The latest announcement from NSW MINISTER FOR ROADS MICHAEL DALEY MP

“Minister for Roads Michael Daley today announced that car hoons who raise or lower their cars’ suspension will have to meet tough new rules.

Mr Daley said car owners would be limited to raising or lowering their suspension by no more than 5 centimetres from August 1 2009, and all modifications would need engineering approval.

“These changes mean every driver who modifies the suspension on their car must have it approved to make sure it’s safe to be on our roads,” he said.
“At the moment, vehicles can be raised or lowered by up to 5 centimetres without approval, and by up to 15 centimetres with authorised engineering approval.
“I don’t want to see young hoons putting their lives or the lives of others at risk, just because they think their car looks better 15 centimetres closer to the ground.
“These hoons may think their car looks cool, but as far as I’m concerned anything more than a 5 centimetre change in a car’s suspension is dangerous and doesn’t belong on our roads.

“Raising or lowering a vehicle’s height can put the driver, passengers, and other road users at risk.

“It can affect handling, braking and safety features such as electronic stability control.
“It can also change the position of vital impact-absorbing sections of a car, designed to reduce the severity of a crash.

“Raising a vehicle’s suspension can also reduce the driver’s ability to see pedestrians and cyclists, and higher headlights can startle other road users,” Mr Daley said.
Mr Daley said any vehicle being raised or lowered would require certification stating the modifications conform to safety standard requirements.
“The changes also mean any modifications must meet specific requirements such as the vehicle having at least 10 centimetres ground clearance.

“Vehicles raised above the 5 centimetre limit will only be granted conditional registration for use under specified conditions like competing in an off road competition,” Mr Daley said.”

MTA is following up with the Minister and the Department to can clarification on how this proposal is envisaged to work.

A copy of the related VSI issued on 17th July is in the Members area of the MTA website for those members who have not yet received a copy.

To access the members' only area of the site you will need to use your username and password as seen below.

These details can be seen on the top left of your membership renewal payment advice form beneath our MTA logo, or on your Membership Certificate.

Username - first seven letters of your Trading Name including any spaces or commas as a character i.e. M & T MOTORS entered as
M & T M (7 characters including spaces)

Password - is your MTA seven digit membership number as it appears on your membership renewal subscription form including commas.
i.e. 8,000,001

MTA has received a number of enquiries concerning the Eco Button and how this device can save them money.

MTA has been fortunate that this device has been offered to members.
The main strength of this device is that it is simple and easy to use and can SAVE your business by reducing electricity usage.

People generally do not like turning off their computers due to the time it often takes to restart (particularly when hibernate is used). However, with ecobutton™ by simply pressing any key on your keyboard (some computers require a momentary press of the power button) your computer instantly returns to where you left off.
There's also an additional bonus as each time your computer is put into 'ecomode' the clever ecobutton™ software records how many carbon units and how much power and money you have saved by using the ecobutton™. Over time this can add up to quite a lot (especially if you have many computers running in an office) and you can use this data to help reduce your carbon footprint as well as your energy bills.

For more information contact MTA stationery Department or follow the link below.

journal.mtansw.com.au/banners/ecobutton/eco_june09.php