Just dropped my hire car off at MEL.
The chap checking the fuel level and handing out receipts told me he had just had a run in with the Feds. Victoria (as does QLD, and I assume other states) have a law which states it is an offence to leave an unattended vehicle unlocked. Some smart cookie has just realised that the hundreds of hire cars parked at MEL are unlocked, and many even have the keys left in them. As the airport comes under federal jurisdiction, it has become a matter for the feds.
In QLD, I believe the magic distance is 3m i.e. if you are any further than 3m from your vehicle then it needs to be locked, windows up etc.
Does this mean that the end to express pick up (where your name is on the board and you just walk to your car and show your licence as you drive out) is soon be no longer?
As an aside, when I picked the car up late on Monday night, my name was on the board, telling me which bay the car was in, checked for dents, fired her up and drove to the exit, where the boom gate just opened, nobody checking who was driving off in the car??? I was expecting a phone call as soon as they realised a car had gone without the paperwork handed in, but nothing!!
The chap checking the fuel level and handing out receipts told me he had just had a run in with the Feds. Victoria (as does QLD, and I assume other states) have a law which states it is an offence to leave an unattended vehicle unlocked. Some smart cookie has just realised that the hundreds of hire cars parked at MEL are unlocked, and many even have the keys left in them. As the airport comes under federal jurisdiction, it has become a matter for the feds.
In QLD, I believe the magic distance is 3m i.e. if you are any further than 3m from your vehicle then it needs to be locked, windows up etc.
Does this mean that the end to express pick up (where your name is on the board and you just walk to your car and show your licence as you drive out) is soon be no longer?
As an aside, when I picked the car up late on Monday night, my name was on the board, telling me which bay the car was in, checked for dents, fired her up and drove to the exit, where the boom gate just opened, nobody checking who was driving off in the car??? I was expecting a phone call as soon as they realised a car had gone without the paperwork handed in, but nothing!!