Wallsend and the Link Road
The Link Road at peak hour
The Newcastle Link Road runs 6.9 km from the M1 and Hunter Expressway interchange near Cameron Park into Wallsend: four lanes, a thin concrete divider and a 90 km/h limit. Traffic on it is severe at peak hour, and crawling in a queue is harder on brakes, clutches and automatic gearboxes than the open road.
Lights where the roundabouts were
The Lake Road and Thomas Street intersection went from a roundabout to traffic lights in 2013, and the A15 carries on along Thomas Street towards central Newcastle. A daily run through it is the stop-start kind that wears pads and works the battery.
An old coal town
Wallsend took its name from a coal town in the north of England, and it had joined up with neighbouring Plattsburg by 1915. The old main street's businesses have mostly moved into Wallsend Village.
A licence to check
In NSW a business needs a motor vehicle repairer licence to do repairs, mobile and part-time operators included. Ask for the number when the mechanic calls.
Pink slip or blue slip?
A pink slip is the yearly safety check for a car that's already registered in NSW and more than 5 years old. The renewal notice tells you when it's due, and the report is good for 6 months.
A blue slip, now officially an authorised unregistered vehicle inspection, is for a car NSW hasn't got on its books: one brought in from another state or overseas, one whose rego ran out more than 3 months ago, one with no number plate, or a written-off car approved to go back on the road. As well as safety, it checks the car's identity and that it meets design standards, and it's valid for 42 days from the inspection.
Both come only from an AIS station. Pink slip or blue slip goes through the difference in more detail.
Worth a look before either inspection
- Tyres: tread depth, cuts and bulges
- Every light, the indicators and the horn
- Wiper blades and the washer bottle
- Brakes and the handbrake, plus any warning light on the dash
- Seatbelts that latch and retract properly
- Chips or cracks in the windscreen in front of the driver
- Oil or fluid leaks under the car
Our take
If the car's come from interstate, we'd have a mechanic go over it before the blue slip and sort anything obvious, like a blown globe or a bald tyre. Passing first time saves a second inspection and a second trip across town.