the roads.

She had the damn Hazards on as well. Look ahead up the road and you will see well in advanced a problem and have an opportunity to change lanes. Look more then 1 metre ahead for once!!

Do you abuse every L plater and P plater you see going below the highway speed limit because they legally have to??

I bet you are the same person who abuses everyone who overtakes you while you are doing the speed limit. You are not the only one on the road, get off your high horse and mind your own business.

If I was in her situation I would of just cruised in left lane, and if anyone abused me I would of abused them right back.



When walking in shopping centres you have people walking really slow, stopping suddenly in the middle of flowing traffic, cutting across in front of you forcing you to stop and many other irritating things.
Imagine if people acted the same way in a shopping centre the same way the act on the road. It would be constant swearing and abuse.

As soon as many people get in a car they think the world evolves around them and everyone else should be going the exact same speed and route as them. With no slowing or turning which may cause a 3 second delay!

[T3man]

Originally Posted by dave289

Hey tuff guy, she was obstucting traffic which is dangerous and against the law, not to mention frustrating drivers even more making things more dangerous again. The problem here is 2 things, 1 the person that bought the car with a spacesaver and 2 the manufacturer who makes such crap which should be illegal.

I believe in Karma. One day you will get a flat tyre. And it will be on a single lane country road with nowhere to pull over. When that happens I want you to remember this "YOU MUST KEEP DRIVING; YOU MUST NOT OBSTRUCT TRAFFIC."

Good luck with that!

PS. Heaven forbid that one day you might actually have a breakdown and your car be immobilised in the middle of an intersection or while stopped at the traffic lights in middle of some city somewhere. Remember this, "IT IS YOUR OWN FAULT BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT THAT CAR!" Or I suppose you could sue the manufacturer.

Twit!

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

*
You know there are experts who test space saver tyres to an inch of their life in all kinds of conditions, and deem that after multiple tyre failures, you as a driver with one fitted should drive at 80 because this is the speed they are most likely going to be ok.* Can you imagine what your insurance company would have said if the tyre exploded at 110 and you destroyed your car.

Actually he was talking about a 17 inch steel rim not a space saver. The tyre would be rated to a much higher speed then 80kph. If anything he may have done damage to his suspension.

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

So its illegal to use the hazard lights whilst the vehicle is in motion, but what about in very foggy conditions?

You'd be surprised how well brake lights work.

[svo supporter]

This spacer saver part is being grouped as one. There are actually cars out there with "space savers", that are fitted with tyres that are perfectly legal to travel at 110 KPH and beyond.

An example. I have seen late model Commodores, fitted with 19" wheels from the factory. Their space saver is a bright yellow rim fitted with a 235/45X17 tyre. This is the same size that is fitted standard to you're lovely AU XR6 and 8's.

I have also seen Falcons with a 16" "space saver" spare. This tyre size is 215/60X16, which is the standard size for your AU and BA base model Falcons. In fact, the same brand.

Now, because the rim has 80 KPH on it, that doesn't necessarily mean that the rim/tyre assembley is only rated at that speed. It means, when fitted on one side of the car and a larger tyre the other side, it is recommended that you don't exceed 80 KPH because the car does handle differently and there is a chance of loosing control on a bend at higher speeds.

Now I'd love to know what size space saver spare was fitted to the OP's misses car, so this space saver issue can be put in prospective.

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by vztrt

snip..


You'd be surprised how well brake lights work.

No good when its a 2 lane road with oncoming cars.

And two days ago had a twit infront of me continue driving normally as we entered thick fog.