California Crackdown on Modified Cars (using your tax money to do it)

[ct9a gsr]

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/05/576.asp



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 California generating significant revenue for the state 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 California 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."

Those 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.



Link to a news video:
http://www.specwar119.com/sacraid.mpg


If this is a repost, oh well.

[JBalla1036]

Ya already heard about this shit. Its some crazy stuff. One reason I'm glad I moved from cali.

[justinxecushyn]

Fuck, i hope that shit doesn't come here.

[rollin_hard]

Fuck, i hope that shit doesn't come here.

that shit is already here.

[ahmonrah]

fuck!!! can people have anything ??

[RandomGuy]

crazy shit... damn man if they saw your car theyd faint ct9a

[1439/2000]

crazy shit... damn man if they saw your car theyd faint ct9a

Not really. His car falls under the "cars from the factory that have the characteristics of being modified."

Probably get a warning just for driving an Evo or an SRT4 or a Vette.

I pretty much drive that same car but I probably wouldnt get pulled over. That sucks..... for you guys.

[Kalifornia087]

Not really. His car falls under the "cars from the factory that have the characteristics of being modified."

Probably get a warning just for driving an Evo or an SRT4 or a Vette.

I pretty much drive that same car but I probably wouldnt get pulled over. That sucks..... for you guys.

Cop 1 : Hey, that look like one of them racers to you Frank?
Cop 2 : Nahh, my wife drives one o' them, it's just a galant with rims.
Cop 1 : Oh, O.K


Lucky Bastard

[RISKYB]

thats total bullshit, my car my money and my life, screw them

[Importdreamer56]

cross our fingers it doesn't come here

[krindus]

"doesn't come here?" thats not what im worried about, thats "Federal" Cash, your tax money, my tax money, fuck them, we're funding this bullshit, doesn't matter where it is. some people protest war because their taxes are paying for it, i'll protest this man, freedom of speech and expression. son of the bitch

[justinxecushyn]

"doesn't come here?" thats not what im worried about, thats "Federal" Cash, your tax money, my tax money, fuck them, we're funding this bullshit, doesn't matter where it is. some people protest war because their taxes are paying for it, i'll protest this man, freedom of speech and expression. son of the bitch

my tax money goes to other usless pieces of shit anyway, i dont want it to be used against something that i really like...like modding my car.

[djdetox]

Uncle Sam is always tryin to cash in, doesn’t he? Wtf!

How about we start a task force called "Operation Pot Hole" and everytime a shitty road that I pay good tax money for has a pot hole and fucks up my wheels or body kit, they have to get the road inspected and when it fails they need to pay every tax payer in that county a small refund! Seem fair???

Fuckin assholes!!

[justinxecushyn]

Uncle Sam is always tryin to cash in, doesn’t he? Wtf!

How about we start a task force called "Operation Pot Hole" and everytime a shitty road that I pay good tax money for has a pot hole and fucks up my wheels or body kit, they have to get the road inspected and when it fails they need to pay every tax payer in that county a small refund! Seem fair???

Fuckin assholes!!

I second that, its crazy with the whole pothole thing. In buckhead and some surronding back residential roads, there was come repaving going on not to long ago, the streets weren't even that bad, Redan road needed to be paved for the longest, instead of doing what they did in buckhead, they painted over the damn holes and bumps without even smoothing it out. They did it on the street here in buckhead, took a long ass time too. I think they go wehre the money is...fuck politics

[krindus]

my tax money goes to other usless pieces of shit anyway, i dont want it to be used against something that i really like...like modding my car.

Thats my point. We're all here because we enjoy modding cars (import or domestic) If we want something done, we have to take action. like Writing your senators, local government, federal government, the president, anything.

[Jaimecbr900]

I'm certainly not one to jump on the "cops are harrassing me" bandwagon, but to be honest that's an obvious sign of abuse there IMO. Cutting down street racing is one thing, having and 'drag net' to give you BS tickets is completely different.

Then again, I've come to expect things like this from the land of the nuts, fruits, and flakes.....Cali.

[Importdreamer56]

but, what can we the the people with modified cars actually do to prevent this from happening

[Bishop]

illegal modification such as window tinting, large spoilers, extra gauges or racing stickers.

LOLOLOLOL Its about time they made those damn spoilers illegal.

[ironchef]

What i dont get is if its modified and doesnt have like a gigantic fart can exhaust, how is it harming other people? What kind of damage might it be doing just cause its faster or something?

[yourbigdaddy]

LA county is way worse though... in LA if you get causght racing they will demolish your car.. not impound it.. fuck a fine .. they will kill the car ... thats fukin worse

[SLOWR/T]

Quote "but, what can we the the people with modified cars actually do to prevent this from happening"

FIGHT BACK!!! nowadays if you want your rights then you have to fight for it. i havent ever got a ticket for having a "modified" part so i dont know the process, if its fightable or what. i WILL NOT change my car for those sons of bitchs. they dont like my "modified" car FUCK THEM!!!!! there are more teenages and people that mod cars than the cops could shake a stick at. if we all got together we wouldnt have this bullshit. i bet in Cali you wont see a 57' Bel-Air pulled over thats been lower has nice polished wheels, gauges (just about every one that owns a old car puts aftermarket gauges in it casue the old ones are dead or off) then pop the hood and oh well looky there its a S/C LS1, hahaha sorry thats not stock. you think that guy would get a ticket. HELL NO!!!! he would be doing good just to get pulled over much less a ticket. also take ruiner for example they arent going to pull over someone with a mod'd Porsche. they are targeting young(er) people and thats not right!! im sick of this bull shit and its going to stop. were going to have to get off our asses and quit taking our freedoms for granite. this bullshit needs to stop now before it gets to bad. cause its only a matter of time before ATL gets something the same. yeah we have the laws but they dont enforce them like Cali. thats my thought on it.

[trythefly]

Our government trying to intervene with our lives and take away more rights is not a good thing. This is bullshit......

[b18hb]

complaining on the web forum isn't going to solve anything...

[Twinturbo6]

yeah we need to unite with other sites and start a patition or something..... thats some bull.....How can they get away with justifying that? It makes me so mad. crush your car for racing? what was detroit in the 70's? All muscle cars americans adore started as factory direct race packages anyway. how can they issue tickets for mods alone? whats so illegal about it any way.. I hate that sh_t........

[QuickBrick]

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.

B.S. That's called "profiling" and is a huge violation in law enforcement; a good attorney would have a field day with it…

Cali has always cracked down on drivers (speeding ect) for extra highway money from the government, that will never change…

And Jamie I appreciate that nut, fruits and flakes thing bro, before the mass transplants Cali was a great place to live…

Tom

[bigb996]

cali is nazai about everything though. Here they arnt nearly as picky. As far as drag racing yes its stupid ont he street and you should get caught. However having mods shouldnt make you unable to drive around with them. Tahts stupid its like the freedom laws are being taken away very slowly.

[Kalifornia087]

^^ agreed on the fruits and flakes thing LoL.. grew up in Santa Cruz, still go out there to stay with my dad... the whole system out there sucks ass as far as the car shit goes though... profiling sucks, but we can't all afford an attorney unfortunately, and they count on that factor im sure when they do it.

[nightracer]

The People's Republic of California

Looks like the totalitarian state is swinging the guillotine of automotive marxist/lenninism again. Bottom line, California govt. is a god damn joke. They should just deal with like Japan does. Send a cop to break it up and let people go on with their lives. I've been to California before. They go off in the least populated areas for drag racing which shows some responsibility. Yes its illegal but people are going to do it. California cops are just racist. First the rodney king, south central and riot incidents and now this profiling of asians.

The thing Cali's law enforcement did not consider was that the phenomena was now widespread and an interest and lifestyle of not just Asians and Mexicans but every concieveable cread and color in the land. The shit has spread from the streets of oarange county and south central to the highways of the mid-west and the deep south. This stuff has been going on in Ohio since the 60's. They cannot stop street racing I for one will take action against this stupidity even though I don't live there. Yes blocking off streets is retarded but who are they to tell people how to use their cars? This is unconstitutional and something needs to be done if you ask me.

[krindus]

if you go to www.senate.gov you can pull up our senators (or california's). This is what i suggest: A petition. Now i've never been one to stand up against stuff like this but it's just such a kick in the ass for all of us, that we really need to do something.
They have web form's that will send them emails (not quite as effective as real mail.) but if we got everyone from IA or other sites to mail/email their senators & the cali senators, they might just get a clue that we're prepared to fight back. now the only thing we need to do is.... Get prepared to fight back, (so write!) anyone want to come up with a good format to use so we can spread the word?

Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA) Class II
416 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3521
Web Form: chambliss.senate.gov/Contact/default.cfm?pagemode=1

Isakson, Johnny- (R - GA) Class III
120 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3643
Web Form: isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm


Boxer, Barbara- (D - CA) Class III
112 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3553
Web Form: boxer.senate.gov/contact

Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA) Class I
331 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3841
Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/email.html

[SLOWR/T]

dude thats a good idea. then they would know that not only cali residents thinks it sucks but even the east cost and rest of the states. we need to post this on other fourms and get the word out and then make some dates that we could send them. kinda like in waves so they would have time to empty the mail boxes

[Negrodamus]

California is the most OVERRATED place to live PERIOD high taxes,high standard of living and emissions reguations are retated. Georgia will never do that nor will any other southern state.....too ass backward to give a fuck whats under ur hood as long as it can get you from point A to B.

[Buford®]

That's pretty crappy. I don't think it'll happen to GA soon, but I think it'll eventually happen.