California Crackdown on Modified Cars

[DatsunZGuy]

I'm not a big fan of "Ricers" or street racing, but this is getting a little out of hand!

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

Could you be their next victim?

[sblake01]

Window tint, large spoilers, extra gauges, racing stickers, excessive exhaust noise. No, I really couldn't be their next victim. And why do you use the word 'victim?' I really don't think that this has much to do with the type of cars we generally discuss here.

[DatsunZGuy]

the interpretation is very subjective.

An officer may pull me over for driving something like this...even if the exhaust is as quiet as a church mouse and I'm doing the speed limit.

Heaven forbid I would want the right to install a 240ZG nose kit on my car

[TomoHawk]

Soap-box time!

I'd agree with some of the stuff that's wrong with rice cars. In my area, you can get a citation for playing your car radio too loud, so why not exhaust loudness too? And those park bench "spoilers?" I've seen a few of those, and I don't think they allow the driver to see out the back window. Window tinting is a safety hazard too. Stickers? the only stickers you should have are one ones from the facytor/dealer/ AAA, and a bumper sticker or two.

Not only should they get a ticket, but the car's warantee should be voided (if it had one), and there should be a note put in with the OWNER'S Insurance provider.

thx

I'd put up with the factory spoilers, like the Subaru ones, and a "sporty" exhaust sound, but that's about all.

"Keep America Beautiful"

[Pennyman]

I live just North of some kind of ricer central. Now, please, understand, I am NOT a racist, but there seems to be two distinct forms of "rice": Asian, and Mexican. They are sometimes hard to tell apart, but there are some differences to point out. Asian rice usually consists of a body kit, fart can exhaust, Extra gauge pods, and sometimes neon paint and/or lighting underneath. Mex rice on the other hand can contain all of these, but instead of spending their money on neon paint and gauges, usually spend it on chrome trim for their wheelwells or door mouldings, or cutouts for the taillights or extra exhaust openings. It seems like Asian rice spurrs from "The Fast and the Furious" style, while the Mex draws from both that, and the lowrider style and smooshes it into one. I see a lot of this about 20 minutes South of where I live, and it's just ridiculous.

I have friends who are both Asian and Mexican, so please don't think I have something against them in general.

In terms of the popo, they are generally ok, but the motorcycle cops are the ones you must look out for. They also REALLY don't like reckless driving around here, such as drifting. Kinda depends too on which small part of town you're in too. Local cops are usually stricter because they have to make money for their town, so they'll stop you for anything, where CHP will only stop you if you're doing something bad.

[TomoHawk]

I think of Asian rice as something with parsley & spices, and Mexican rice as something with crushed dried jalopeno & beans.

[Inf]

"Keep America Beautiful"

"Keep America Free"

[jmortensen]

Sounds like a good revenue generator to me.

Stickers are probable cause to pull you over and search your vehicle??? What kind of crap is that? There is no definition of stickers either, could be anything from a giant Japanese word that probably translates to dumbass across the hood of your Civic, or it could be a political bumper sticker or anything. So the cop is a democrat and you're a republican with a bumper sticker and now he has technical probable cause to stop you and inspect under the hood? Sounds like too much police power to me. Oh right, it won't be abused will it? Cops would never pay undue attention to a Vanagon covered with daisies and Grateful Dead bears and pot leaves... :?

There are already laws for loud exhaust and loud stereos. It's called disturbing the peace, and I wish officers would enforce those laws more vigorously to be perfectly honest. There are also rules about rearward vision. Think of all the delivery vans that don't have rear windows at all. The law in CA anyway states that if you don't have a window in the back you have to have both side mirrors present. If you've got both side mirrors present, the cops should leave you the hell alone regardless of how big your wing is. This is America damn it, and if I want to be really stupid I should have the right to do so without government interference.

Drifting and street racing are already illegal, even where there are no laws geared at drifting and street racing. They are covered by the same law that covers wandering all over the road while on your cell phone; it's called reckless driving. Still we feel a need to pass more laws to fight crimes that can already be fought with the existing laws. There is no need to trample civil liberties to jackasses from drifting and street racing, but those who seek to protect us from ourselves would like nothing more.

[beandip]

I'm not a big fan of "Ricers" or street racing, but this is getting a little out of hand!

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

Could you be their next victim?

It has been just a matter of time ! Any one that lives near any stright away in the suburbs or even in the cities and has to listen to the RICER-MOBILES , blasting up and down the streets is in favor of clamping down. Also because of the raceing on the streets. It is simpley a cause and effect . Unfortunetly when the pendulum swings it will go to the other extreeme , then settle out. We will all loose here because as Cal goes the rest will follow. It has in the past and will this time as well. Especially where the populated areas are. Here in Portland we have recently seen a number of RICERS cought speeding on the freeways in excess of 140 mph in Honda Civics ! Now there is a platform that will be safe at that kind of speed ! NOT Gary

[Ed]

Sounds like racial profiling to me. So what if the car has been modified. As long as the driver obeys the law leave them alone.

[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."]

What about loud motorcycles??? I don't see anybody complaining about Motorcycles that have been modified. I see & hear twice as many motorcycles that have loud pipes.

[TomoHawk]

FREEDOM comes with a price. the kind of freedom that lets EVERYBODY live in peace with others in the area, and the stuff these ricers ( and maybe others, even) are doing is taking away fthe AFREEDOM of everybody. That's why it should stop. Vans with groovy paint and Greatful Dead logos, marijuana leaves, etc. is one person's way of making a statement, but when these ricers put so many strickers on the car insinuating that they are racers, is about the same as doing the actual racing, which is illegal.

FREEDOM doesn't mean you can jeapordize somebody else's.

thx

[TomoHawk]

Sounds like racial profiling to me. So what if the car has been modified. As long as the driver obeys the law leave them alone.

Did you ever see a Hells Angel's club? You probablty think they're a bunch of bikers who are borderline criminals. Most people do. Some of them are. To me, it's not the Asians, or the Mexican's. These people are mostly 'Americans' doing something that is isn't. Most people in this country probably think that the U.S. is the best country in the world and other countries should take cues from the U.S.

Hopefully not the kind that we're talking about in this topic.

thx