KNIGHTS members could soon be shelling out for a $349 fine.
That's if they haven't copped one already. And no, it won't be a fine for refusing to stop watching dreams die at Turton Road. Nor a fine for declining to don a hi-vis vest on the NSW Minerals Council sponsored Voice for Family Mining Day.
And what is the nature of the hoo-ha about Knights members staring down the barrel of a potential $349 fine? Among the gifts in the 2022 packs for new and renewing Knights members is a car air-freshener with a looped string (pictured), specifically designed to be hung from a vehicle's rear-vision mirror. They are designed to get rid of the smells in cars that arise from time-to-time. Old wetsuits, wet dog, spilt milk, ciggy-huffing Nannas etc.
But hanging anything from a vehicle's rear-vision mirror regardless of odours is illegal in both NSW and most other Australian states. General Driving Offence Rule 297 (2) Drive vehicle without clear view not only carries a hefty $349 fine, but also packs the additional wallop of three demerit points. I wasn't aware it was an offence to hang something from a vehicle's mirror but have long held the view that custodial sentences were usually warranted for draping large fluffy dice anywhere in a motor vehicle.
A friend whose son was issued an infringement notice for speeding was informed by the highway patrol officer that it was illegal to hang anything from a rear-vision mirror obstructing a driver's view. The young bloke apologised and didn't get lippy. Smart lad, except for the speeding. The officer chose to use available discretion to issue a warning about hanging the Knights air-freshener from the rear-vision mirror. Lucky the highway patrol officer wasn't a Manly fan.
It does not appear that General Driving Offence Rule 297 (2) is well known in our region, judging by the number of things hanging from vehicle mirrors. Lots of masks and lots and lots of air fresheners. Besides squillions of air fresheners, locals also like to flash new age credentials by displaying prism cut crystal thingies that reflect rainbows when the thingies catch light at a certain angle. Many of the same mob also like feather dream catchers. These work very well if your specific dream is to have a distraction in your field of vision.
St Christopher medals provide others with plenty of warning that a driver is so bad they openly seek heavenly intervention to keep them safe on the roads.
Religious items seen hanging from the vehicle mirrors of locals include rosary beads and crucifixes. St Christopher medals provide others with plenty of warning that a driver is so bad they openly seek heavenly intervention to keep them safe on the roads.
King of the Mountain and Australian motorsport champion Peter Brock once claimed that if you have stuff hanging from your review mirror, you should not remove it because it lets other drivers know you're an idiot. Ah, yea, Brocky. Can't separate the champion from his register ringing endorsement of the Energy Polarizer - a small box containing crystals embedded in resin, which was then attached to car body.
Brock once released a statement to Wheels magazine that the Energy Polarizer "made a shithouse car good". If social media was around at the time, Brock may have made a fortune rather than sealing his fate with a sceptical Holden management team that demanded scientific evidence that the thing did anything other than line Brock's pockets with cash. It's no big surprise that no proof could be provided, and management withdrew all Holden sponsorship because of Brock's insistence on plugging the new age scam. At least he didn't hang it from the mirror.
Other memorable stuff noticed hanging from rear-vision mirrors in the local area include a shuttlecock, a plastic Jesus, a big rubber skeleton, mini footy boots, and many lanyards. So many lanyards in fact, it is possible that rear-vision mirrors are where lanyards live out their final days before being tossed in a bin.
I did reach out - a dreadful word combination, but popular contemporary dialect - to the Knights asking about the sending out of these thingies to members in the 2022 packs but am yet to hear anything back. I won't hold my breath. It is a dopey error to defend, let alone try and come up with a yarn about why a club would send out something in a gift pack that might cost unsuspecting supporters a brush with the law.
It's clearly tough work trying to determine what might be useful in welcome packs, what might burden landfill and what just might provide a member with a surprise $349 fine and the loss of three points from their licence.
