Travel to AU Questions

[OnMyWay]

On 10/23/2022 at 10:37 AM, Gas said:

Easily fit a family of 5 and plenty of room at the back for luggage.

Gas, did you have kids with you that required child car seats?  That laws are very strict and apparently you are not supposed to use any car seat purchased outside of AU.  Technically, my 8 year old does not legally require one and can use the adult belt, but my 6 year old will require one.

[Gas]

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Gas, did you have kids with you that required child car seats?  That laws are very strict and apparently you are not supposed to use any car seat purchased outside of AU.  Technically, my 8 year old does not legally require one and can use the adult belt, but my 6 year old will require one.

No. 
Just looked at the prices and the daily rental is not cheap. 

[BrettGC]

19 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Gas, did you have kids with you that required child car seats?  That laws are very strict and apparently you are not supposed to use any car seat purchased outside of AU.  Technically, my 8 year old does not legally require one and can use the adult belt, but my 6 year old will require one.

Booster/car seats aren't mandatory 7 years or older but all occupants of a vehicle must wear a seat belt.  Another thing is that children below the age of 7 are not allowed to sit in the front seat in cars fitted with airbags - kids have been killed by them.  

Just a note on car safety enforcement:  All police cars in the eastern states are fitted with cameras that automatically check valditity of registration and the owner's licence status (registration stickers are no longer required in most states due to this).  These cameras aslo check for mobile phone useage and wearing of seatbelts.  You may think you're ok because you're an overseas tourist in a rental and they won't be able to enforce the fine?  No.  For example the fine for speeding of 11km/hour or less as an individual is approximately $280AUD, the fine for a corperate fine is for the same offence is about $1800.  That's to the say the rental car/bus/taxi company that the vehicle is registered to is fined the latter amount.  The company is issued the fine at the corporate rate, the company then works out who the driver was at the time based on vehicle, time of day and location, the company then issues the fine to the actual driver who then has a seizure as to the amount, it's then explained to the driver he's only liable for the individual amount and the company gets off altogether.  So, the rental company does has a vested interest in charging you for the fine.  I only know this as in my last job as operations manager for an urban transit company it was a regular occurance.  

Edit:  Just to let you know, in all liklihood you won't be pulled over unless the offence is extreme in nature.  The infringement notice just arrives in the mail, normally within days.  

Below are listed the various fines for QLD, other states are similiar:

No seatbelt fine in QLD: $1078 

Mobile phone use by driver in QLD: $1078

Speeding fines in QLD:

Infringement	Penalty amount	Demerit points
Less than 11km/h over the speed limit	$287	1
At least 11km/h but not more than 20km/h over the speed limit	$431	3
More than 20km/h but not more than 30km/h over the speed limit	$646	4
More than 30km/h but not more than 40km/h over the speed limit	$1,078	6
More than 40km/h over the speed limit	$1,653	8 and 6 month suspension

 

Here's a link to the complete list in QLD, again, other states are similar:

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/fines/demerit/points#mobile

Sorry for the long-winded waffle but it's better to know this stuff.  

Edited November 26, 2022 by BrettGC

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, BrettGC said:

Sorry for the long-winded waffle but it's better to know this stuff.  

Wow!  Thanks for this.

1 hour ago, BrettGC said:

Booster/car seats aren't mandatory 7 years or older but all occupants of a vehicle must wear a seat belt.  Another thing is that children below the age of 7 are not allowed to sit in the front seat in cars fitted with airbags - kids have been killed by them.  

Yes, I have been reading the rules.  Similar to U.S.  But in AU you can't use a car seat bought outside AU.

I doubt that police cars have the phone and seatbelt cameras.  Those are fixed or mobile setups.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/queensland-mobile-phone-and-seatbelt-detection-cameras-start-today/

 

[BrettGC]

3 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

doubt that police cars have the phone and seatbelt cameras.  Those are fixed or mobile setups.

Cool, good to know.

[OnMyWay]

14 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

mobile setups.

[Colsie]

On 11/5/2022 at 9:23 AM, OnMyWay said:

I'm looking into insurance.  

OMW, how did you go with the travel insurance? 

I was looking at AXA but their ph website says they don't cover if the airline cancels the flight? 

How does that work, that's one of the main reasons to get travel insurance? 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Colsie

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Colsie said:

OMW, how did you go with the travel insurance? 

I was looking at AXA but their ph website says they don't cover if the airline cancels the flight? 

How does that work, that's one of the main reasons to get travel insurance? 

I think that is normal.  The airline owes you a refund or a rebooked flight.  They don't cover costs that are refundable from the vendor.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Colsie said:

OMW, how did you go with the travel insurance? 

I was looking at AXA but their ph website says they don't cover if the airline cancels the flight? 

How does that work, that's one of the main reasons to get travel insurance? 

I can send you the actual policy if you want to look at the detail.  Unfortunately, I only found 2 options.  Pacific Cross and AXA.

[OnMyWay]

1 minute ago, OnMyWay said:

I can send you the actual policy if you want to look at the detail.  Unfortunately, I only found 2 options.  Pacific Cross and AXA.

It doesn't have my info on it, so here it is for everyone.  See attached.

Smart Traveller Policy Wordings AXA-077157-K71M.pdf