Diego police video - you bastards....

[cashflyer]

Here is a police training video that was posted this weekend.

I admit that I am no fan of Ricers. I hate the fart-can exhaust and the faux "euro" lights.

But on the other hand... WTF!!?? Is the whole left coast a bunch of commies, or just F'ing stupid??

Big exhaust is, in and of itself, evidence of illegal modifications?
It's illegal to have adjustable timing??

I'm sorry... you bastards in blue would be taking me to jail. That ****'s just WRONG.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NCyMkB0uMeg





The above is reflective of my opinion, and may or may not be directly related to the amount I have had to drink tonight. Your mileage may vary. If swallowed, seek the advice of a physician.

[Hugh R]

Cash:

You don't live in Cali I notice. Coming from an environmental background, LA had the worst air quality in the U.S. for years, still does, but its a lot better now than 30 years ago. Why? Because of air pollution control laws which basically work on the supposition that your right to belch exhaust out of your car is not also your god given right to sully the air that I breath. I'm no big fan of Big Brother, but face it the clean air act forced the car manufacturers to go from cars that got 10 mpg and needed tune ups every 5k miles to new ones that get 30 mpg, and go 50 or 100k between tuneups. If ten million cars here could be modified any way the owner wanted, we'd be back at Stage 3 smog alerts which we haven't had here in 30 years.

Having said that, I do have a Steve W chip in my Targa. I also don't like street racers.

[Paul K]

Do a word search on 'Porsche' on that site. Loads of stuff!

Cheers,

Paul.

[sammyg2]

You call the police officers bastards as if they write the laws. Duh, they don't.
They are paid to enforce the laws, whether they agree with them or not. It is their job.
If you don't like the laws, call the lawmakers names (they prolly deserve it) but not the police.

It is illegal to modify a vehicle in any way that is not DOT approved, in So. Cal or So. Carolina.
The only difference is the training video shows them how to enforce the law instead of shirking their responsibility.

I don't necessarily agree with the law but I don't like choking on the air and it isn't the cops fault.

[Jeff Higgins]

This does not seem to be about emissions, Hugh. The video stresses the street racing involvement of cars modified in this manner. It concludes with the old public safety justification for this kind of enforcement. I would imagine these cars do not pollute very much more, if any more at all, than they do in stock form. Certainly their low numbers, even if they polluted slightly more, would have a negligible impact on California's air quality. With your ready admission of your Wong chip installation, and your impressive collection of old polluters, I would suspect you feel that way about your own cars. I know I do about mine. The enthusiast sector has a pretty minimal impact on the air we breath.

Teaching officers that this is all about street racing just does not sit well with me. Making that judgement based on the outward appearance of the car is getting on a pretty slippery slope. Just what does a cop have to see to have a "reasonable cause" to pull some one over? A fart cannon and some window stickers? I'm sorry; that simply should not be enough.

Things are better now, but this used to be a way of life for us bikers. With all the yuppie weekend warriors the heat has come off almost entirely, but they are almost all running modifications that would have gotten us stopped 20 years ago. I guess it's o.k. if "respectable members of society" ignore vehicle regulations. Back "in the day" I used to get stopped several times a month when some cop wanted to hassle me; their "in" was obstensibly illegal vehicle modifications observed as I rode by. Funny, I never failed their up-close scrutiny, but that was never good enough. There was always something else... I just hate to see this happening to another targeted group.

[Jims5543]

Someone explain Deisel trucks belching smoke like a factory in the air. Are they EVER going to have emmisions on those things. I think Deisel technology has advanced enough to start phasing in something.

A cat-back enxhaust is legal in Cali as long as you carry your "papers" with you and produce such "papers" when demanded to by the officer investigating you. Hmm.. something about that "papers" thing reminds me of something I just cannot put my finger on it right now...


It annoys me the hear them automatically associate the car with street racing. Go read the Corvettes are track cars thread. I am assumed to be a ricer because my RX-t have an "illegal" exhaust on it. I do not street race, I track my car and it has been modded for me to get the most out of my track experiance.

I am glad I do not live in Cali. and I Florida ever got as rediculas. I would move from here too.

How do any of you Porsche guys even drive around there without getting stopped? A lot of you track and I know a lot of you are "illegal". Is it because its a Porsche and not a Honda?

[yellowline]

You guys don't think it's a hoax designed to get people to stop being stupid?

If it effectively works for ricers and makes them take their crap off without violating constitutional rights, all the better. The ones that get pulled over will still be the ******* idiots.

[nostatic]

there are plenty of laws to be enforced by PD. If someone is street racing, then bust 'em. But I'd frankly rather have them spending their time chasing real criminals that people who mod their cars. If it passes, emissions, what is the point?

This actually is pretty racist...how many white guys you see driving cars with the mods shown?

[slodave]

My take on the video:

The officer opened up with "I'm stopping you because of no front license plate". In California, they can pull you over for not having a front plate. BTW, three out of four of my cars DO NOT have front plates. I don't know how things are in other states, but we suffer from a lot of late night street racing. I have been lucky and the times I have been stopped, I have been let off. My p-car is lowered to euro specs (illegal due to bumper height) , has no front plate and is tinted up front (not windshield). I have yet to be pulled over, but at the same time, I do not fit the typical SoCal. racer. I do expect to have to comply to with the law if I do get stopped.

California is trying to prevent deaths that are happening because teen drivers are able to modify their cars and race them in less than perfect conditions - that mixed with invincibility complex that teens have. If a cop pulls you over for a valid stop, then he has the right at that point to search your car for other infractions. Those are my thoughts. Everyone is entitled to them. Thanks!!

And yes, the white guy being stopped in the video is very out of place.

Dave

[slodave]

BTW, I had a '88 16V Scirocco that had an intake cam installed - not street legal, euro down pipes - not street legal, no cat (for a while) - not street legal and an aftermarket muffler. The emissions were VERY clean. I don't think emissions are what the PD is looking for.

Dave

[djmcmath]

That guy needs to get a new lawyer. A proper lawyer would have known that a vehicle in operable condition can generally fall under the "emergent" rules, given probable cause. e.g., the guy could drive off and change the engine bay while you're getting a warrant. The other thing is that when the guy gets arrested, his car gets towed and impounded ... then the police (as I understand it -- someone correct me if I'm wrong) are required to do a full search of the vehicle incident to impound. So not only does he go to jail, he loses his car, and gets nailed for the ticket. There's a lawyer who probably ought to be debarred.

The only oddity is that vehicular modifications fall under traffic code, which is distinctly not law. If he was hauling marijuana in the engine bay, well, that would be a violation of law, and therefore a crime. "Illegal" modifications aren't "illegal," techinically, they're a violation of code, aka an "infraction." It's different, and I'm honestly not sure what constitutional protections apply to code violations. Any lawyers here know how search and seizure applies here?

[billyboy]

A warrant is not required to search a car as long as there is probable cause to believe that a law has been broken regarding something in the car. if an officer has PC that there are drugs in the car(smell of marijuana for example) it may be searched along with all containers contained therein. If there is PC to believe that there have been illegal mods made to the car,then it can be searched without a warrant.

[widgeon13]

Racial profiling for your car, how interesting. Guess you guys with all the turbo flares, 18' wheels and dual out exhausts will be changing back to stock or maybe we are just targeting ricers, yeah, that's the ticket.

[cashflyer]

Although my father is from San Diego and had some input regarding the video, I do not now nor have I ever lived in California.

Jeff "gets-it". And Jeff's remarks about bikers and the prejudice that they faced from LE is exactly along the lines of what my father had to say about them "old days".

I know that officers do not write law or code. My derogatory remarks are based on the criteria which is used to determine that the driver was a wanton criminal and a danger to society - his exhaust and stickers. Again, Jeff was right on the mark with his comments on this. Although the front plate was mentioned to the driver as the reason for the detainment, it is apparent from the narration of the video that the officer had already "determined" that the driver was a lawbreaker and the plate was merely an excuse for the pull.

Cars can be modified and still meet emissions. This video is clearly not about emissions - even though that will probably be the basis of the actual charges. This video is about illegal profiling.

[widebody911]

What I found highly unrealistic was the middle-aged white guy driving the Honda.

If there's enough surplus police manpower that we can have them spend time dicking around under some ricer's hood, then it's time to cut the PD budget. Remember this next time a bond measure comes up for a vote, and the cops are whinging about not having enough cash to be tough on crime.

Cops (and city treasurers) love this stuff because it's easy and lucrative. There's not nearly as much ROI in shaking down Meisha the crack ho' for the the nth time.

[nostatic]

Originally posted by cashflyer


Jeff "gets-it". And Jeff's remarks about bikers and the prejudice that they faced from LE is exactly along the lines of what my father had to say about them "old days".

maybe if the governator drove a ricerocket instead of a harley, this video might be a bit different...

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by nostatic
maybe if the governator drove a ricerocket instead of a harley, this video might be a bit different...

It ain't Der Governator. It's more like if successful, middle aged businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and such drove around with fart cannons on their cars and ricer racing stickers in the windows, the cops would not look twice.

It seems the easy, low risk shakedown is what many in law enforcement have been reduced to. With otherwise law-abiding, non-threatening citizens this is often the only exposure they get to LEO's. While the LEO's don't write the laws and codes they are required to enforce, they are the point of contact. This kind of exposure is what erodes the publics trust and respect for LEO's and "the system".

I agree with Thom. Remember where your local levy dollars are going next time they seek more money. If the city, county, or state feesl it has enough officers to deploy as many as they do in these roles, then they clearly have too many. While important crime rates continue to climb, our LEO's are asked to do this kind of work. Maybe we should ask them to stop.

[singpilot]

Originally posted by nostatic
maybe if the governator drove a ricerocket instead of a harley, this video might be a bit different...

Perhaps if the Governator set a better example for everyone (police and citizens of the society he Governates) by actually HAVING a license to operate his Harley, we'd all be better off.

[legion]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
It seems the easy, low risk shakedown is what many in law enforcement have been reduced to. With otherwise law-abiding, non-threatening citizens this is often the only exposure they get to LEO's. While the LEO's don't write the laws and codes they are required to enforce, they are the point of contact. This kind of exposure is what erodes the publics trust and respect for LEO's and "the system".

Exactly, when I was in college and just out of college, I was subject to this kind of thing all the time. I didn't drive a ricer, just a new Grand Am GT. Now that I drive the F150, I don't get a second look going 15 over. I got pulled over once in the GA for having an "improper license plate cover" after being tailed in my blind spot for over 15 miles on the interstate.

[yellowline]

The "I think I'd like to try the wrench thing" quote is hilarious.

But again:

Kids my age don't know their rights. Having cops circulate this stuff online may be effective. Most kids will say "O $hit," and take off the modz that add 15 horsepower, yo. Then they'll stop weaving through traffic and generally acting like they're tracking a 997TT.

FWIW, I've done 10 over on interstates right by radar traps without hassle, where the speed of other traffic was 65.