QLD Registration of Cars with Roll Cages - NCOP

[prodraw555]

Hi all
If you arent aware, the National Code of Practice (VSB14) for vehicle modifications comes in next year. As far as I can see, this will cause problems for people who want a road registered track or rally car as the NCOP will NOT allow any roll bars forward of the B pillar (ie: 6 point roll cage). This is in conflict with CAMS and personal safety.
Apparently, there will be an interim period to get current projects finished but they must be started prior to 01/11/12 and be completed by 31/05/13.
My questions are:
1. What happens after the 01/06/13 for people who want to build a road registered track or rally car (with a 6-point cage)?
2. Will it be able to be registered with QLD SI rego (Special Interest)? If so, what are the restrictions for general driving on SI rego?
Is there anyone out there who works in the QLD Dept of Transport that can shed some light on this looming issue?
Cheers
Ben
VSB14 can be found here:
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... _ncop.aspx

[ozstang65]

Good luck From my dealings with Qld transport a few years ago, if you speak to 10 different people there you'll get 10 different answers.

[Peter Knight]

Why would you want to get a Race or Rally car road registered?
A Rally car at best can only carry two people.

[johnw]

Rally Cars need registration to complete the transport stages between competitive stages, these transport stages are more often than not caried out on gazetted roads and highways. This will have a massive impact on the sport of Rallying if it indeed goes through as described in this forum. You have to wonder what is next

[shaunb]

Ben / John

This has been flagged for some time and there is plenty on the various forums about the pending impacts.

My understanding is that genuine competition cars can be exempted if they are registered under dedicated state based rally rego schemes.

The problem in Qld is that we do not have such a scheme (the S plate scheme is not a dedicated rally rego). State Council has been trying to work this out with the Qld Dept transport for some years but the pressure is on now to get it sorted. Good luck if you think they will , not for a lack of trying but try and get a bureaucrat to make a call on something like this....

To make matters worse there is a fair amount of confusion at all levels re already approved / plated cars. Some Dept Transport people have been quoted elsewhere and consider that the rules will be all encompassing and retrospective and that fully caged cars will have to have the front halves removed.....

We all hope common sense prevails but of you want something stuffed right up, trust (a) politicians and (b) bureaucrats that don't actually care about what they are doing.....

Happy to be proven wrong on this but there is so much conflicting info out there I am not sure anyone knows for sure how this will play out.

Reckon a few people on here will be buying car trailers if they haven't already got one......

For what its worth Keith at KCF would be worth a call on this, he does cages and plates them (I think) so he should have some industry knowledge.

Cheers

Shaun B (and go the Fords on Sunday!)

[prodraw555]

Thanks for your input Shaunb. I called Keith @ KCF last week but he is O/S at the moment. I will call him when he gets back and will post his comments on here.
However, I have a feeling that he will just as confused about the situation as everyone else is!!!
My only solution is to fit a weld-in rear half cage then a bolt-in front section but not sure if CAMS will allow this, let alone it not being as strong for my own personal safety.
I see that BOND Roll Bars offer "FIA approved removeable cages" (ie bolt-in) so I assume CAMS would be OK with a bolt-in front section?
Cheers
Ben

***UPDATE*** I have just read the CAMS manual on roll cages and a bolt-in front section is NOT allowed, so back to square one:

Dismountable joints complying with Drawings J-47, J-50, J-53, J-56 and J-57 shall be used only for attaching
optional members and reinforcements described by Article 12.2. They are not permitted for joining the upper
parts of the main rollbar, the front rollbar, the lateral half-rollbars or the lateral rollbars (refer Drawings J-2, J-3
and J-4).

[johnw]

Trailers and removable front cage sections won't solve the rally car needs, do they expect service crews to be at the end of each competitive stage with either a trailer or a rattle gun.

[Neil Englund]

Shaun B is partly correct in that Queensland does not have a rally scheme for locally built cars. There is a scheme for fully imported complete rally cars to enable them to be registered and used. The locally built cars scheme is in the pipeline but is "not a priority" at the moment. With the purge of the public service it probably won't get much attention soon.
As for the roll cages in current cars the NCOP and current Qld COP both do not permit side intrusion bars for doors. You can get a basic 6 point cage approved using the LH8 mod code for road registered car but not with side intrusion bars and cross bracing in the back causes problems. Some people might be approving them but if you read the COP and the NCOP it says no.

2.1 Access
The roll-bar or roll-cage must not obstruct front seat access nor encroach upon the area
occupied by the driver or front seat passenger. Longitudinal braces alongside front seats are
therefore not acceptable.
The roll-bar or roll-cage may encroach upon the rear passenger space, but must not obstruct
passenger access or the head space (refer to Figure LK15).

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... _ncop.aspx

You can read all the rules at the link above.

Regards,
Neil.