A motorist has been slammed for arguing he is not responsible for his car being unroadworthy and putting the blame on the dealership who sold it to him.
The green P-plater was pulled over by two police officers in an unmarked vehicle on Boundary Road in Carrum Downs, south-east Melbourne, last month.
In a video shared to the driver’s TikTok account – which contains many clips of him driving dangerously at high speed in traffic – the officer says the car does not comply with Victoria’s road safety standards.
The driver said he was cited for the car’s tyres, loud exhaust and its low suspension, but claimed the officers did not measure the vehicle’s height or conduct a decibel test.
He argued to the police officer that the Toyota Crown Athlete was sold to him with a roadworthy certificate and that he had not made any modifications since.
‘I bought it from a dealership. I did not touch the suspension on it… How is that a defect, if I bought it from the dealership like that?’ he asked.
‘I got it from the dealership and it had the roadworthy [certificate] for the suspension.’
The officer questioned the driver on when he had purchased his vehicle as the roadworthy certificate issued with the car from the dealership expires after 28 days, and any defects after that time are the owner’s responsibility.
The driver however continued to argue his case.
‘The person whose given the roadworthy for this suspension is supposed to be getting into trouble, not me,’ the driver said.
‘I just bought it like this, how am I supposed to know that it’s illegal or not. You should go to the dealership and say “you have a roadworthy for this?”
‘I’ve got a valid point, you guys are stupid or something.’
The officer explained the driver could have made the modifications once the 28 day roadworthy certificate had lapsed.
In another video, the driver labelled the officers as ‘racist’, ‘abusive’, ‘defect bandits’ and ‘mechanically unfit’.
The driver also refused to take the defect notice, demanding the officers provide him with their name and badge numbers.
Social media users slammed the driver for his poor behaviour, and said it was his responsibility to make sure the vehicle he was driving is roadworthy.
‘No one, absolutely no one thinks the cops are in the wrong here. You pay for mods you check to see if they’re legal, that’s on you,’ one person commented.
‘Stop crying and pay the fine ya stuffed up got caught simple,’ a second person wrote.
‘Regardless of the dealership acquiring a roadworthy, after 28 days its’ your own responsibility to make sure the vehicle is roadworthy. Not the dealership,’ a third chimed.
A fourth added: ‘Your attitude stinks bro’.
A roadworthy certificate (RWC) is a document that verifies if a vehicle meets the safety standards required by law so that it can be driven on public roads.
A thorough inspection of components including brakes, tyres, lights, steering and suspension is required to issue a RWC – which is needed to sell a car or renew its registration depending on the state or territory and the vehicle’s age.
When issued a defect notice, the driver must repair the car by a specified due date, with some repairs requiring an authorised person or vehicle inspector’s sign off.
Failure to repair the defects by the required date can lead to the vehicle’s registration being suspended.
Daily Mail contacted Victoria Police for comment.