4849 blog 4 safety systems

Safety systems exercise

Today's blog will be looking at the 4849 safety systems exercise booklet. It was very similar to the vehicle safety inspection sheet in my 4849 blog 3 except it has a much heavier en-thesis on seat-belts. The car I will be using for this exercise Is a Mazda familiar 1998 sedan manual

The thirst part of the exercise was to list 9 safety features on the car. The 9 I listed features are

1)Safety belts          2)ABS                       3)side mirrors           4)rear-view mirror       5)windscreen
6)Brakes                 7)Window wipers      8)Sun visor                9)Air bags.

Besides the air bags and the ABS most vehicles should have the safety features listed above.  They should be in operating order at all times as their required to keep you safe. Here is a list of the things you are required to check while you are inspecting seat-belts.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture

As you can see there are some strict requirements when your seat-belts are involved. Failing anyone of the listed requirements automatically fails your WOF.  Failed seat-belts must be replaced with brand new ones. The vehicle I did my work on is a prime example of how something minor can prove very expensive.

The seats belts were slightly fraying on the webbing so they automatically fail. When replacing seat-belts you are legally required to show receipts to prove they are brand new.

 

 All other aspects of the seat belts passed. Due to the fraying of the webbing the seat-belts will have to be replaced. As the rear seats had the same results I wont go into to much detail regarding them as they also need to be replaced. The rest of the test was similar to the previous worksheet

Checking the lights for any damage and making sure they all work. Vin plates have been removed.

Quite a few problems on this sheet. Seat-belts showing fraying, speedometer not working, left rear suspension arm bent no way this car should get a warrant. Vehicle fitted with a ABS unit but does not display a ABS warning light when you start the car.

Allot of NA on on this page. Stands for Non-applicable. Chances are I put NA down because it wasn't standard issue on the vehicle. If you put after market stuff on a vehicle you either have to get compliance certificate or it has to meet WOF standards and regulations.

No space wheel saver. The laws states if you have a space saver it has to be fitted securely in the vehicle. If it fails you are allowed to simply take it out of the vehicle then you can get your warrant passed. Ounce you got a warrant simply put it back in the car (hahaha).

Car is standard and runs on petrol so no alternative fuels or modifications. Simply put a NA in this section.

This is not an actual warrant of fitness check but a simulation of one. Because of the things that failed in the check list listed above this car would be unable to get a warrant. The things that would have to be remedied are

1) Bent steering arm

This would affect the strength and integrity of your left rear suspension. Any suspension component that has been bent (probably hit the curve at high speed moron) must be replaced. You can't take it of and try to bend it back into shape either as the tensional strength has been impaired beyond repair.

2) Window wiper not operating

An important safety feature of your windscreen. They are designed to clear water of your windscreen so visibility can be improved while your driving. If they don't work your vision would be impaired during a storm, or if Di-Bree covered your wind screen.

3) Fraying seat-belts

When your seat-belts begin to fray on the webbing it impairs their overall strength. Seat-belts are designed to save your life in the event of a crash by keeping you in your seat. If they are damaged you could fly through the windscreen (and die a terrible death).

4) Speedo not working

Although it's not a warrant of fitness requirement (Sefa said so not me) it still pays to know how fast your going when your driving. It's hard to manage the various NZ road speed requirements if you don't know how fast your going. 

 

To conclude this blog I would never recommend driving a vehicle in this condition as it's highly dangerous, especially the window wipers as you could be driving half blind in a storm. This vehicle has deliberately been left faulty so students can simulate putting a vehicle through a warrant of fitness test. Although the car looked sound at first a quick inspection revealed some dangerous faults. So next time your mechanic fails your warrant of fitness don't take it personal, hes just trying to keep you safe. Either that or hes trying to rip you off with some bullshit work hahaha.