LHD VEHICLES - a further update

[Merlin]

> Dear Friends
>
> The recent proposals regulating the use and licensing of LHD vehicles were
> published for comment in the Government Gazette on the 27th May 2009 where
> the operation of such vehicles are permitted provided that they were
> "registered or licensed in the Republic into any persons name before the
> 23
> rd July 2004"
>
> Whilst I believe this is a significant victory, having regard to
> challenges
> that were initially confronted by where onerous provisions that prohibited
> the use of such vehicles, have been overcome, I still have reservations
> because its then leaves certain de facto owners of left hand drive
> vehicles
> in no-mans land, so to speak. I refer obviously to those who were given
> SABS approval to import such vehicles, after such date, and who have since
> imported and sought to licensed them in a quandary, because they cannot
> now
> comply with the legislation proposed and are currently divested of their
> rights of ownership.
>
> Essentially the SABS would have issued a permit and certified that the LHD
> vehicle imported by a proposed owner to be compliant with their
> regulations
> , yet the vehicle in terms of the legislation referred to, cannot be
> validly licensed and the importer is thereby is divested of their rights
> of
> ownership, namely to register, operate or sell the vehicle. The dichotomy
> here is that the DOT's, presumption that these vehicles are "unsafe" is in
> stark contrast to the SABS's views, and hence the legislation remains
> onerous in some quarters.
>
> It is certainly arguable that by the SABS issuing a permit allowing the
> importation of a LHD vehicle and approving them as "safe" that a
> legitimate
> expectation has been created that the rights conferred by ownership could
> pass to the importer of such vehicle and would certainly give rise to
> constitutional debate, and at very least a claim for damages based on the
> representations made. Most owners of such vehicles were not aware of the
> prohibitive legislation, and placed reliance on the permits issued by the
> SABS and are innocent parties in these transactions
>
> Our view has been that a contemporaneous date ought to have been inserted
> (i.e a cut off date in 2009 WHEREAFTER NO FURTHER VEHICLES COULD BE
> IMPORTED AND THE SABS WOULD NOT LEGITIMATELY BE ABLE TO ISSUE PERMITS IN
> COLLABORATION WITH THE DOT, AS THEY HAVE INDEPENDENTLY DONE) in the
> legislation rather than a retrospective "effective date" and this would
> then ensure that those who have imported LHD vehicles with SABS approval,
> after the 2004 date, simply fall into the net of the legislation. In fact
> some have been issued permits authorizing importation as recently as
> January 2009 !
>
> As the positions stands, should the proposed 2004 date be ratified, then
> an
> entirely separate set of Acts would need to be drafted by the Legislature
> to apply to an importer of LHD vehicle, with SABS approval, after such
> date, to define their position. This is an unnecessary complication in the
> process and in the long term would splinter issues and result in more
> argument, uncertainty and the further engagement of the DOT in liasion
> with
> the SABS, and de facto owners, to resolve this issue separately.
>
> Them issues raised above will form the basis of our comments to the
> proposed legislation.
>
> Regards
>
>
>
>
>
> Shahir Ramdass
> Ramdass and Associates
> Attorneys, Notaries and Conveyancers
> 308 Cowey Road
> Berea
> Durban
> 4000
> Docex 5 Morningside
> Telephone : 031-3122411
> Telefax : 031-3122730
> Mobile : 073 234 3835
> Fax to email : 0866200960

[Ron&Gill]

"There's a lot o' long words in that, Miss Turner, we're but humble pirates."

[karmakoma]

Looks like great news for the older LHD cars if I understand correctly. If you see a good one, at the right price, dont let licensing worries hold you back

[CooP]

I got fed up with all of the indecision and confusion regarding left-hand drive vehicles. So I bought a right-hand drive one and stuck the front of it onto my leftie! Besides, driving an LHD is a cow.




I still have a lot to do but am looking forward to driving it again.

[mahleu]

If you only drive backwards in a lhd drive car then technically you're on the right in terms of direction of travel. Problem solved. More importantly, everyone reversing a rhd car is breaking the law...

[eben]

I only steer with my right hand anyway... I leave my left hand for the gearlever

[Tom Bishop]

Driving a LHD is not a cow.

You just have small difficulties. eg, trying to overtake a truck, moving out of a parallel parking bay into traffic, and my favourite, the parking tickets at malls and the airport.

Like I said, small.

[Tom Bishop]

And the worst one. You keep trying to grab the gear lever and it on the other side. Then just when thing are cool you go back to your RHD.

[JamesD]

LHD is perfect for highway driving, you can sit in the fast lane and see down the middle of the highway instead of into the concrete barriers like with RHD. parking tickets at mall = climb out sunroof or if there is someone annoying behind you then climb out casually and walk round to get it, pausing to admire your car in between atleast i can stop worrying whats going to happen to my car now.

[CooP]

The left-hand drive Westy has been in my family since 1976, driven by my father and then myself. Together we have driven more than 120 000 kms in the old girl. I just checked with Dad and he agrees - it's a cow to drive

It had the fitted cupboards down both sides so visbility "over the shoulder" was nil. K53 would have been a laugh as 80% of the perimeter was a blind spot. It was impossible to drive without a passenger to keep lookout. She has a top speed of around 90 km/h so overtaking was always a rare thing anyway. But those parking ticket machines always involved a little bad language. I can't wait for the finances and the spare time to finish the project and get her back on the road again.

[Nigel A. Skeet]

The left-hand drive Westy has been in my family since 1976, driven by my father and then myself. Together we have driven more than 120 000 kms in the old girl. I just checked with Dad and he agrees - it's a cow to drive

It had the fitted cupboards down both sides so visbility "over the shoulder" was nil. K53 would have been a laugh as 80% of the perimeter was a blind spot. It was impossible to drive without a passenger to keep lookout. She has a top speed of around 90 km/h so overtaking was always a rare thing anyway. But those parking ticket machines always involved a little bad language. I can't wait for the finances and the spare time to finish the project and get her back on the road again.

What leads you to believe that it is a 1972 VW Type 2 Westfalia campervan, given that it has a Dormobile elevating roof? I cannot recall a Westfalia conversion which has such extensive blindspots.

A maximum speed of 90 km/h, seems rather slow, even for a 1972 VW 1600 Type 2, unless one is driving at high altitude or up a gradient. For the British specification, 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 & 1973 VW 1700 Type 2, Volkswagen quote maximum speeds of 68 mph (which is close to 110 km/h) & 78 mph respectively.

To what does K53 refer, with regard to visibility & blindspots?

There is a forward-facing periscope available, which fits the passenger side of the windscreen, which can be used to aid forward vision, for overtaking, etc, when driving a left-hand drive vehicle, in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Japan and the British Commonwealth (not including Canada & Mozambique).

For more information about blindspots and their mitigation, refer to my long article on The Samba forum, as follows:

Bay Window Bus » Minimising Blindspots: The Available Options!?!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=292964

[calooker]

Saw a LHD Smart car this morning with a GP registration WTF

[CooP]

What leads you to believe that it is a 1972 VW Type 2 Westfalia campervan, given that it has a Dormobile elevating roof?

Gee Nigel, the air must be very thin up there on your high horse. The M-plate "leads me to believe" that it's a 1972. I have been told that the Dormobile roof was an offered option at the time, it may have been fitted later, I really don't know. It's only been in my family since 1976.

Horrible photo but the date is clear. I researched most of the rest of the M-plate info on http://www.type2.com/m-codes but the colour code (9188) does not appear. I wrote to the compiler, Vincent Molenaar, who has informed me that this code was a special Westfalia paint code.

This together with the original Westfalia serial plate fitted to the base of the Westfalia "rock and roll" bed makes a convincing enough argument for me.
.

I cannot recall a Westfalia conversion which has such extensive blindspots.

Despite what I tell the ladies I am not a real doctor and cannot assist with your memory problems.

A maximum speed of 90 km/h, seems rather slow, even for a 1972 VW 1600 Type 2, unless one is driving at high altitude or up a gradient. For the British specification, 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 & 1973 VW 1700 Type 2, Volkswagen quote maximum speeds of 68 mph (which is close to 110 km/h) & 78 mph respectively.

We are at high altitude in Johannesburg, however we have travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. The handbook that accompanied Marigold listed the top speed as 108 km/h, I dunno what that is in your archaic measurements. With all of the extra mass of the fittings, fridge, gas bottles, luggage, passengers she weighed in at over 2 tonnes - she was straining at 90 km/h and would overheat in the South African summer on the rare occasions that we tried to exceed this. Are you suggesting that it is a good idea to drive a two-tonne vehicle at more than 85% of it's maximum possible speed?

To what does K53 refer, with regard to visibility & blindspots?

Sorry, this was a confusing comment. I shall be attempting to pass my driving licence test next week, the "K53", which involves a lot of nodding, bobbing and peering around to double-check all blind spots. I have developed a crick in my neck from the lessons and am glad that I can do the test in a "regular" car with fewer blind spots.

There is a forward-facing periscope available, which fits the passenger side of the windscreen, which can be used to aid forward vision, for overtaking, etc, when driving a left-hand drive vehicle, in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Japan and the British Commonwealth (not including Canada & Mozambique).

See my post above - she is no longer left-hand-drive. I shall also rebuild some of the cupboards and remove the curtains in order to decrease the blind spots. Such a device may be handy for reversing though, I'll look into it

For more information about blindspots and their mitigation, refer to my long article on The Samba forum, as follows:

Er, no thanks. I've had enough.

[fig]

What leads you to believe that it is a 1972 VW Type 2 Westfalia campervan, given that it has a Dormobile elevating roof?

Gee Nigel, the air must be very thin up there on your high horse. The M-plate "leads me to believe" that it's a 1972. I have been told that the Dormobile roof was an offered option at the time, it may have been fitted later, I really don't know. It's only been in my family since 1976.

Martin Walter & Co, which built the Dormobile pop-up roof and Martin Walterr Dormobile campers, supplied Dormobile roofs to many other converters. In fact, I would venture to say that there are more Dormobile roofs on non-Martin Walter campers than there are original Martin Walter Dormobiles. The Dormobile pop-top was a standard option on all VW Westfalia campers from about 1963 and into the baywindow era. It even had a special order number: SO36.

[beetlefanatic]

Coop, I love your stretch camper. That's better than a big Jurgens Exclusive.