They claim they're doing this to stop illegal street racing. If some idiot wants to race his car he's going to do it regardless if it's modded or not.
This video should be forwarded to MSD's legal department for an instant lawsuit against these @sshats who don't know cr@p about cars. I bet these idiots take it to jiffy lube since they don't even know how to change their own oil.
damn police, I get this sorta sh!t all the time in my V8 ford falcon, bloody pisses me off....but what pisses the coppers off even more is when I produce my engineers certificate which states my vehicles 100% street legal and meets NSW RTA requirements...police hate been made to look like d!ckheads...I had a few coppers threaten to tear up my EC and book me any way, until I start writing down there name and badge number, that usually makes them think twice.
I think the funniest part about this is that they are obviously using a previously impounded car for their videos of how to impound it, and they have 6ft2, 38year old officer lurch sitting inside of it.
So refusing an illegal search is an arrestable offense?
Heil Kalifornia.
And no, a missing front plate and exhaust do not justify an engine compartment search.
- M4H
Heil Kalifornia.
And no, a missing front plate and exhaust do not justify an engine compartment search.
- M4H
waggy
No Lifer
- Dec 14, 2000
- 68,143
- 10
- 81
hmm anyone caught street racing should have the car taken away and arrested etc. But to ticket people for modding the car is insane. it is private property they should have the right to do whatever they want to it.
I usally side with officers. but on this i think its just a extra way to make money.
I usally side with officers. but on this i think its just a extra way to make money.
Yeah it does. Just like an empty bong is justification for a complete interior search for drugs.
Is it jacked up? Yes. Is it legal? Yes.
The reason they're doing this is because 99% of the population hates the loud exhaust and rice boi cars and those few a$$hole drivers. Sometimes the 1% of the population has to suffer for the rest.
Solution? Make changes that aren't visible. 20" rims on a Civic, dual fart cans, etc. Be discreet and you'll be left alone.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
And here I've never been pulled over for having a set of chrome traction bars hanging down and an aftermarket muffler.
...I HAVE been pulled over for doing 80 in a 65. (twice)
...I HAVE been pulled over for doing 80 in a 65. (twice)
He clearly had no reason to suspect that driver since he was white. Now if the driver were Asian, then obviously it's only appropriate to call out swat.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/08/03/139317.html
California Crackdown on Modified Cars
$5 million in federal money will fund a Sacramento, California effort to stop drivers in modified cars.
Police in Sacramento, California announced Wednesday that they would use $5 million in federal money to begin cracking down on auto enthusiasts who modify their vehicles. The money will be used to form an undercover "Drag-Net" unit to stop motorists who appear to be driving modified cars.
The concept, which originated in San Diego in 2001, has been spreading throughout the state and generated significant revenue for the California Highway Patrol and local departments. In Santa Fe Springs, for example, twelve officers on Drag-Net duty issued 300 citations and impounded 50 vehicles in just one weekend. Several cities have drag-racing ordinances that allow police to auction off seized cars and keep the profits.
Under Drag-Net, San Diego officers come to train other departments how to look out for what they believe to be tell-tale signs of illegal modification such as window tinting, large spoilers, extra gauges or racing stickers. Police say this gives them probable cause to stop and inspect a vehicle and its engine compartment.
In practice, "excessive exaust noise" tickets are the most common violation. California law does not require police to measure sound levels objectively. Instead, according to the Calfiornia Highway Patrol, the "citation is based on officer's judgment."
Drivers of stock vehicles that come from the factory with some of the characteristics of modified cars have experienced harassment under this provision. One such motorist complained on an enthusiast website that the Calfiornia Highway Patrol was using these programs to make "driving while Asian" a crime, pointing out that the department's own website has several pages dedicated to Asian involvement in street racing and "vehicle modification."
Anyone receiving a vehicle modification "fix-it" ticket must visit a California Bureau of Automobile Repair office and pay a $35 fee to have their car inspected. If the car fails, a judge can impose another fine of up to $2000 for failing to meet California emissions requirements.
Article Excerpt:
"We're looking to make a heavy impact on speeding and street racing in this area," Sacramento Police Deputy Chief Steve Segura said during a press conference with local and state officials on Del Paso Road in North Natomas.
Source: Area law enforcers to receive training to combat street racing (Sacramento Bee, 8/4/2005)
Sacbee.com:
Area motorists beware: If your car is too loud, too low or pumps out too much smog, you face stiff fines in a new crackdown on illegal street racing designed to prevent fatalities and steer young people toward safe, legal raceways.
Also targeted are spectators who show up to watch illegal races, smog shops that OK gross polluting cars and auto parts businesses that install illegal modifications.
The first test case of the new zero-tolerance policy will be the prosecution of Jason Antoine Golson, 22, who is charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal street race in Citrus Heights earlier this month. Steve Allen Skattebo, 25, hit a tree and died while racing Golson down Auburn Boulevard on Feb. 2.
California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Frost has inspected the two cars involved for illegal racing modifications and plans to testify as an expert witness on street racing at Golson's trial.
"We have a huge problem in Sacramento since we have extremely high numbers of modified import vehicles," said Frost, who is helping train other CHP officers. "Honestly, I think we've been lucky that we haven't had more street-racing fatalities."
Under California law, officers can stop and inspect a vehicle if they reasonably suspect that the engine has illegal modifications.
Frost spent one recent afternoon patrolling the streets of Carmichael and North Highlands looking for the signs of street racing: a chassis that scrapes the ground, the throaty whirr of a wide exhaust pipe, and racing stickers on the windows.
At a stop on Watt Avenue, Frost asked for more than license, registration and proof of insurance. Like the other 130 officers trained by the Drag-Net program, Frost wanted to get a look under the hood.
He said the 1997 Acura Integra had an illegal air filter, its suspension was too low, and its exhaust system made too much noise. The car's registered owner, who was not present during the stop, will have to keep the car off the street until the state Bureau of Automotive Repairs certifies that the illegal parts have been removed.
Replacing a typical package of illegal modifications and reinstalling stock parts costs an estimated $2,500.
Price is the main reason Misty Arce, 26, hasn't changed anything about her lowered 1994 Honda Del Sol, even though the loud tailpipes and illegally tinted windows have netted her three traffic stops since Thanksgiving, including a citation from Frost.
"Honestly, I don't want to put any more money into it," she said after being pulled over on Walnut Avenue. "I want to get rid of it."
Authorities are banking on responses like Arce's to further tamp down on street racing. Rancho Cordova and the city of Sacramento have passed ordinances barring spectators at illegal street races, with penalties for violators that start at $500 and jump to $1,000 or six months in jail for a repeat offender.
"That's why they street race, to show off. So if there is no one watching, then it may decrease racing," said Sacramento Police Sgt. Michael Cooper, coordinator of the Drag-Net unit.
The drive to wipe out street racing statewide is modeled after a San Diego program started in 2001 when that city recorded 16 deaths and 31 major injuries attributed to street races. During the past two years there have been no street racing deaths.
The California Office of Traffic Safety last year expanded San Diego's program statewide with a $5 million grant to train officers from 75 police agencies to spot after-market racing parts.
"My biggest concern was, 'Oh man, they're going to try and make me a mechanic,' but they show us (what to look for) and I'll be darned if the stuff is not there under the hood," Cooper said.
Under the expanded state-sponsored effort, about $400,000 each will go to police departments in Sacramento, Riverside, Ontario, Oakland, Irwindale, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno and Stockton to pay for operations, educational presentations and training.
The new Drag-Net unit seems to be paying off locally. From October through December, Sacramento police wrote 550 smog and racing citations and towed 35 vehicles. Since January, Davis' five-person auto unit has issued 24 citations for smog violations tied to illegal racing parts. "It's just another tool in our toolbox," said motor officer Rod Rifredi.
Modifying cars for racing, however, remains popular with young people. Jesuit High School junior Michael Lee has spent close to $30,000 souping up his 1995 Nissan 240SX. He says tickets and attention from law enforcement are the cost of his hobby.
"I just see people with lowered cars or exhaust (systems) getting pulled over every day or at least a few times a week," said Lee.
Pajo Bruich, 26, who drives his modified 2003 Nissan 350Z mainly on weekends, thinks targeting street racers is unfair.
"It kind of seems like harassment," he said. "Honestly, you know, it's an innocent thing these kids are doing."
Authorities disagree. A street racing ticket equals two points on your driving record, and sometimes impromptu speed contests turn deadly. Kimberly Marie Wheeler, a single mother from Woodland, was killed when a street racer hit her broadside as she left work last June.
"These are not accidents," said CHP Officer Frost. "They are completely preventable incidents."
Instead of risky races on surface streets, Frost and his colleagues now encourage drivers to use the Sacramento Raceway, where racers can open up the throttle on a quarter-mile track every Wednesday for $8.
"We're trying to come up with a solution to get kids to race on the drag strip, not on the street," said Tony Trimp, who operates the raceway. "We're trying to get into local high schools, but some administrators don't like it because they think it promotes street racing, and I completely disagree. If you can get in there and educate them about it ... it keeps people alive."
This season's first two Wednesday race nights drew more than 1,500 young people who turned out to watch 250 cars compete for the fastest time. While Trimp is thrilled by the turnout, he and authorities want to figure out how to fill the raceway's other 5,500 seats with young people.
California Crackdown on Modified Cars
$5 million in federal money will fund a Sacramento, California effort to stop drivers in modified cars.
Police in Sacramento, California announced Wednesday that they would use $5 million in federal money to begin cracking down on auto enthusiasts who modify their vehicles. The money will be used to form an undercover "Drag-Net" unit to stop motorists who appear to be driving modified cars.
The concept, which originated in San Diego in 2001, has been spreading throughout the state and generated significant revenue for the California Highway Patrol and local departments. In Santa Fe Springs, for example, twelve officers on Drag-Net duty issued 300 citations and impounded 50 vehicles in just one weekend. Several cities have drag-racing ordinances that allow police to auction off seized cars and keep the profits.
Under Drag-Net, San Diego officers come to train other departments how to look out for what they believe to be tell-tale signs of illegal modification such as window tinting, large spoilers, extra gauges or racing stickers. Police say this gives them probable cause to stop and inspect a vehicle and its engine compartment.
In practice, "excessive exaust noise" tickets are the most common violation. California law does not require police to measure sound levels objectively. Instead, according to the Calfiornia Highway Patrol, the "citation is based on officer's judgment."
Drivers of stock vehicles that come from the factory with some of the characteristics of modified cars have experienced harassment under this provision. One such motorist complained on an enthusiast website that the Calfiornia Highway Patrol was using these programs to make "driving while Asian" a crime, pointing out that the department's own website has several pages dedicated to Asian involvement in street racing and "vehicle modification."
Anyone receiving a vehicle modification "fix-it" ticket must visit a California Bureau of Automobile Repair office and pay a $35 fee to have their car inspected. If the car fails, a judge can impose another fine of up to $2000 for failing to meet California emissions requirements.
Article Excerpt:
"We're looking to make a heavy impact on speeding and street racing in this area," Sacramento Police Deputy Chief Steve Segura said during a press conference with local and state officials on Del Paso Road in North Natomas.
Source: Area law enforcers to receive training to combat street racing (Sacramento Bee, 8/4/2005)
Sacbee.com:
Area motorists beware: If your car is too loud, too low or pumps out too much smog, you face stiff fines in a new crackdown on illegal street racing designed to prevent fatalities and steer young people toward safe, legal raceways.
Also targeted are spectators who show up to watch illegal races, smog shops that OK gross polluting cars and auto parts businesses that install illegal modifications.
The first test case of the new zero-tolerance policy will be the prosecution of Jason Antoine Golson, 22, who is charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal street race in Citrus Heights earlier this month. Steve Allen Skattebo, 25, hit a tree and died while racing Golson down Auburn Boulevard on Feb. 2.
California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Frost has inspected the two cars involved for illegal racing modifications and plans to testify as an expert witness on street racing at Golson's trial.
"We have a huge problem in Sacramento since we have extremely high numbers of modified import vehicles," said Frost, who is helping train other CHP officers. "Honestly, I think we've been lucky that we haven't had more street-racing fatalities."
Under California law, officers can stop and inspect a vehicle if they reasonably suspect that the engine has illegal modifications.
Frost spent one recent afternoon patrolling the streets of Carmichael and North Highlands looking for the signs of street racing: a chassis that scrapes the ground, the throaty whirr of a wide exhaust pipe, and racing stickers on the windows.
At a stop on Watt Avenue, Frost asked for more than license, registration and proof of insurance. Like the other 130 officers trained by the Drag-Net program, Frost wanted to get a look under the hood.
He said the 1997 Acura Integra had an illegal air filter, its suspension was too low, and its exhaust system made too much noise. The car's registered owner, who was not present during the stop, will have to keep the car off the street until the state Bureau of Automotive Repairs certifies that the illegal parts have been removed.
Replacing a typical package of illegal modifications and reinstalling stock parts costs an estimated $2,500.
Price is the main reason Misty Arce, 26, hasn't changed anything about her lowered 1994 Honda Del Sol, even though the loud tailpipes and illegally tinted windows have netted her three traffic stops since Thanksgiving, including a citation from Frost.
"Honestly, I don't want to put any more money into it," she said after being pulled over on Walnut Avenue. "I want to get rid of it."
Authorities are banking on responses like Arce's to further tamp down on street racing. Rancho Cordova and the city of Sacramento have passed ordinances barring spectators at illegal street races, with penalties for violators that start at $500 and jump to $1,000 or six months in jail for a repeat offender.
"That's why they street race, to show off. So if there is no one watching, then it may decrease racing," said Sacramento Police Sgt. Michael Cooper, coordinator of the Drag-Net unit.
The drive to wipe out street racing statewide is modeled after a San Diego program started in 2001 when that city recorded 16 deaths and 31 major injuries attributed to street races. During the past two years there have been no street racing deaths.
The California Office of Traffic Safety last year expanded San Diego's program statewide with a $5 million grant to train officers from 75 police agencies to spot after-market racing parts.
"My biggest concern was, 'Oh man, they're going to try and make me a mechanic,' but they show us (what to look for) and I'll be darned if the stuff is not there under the hood," Cooper said.
Under the expanded state-sponsored effort, about $400,000 each will go to police departments in Sacramento, Riverside, Ontario, Oakland, Irwindale, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno and Stockton to pay for operations, educational presentations and training.
The new Drag-Net unit seems to be paying off locally. From October through December, Sacramento police wrote 550 smog and racing citations and towed 35 vehicles. Since January, Davis' five-person auto unit has issued 24 citations for smog violations tied to illegal racing parts. "It's just another tool in our toolbox," said motor officer Rod Rifredi.
Modifying cars for racing, however, remains popular with young people. Jesuit High School junior Michael Lee has spent close to $30,000 souping up his 1995 Nissan 240SX. He says tickets and attention from law enforcement are the cost of his hobby.
"I just see people with lowered cars or exhaust (systems) getting pulled over every day or at least a few times a week," said Lee.
Pajo Bruich, 26, who drives his modified 2003 Nissan 350Z mainly on weekends, thinks targeting street racers is unfair.
"It kind of seems like harassment," he said. "Honestly, you know, it's an innocent thing these kids are doing."
Authorities disagree. A street racing ticket equals two points on your driving record, and sometimes impromptu speed contests turn deadly. Kimberly Marie Wheeler, a single mother from Woodland, was killed when a street racer hit her broadside as she left work last June.
"These are not accidents," said CHP Officer Frost. "They are completely preventable incidents."
Instead of risky races on surface streets, Frost and his colleagues now encourage drivers to use the Sacramento Raceway, where racers can open up the throttle on a quarter-mile track every Wednesday for $8.
"We're trying to come up with a solution to get kids to race on the drag strip, not on the street," said Tony Trimp, who operates the raceway. "We're trying to get into local high schools, but some administrators don't like it because they think it promotes street racing, and I completely disagree. If you can get in there and educate them about it ... it keeps people alive."
This season's first two Wednesday race nights drew more than 1,500 young people who turned out to watch 250 cars compete for the fastest time. While Trimp is thrilled by the turnout, he and authorities want to figure out how to fill the raceway's other 5,500 seats with young people.
AMCRambler
Diamond Member
- Jan 23, 2001
- 7,715
- 31
- 91
I understand the whole get them to race on the drag strip tracks, but if you're a high school kid doing this for a hobby, you can't afford to own a daily driver and then have a track car. They're driving their modded cars on the street because they are the daily driver. Giving tickets for modified vehicles is over the top. An air intake and a fat exhaust pipe does not turn these little import cars into souped up sports cars. At the most 20 hp gain from small stuff like that. What's going to happen is they're going to stop buying cars that don't have the power stock and will start buying mid 80's Corvette's and things like that to race. Plenty of fast stock cars can be had cheaply enough. I don't think they're going to do anything but alienate a lot of enthusiasts as well as the aftermarket parts industry. They'll sure make a lot of money doing it though.
drinkmorejava
Diamond Member
- Jun 24, 2004
- 3,567
- 7
- 81
I'm not into this stuff at all, but STFW if you've modified it. It's not somehow unsafe because you've modified your, GASP, air intake. If they're stopping anyone it should be the dips in the thread with their junker cars; they're the ones who are going to get someone killed, themselves.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
AMCRambler:
I agree. It's like saying that because I have traction bars and wider than stock tires, I MUST be a street racer. Even though you don't get these when you go street racing.
After seeing a friend of mine get a ticket for doing 80 up an 8% grade in a 3 cylinder Geo Metro, my faith in traffic courts is pretty much that you're guilty unless you can get off on a technicality.
I agree. It's like saying that because I have traction bars and wider than stock tires, I MUST be a street racer. Even though you don't get these when you go street racing.
After seeing a friend of mine get a ticket for doing 80 up an 8% grade in a 3 cylinder Geo Metro, my faith in traffic courts is pretty much that you're guilty unless you can get off on a technicality.
FelixDeCat
Lifer
- Aug 4, 2000
- 31,228
- 2,776
- 126
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,598
- 997
- 126
If you don't want to be hassled, don't modify your car with parts that aren't legal.
The key point here is that the vehicle is NOT street legal.
The key point here is that the vehicle is NOT street legal.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,598
- 997
- 126
I watched the entire video and saw nothing wrong with what the cop did. He had a valid reason to pull the vehicle over, no front license plate and illegal tail lights. He noticed the exhaust, tach and shift light so he decided to check for illegal parts (probable cause). All they do is cite you and have you remove any illegal parts at your expense after the car is inspected.
Why does it surprise you that cops are starting to crack down on this? There are people killed here all the time due to street racing. It's not as though it's a mystery who is doing the street racing.
Hell, LAPD will confiscate your car and destroy it if they catch you street racing.
Now quit your bitching.
Why does it surprise you that cops are starting to crack down on this? There are people killed here all the time due to street racing. It's not as though it's a mystery who is doing the street racing.
Hell, LAPD will confiscate your car and destroy it if they catch you street racing.
Now quit your bitching.
You might want to look up some stuff beofre you post. I know for a FACT that the Ignation box that the video said was illegal is in fact 100% legal. If the people training the cops can;t get it right, what do you think regular cops will do.
And as was posted before. Street racers will just buy old camaros and such that are faster then the majority of modified civics.
This is a waste of money. And as a tax payer that ticks me off more. But good to see that want to go after billy for a muffler while they could be busting others for drugs, rape, etc...
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,598
- 997
- 126
You might want to consider the fact that I don't give a sh!t. That wasn't the only illegal part the cop pointed out. There were plenty of illegal parts to warrant a citation and a subsequent inspection. Just because it said MSD on the box you know that it is legal? So, you're saying MSD doesn't make any devices that aren't street legal then?
Oh, and cracking down on illegally modified cars in order to prevent street racing and the needless deaths they cause is a pretty good use of police resources IMO. One of my wife's best friends in high school was killed in a head on collision with some d!ckhead who was street racing. I remember going to the funeral of a young woman I barely knew who was in her early 20s because of that moron's actions. That sucked. It sucked way more than the inconvenience of getting pulled over for a traffic violation that's for sure.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
- Feb 15, 2000
- 20,551
- 2
- 81
People race in cars that are stock. People race in cars that they modify. The Amish have been known to race in horse and buggies. The equipment on a car isn't a reliable indicator of whether it's a street racer or not. All it does is hassle enthusiests.
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