Historic Club Rego - Ups & Downs

[Dr Terry]

That's what my club is worried about Dr Terry,

It seems that if a modified car is pulled up on historic plates, then the club and the relevant inspector is going to cop some backlash as well as the car owner. All the blokes in my club with their Rovers, Simcas, Peugeots, etc.... on club plates won't let that happen, so they are pretty strict about who gets plates.

Remember that it isn't really rego, it's a permit to drive a roadworthy, unregistered vehicle on public roads for club oriented activities.

Totally agree Rob. If you are pulled up driving a 'modified' car on Historic concessional plates, you are technically not registered at all & the fines can be high (over $1,000). The car club can lose its RTA authority to issue HCRS rego & it's registrar can be held to account also.

Some car clubs are tough (sometimes too much so) & some clubs are far too lenient, but abuse of the system can only bring tears.

BTW, the 'new' system of HCRS in NSW is proper registration, unlike the old Vintage Car scheme which was just a permit to drive an unregistered car.

Dr Terry

[Blocker]

For reference;

South Australian Historic registration info can be found here

Much is open to interpretation.


Definitions of historic, prescribed left-hand drive and street rod vehicles

The Motor Vehicles Act 1959 provides the following definitions.
An historic vehicle:

• is a vehicle manufactured before 1 January 1979 that has not been modified from its original design to any significant extent.

OR

• is a vehicle manufactured on or after 1 January 1979 but before 1 January 1983 that has not been modified from its original design to any significant extent and has been registered under the conditional registration scheme in South Australia at some time prior to 1 July 2012.

A prescribed left-hand drive vehicle:

• is a vehicle that has its steering wheel on the left of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle
• was manufactured before 1 January 1979
• has not been modified from its original design to any significant extent.

A street rod vehicle:

• is a vehicle that has been modified for safe use on roads.
• has a body and frame that were manufactured before 1949.

OR

• is a replica of a vehicle the body and frame of which were built before 1949.
• has been modified in accordance with requirements or specifications accepted buy the Registrar of Motor Vehicles - eg the National Guidelines for the Construction and Modification of Street Rods in Australia)
• has in force a certificate of exemption under section 163AA of the Road Traffic Act 1961 from compliance with specified Australian design rules or other vehicle standards.

[Big Rob]

Totally agree Rob. If you are pulled up driving a 'modified' car on Historic concessional plates, you are technically not registered at all & the fines can be high (over $1,000). The car club can lose its RTA authority to issue HCRS rego & it's registrar can be held to account also.

Some car clubs are tough (sometimes too much so) & some clubs are far too lenient, but abuse of the system can only bring tears.

BTW, the 'new' system of HCRS in NSW is proper registration, unlike the old Vintage Car scheme which was just a permit to drive an unregistered car.

Dr Terry

That's interesting that you say in NSW it is proper rego, as I was asking one of the ladies at the local RTA about why we still had a rego sticker and she said it was because Historic plates were just a permit. When was it changed?

[Dr Terry]

That's interesting that you say in NSW it is proper rego, as I was asking one of the ladies at the local RTA about why we still had a rego sticker and she said it was because Historic plates were just a permit. When was it changed?

It was changed from the permit scheme to the current concessional rego system around 8 years ago. At that time we changed from the old Vintage plates to the current (smaller) 'H' plates.

One of the things with the system is that is still manual, in other words unlike regular rego it can't be renewed online etc.

Another issue is the most RTA staff & police do not how to administer it. Ask 6 different RTA staff the same question & you will get 6 totally different answers. If in doubt ask for their ruling in writing or check out the RTA website, It's not very difficult.

Dr Terry

[Big Rob]

No, it's not a big deal, I was just a bit surprised that you seem to know more about it than the lady at the RTA, who has worked there for at least 20 years that I can remember and has to process all the local historic plates in my region (probably 200+/- cars and bikes).

I guess she's just doing her job and not really interested.

And you are right about the Police not knowing how to administer it. I'm friends with the local Police Area Supervisor and he saw my blown Torana in my shed and wondered why it wasn't on historic rego. I didn't spill the beans and tell him it wasn't eligible, I figure if he doesn't know, then the other cops probably don't either.

[wbute]

Seems to me that the actual rego isn't the expensive part. It's the compulsory insurance. Perhaps a system of full rego with cheaper "club" compulsory insurance would make more sense?

[Dr Terry]

Seems to me that the actual rego isn't the expensive part. It's the compulsory insurance. Perhaps a system of full rego with cheaper "club" compulsory insurance would make more sense?

Unfortunately, unlike normal registration, the rego fee & green slip are combined, so you can't pick part of it. From memory it is about $62 for both inclusive. It does vary a bit according to postcode.

I don't know the price of the CTP green slip on its own, but one could assume that it would be around $40-$50.

Dr Terry

[Dr Terry]

They are both just doing their job.

The lady at the RTA was correct about it just being a 'permit to move' under the old system, but because the new system is still so 'out of the ordinary', she probably doesn't know that it's changed from that. From her end it's still a bit of a hassle.

The number of H-plated cars on the road makes up such a small percentage of the total number, that it's only just a blip on the radar. So much so that many RTA staff & police have had little or no experience in handling it.

Dr Terry

[outbacktourer]

Just did one of my cars the other day in Sydney. Total was $97 to establish and $41 was the plates. The other costs were Admin $21 CTP $26.68 GST $2.66 MCIS levy $5.66. Second year should therefore be $56

I also heard there was a recent meeting between the representative of the CMC and the RMS where it was stated that there has not been one single CTP claim since the scheme was established and the RMS are very happy with the operation. So lets hope it continues.

I have six cars on these plates (one more to come after it's birthday) and all insured with Shannons who offer comprehensive cover on a plated vehicle for not much more than $100 depending on agreed value.

Best thing since sliced bread.

[Dr Terry]

I also heard there was a recent meeting between the representative of the CMC and the RMS where it was stated that there has not been one single CTP claim since the scheme was established and the RMS are very happy with the operation. So lets hope it continues.

I am a CMC committee member & so I know first hand that the system is working very well, with only a very small minority causing any dramas. That's why we work to keep the system 'clean' & free from abuse.

Dr Terry