The epitomy of bullshit.
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Even though this is in California it still pisses me off. :mad:
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. :mad:
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. :mad:
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. :mad:
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." :mad:
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." :mad:
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. :mad:
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)A crack down on actual street racing I can agree on because it is dangerous and people can and have been killed doing it. But the rest? PURE BULLSHIT!
Sterling Archer: Oh my god! You killed a hooker!
Cyril Figgis: Call girl!
Sterling Archer: No Cyril! When they're dead they're just hookers!
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they would rather spend million's of dallors to stop people from street racing then to stop people from doing drugs. how gay is that.
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I agree, this is total BS. What I'd SERIOUSLY like to see is the ACLU step in and stand up for the people who have done nothing but make their cars look nice (or rice...whichever). IMHO it is an invasion of privacy, a direct contradiction to freedom of expression, an illegal search and seizure and also blatant harassment and abuse of power.
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oh yeah...and cops suck....noone else mentioned that in here...
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California cops like it in the pooper wrote:
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 stickersthe department's own website has several pages dedicated to Asian involvement in street racing and "vehicle modification."
"We're looking to make a heavy impact on speeding and street racing in this area,"
come on now.. if thats not profiling, i dunno what is. i hate to say it, but it sounds like theyre worse off there than we are here.
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I have 3 mods done to my car that could easily get me waist deep in fines....just reading that truely makes me realize how lucky we are here...
Modifying our vehicles is a major hobby/passion to all of us...and just the thought that somewhere else they are now stooping low enough to stop someone just because they have an HKS or Greddy sticker on their window....its fucking sickening...
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i say we move ther, and get a completely stock car and put a ricer sticker on it and drive around and fuck them over! hahahahahahaha
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Ok, this pissed me off enough to send an email to the California Highway Patrol. Anyone that feels like sounding off on this can email them at [email protected]
My email was sent as follows:
Let me start off by saying I am not a citizen of California, nor have I personally had any problems with the police officers in California. Having said that I am finding it rather disturbing that (according to numerous online/offline sources) you are training your officers to target and profile automobiles that have been modified by telling them to look for stickers/decals, gauges, large spoilers and tint. If they are not breaking any laws, why bother them?
I understand the tint law states that windows BEHIND the drivers head may be tinted...and that a right side mirror is needed if you tint the back window, and have no problems with that law or with your officers pulling over someone who has an ILLEGAL tint job. But what is illegal about stickers/decals? Does the constitution not provide for FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/SPEECH? What if the sticker was one from RASR (Racers Against Street Racing) or RFC (Racers For Christ)? Do you really think people that are members of those groups street race? If not, then why should the guy with an HKS or Greddy or APS or Turbonetics or Forced Performance or Blitz or AEM decal get pulled over? Just because they like the product? Just because you think they MIGHT have an illegal part on their car.
Please explain also why aftermarket gauges are illegal. Is it a crime to care about your car to the point that you want to be able to monitor all aspects of the engine at a glance? What is more dangerous, someone who is monitoring their oil pressure and seeks service when they notice a drop in pressure or the people who rely on their CEL's (check engine lights) only to have their car stall along side a major freeway/interstate?
Large spoilers (though I'm not a personal fan of them) are also an expression of someones interests and MANY new cars come factory equipped with such wings (Subaru WRX STi, Mitsubishi Evolution VIII, just to name a couple), not as an option, but standard. How can you pull someone over for a factory option which was obviously approved by the DOT in the first place?
Same goes for exhaust noise. I can understand if someone has a blatantly loud and obnoxious exhaust (read every harley-davidson motorcycle in the world....thats a whole nother story though) that they should be subject to a fine IF and ONLY IF it is not a standard (non-damaged/modified) OEM component. Again, OEM's have a ton of red tape to go through before they can even sell a car in this country, I'm pretty sure they got the green light on exhaust noise levels before shipping them public. Worse yet is that it is based "on officers judgement". Isn't that like saying "Geez, I think that guy was going 65 in a 60 mph zone" without a radar gun or other test to determine actual vehicle speed and then actually writing a ticket out for the speed that they might, maybe have been going? It seems like it would be really easy to target the import tuner market since they are the least likely to have expensive lawyers to back them.
Ok, now that I've scolded you, I do think I must applaud your efforts to control street racing. I understand it is a problem, and I do not condone it either. I don't have a good answer on how to get that problem under control, though I don't think your methods are fair or effective.
I'm really glad I live in North Dakota, where law enforcement agents are concerned about real problems like Meth, Cocaine, Marijuana and Alcoholism instead of a state that has nothing better to do apparantly than harass young adults who are (often) of Asian decent because they MIGHT have a part that MIGHT someday maybe not be up to standards for CARB? I feel sorry for the people of your state
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way to tell them off chuck!
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somebody needed to say something and it got said. round of applause to you chuck.
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damn your good!
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very well said chuck.
R.I.P 1QK_PNY:icon_salut:
Current Ride-1983 Mustang GT T-top. 03 GSXR 750.
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Chuck, nicely done. Generate significant revenue my ass. I could see how they want to crack down on street racing, but flat out profiling is pretty scary. WTF ever happened to protect and serve down there? Yeah, I guess in California they don't have murders, drugs, rapes, homeless, underpaid teachers, etc. We better get all over the modified vehicles, because they are obvioulsy ruining the utopia that is California. But I suppose that helping the homeless, getting someone to stop abusing drugs and alcohol, or solving some more of their 2 billion murders a year doesn't turn a nice profit so fuck it huh? (sorry I'd just woken up and was crabby
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Nice letter Chuck.
I feel ashamed now for having been born in San Diego.
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I think we should all copy it and resend it, with chucks permission of course.
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