California Cracking Down on Modified Cars Options

[BlackCelicaGT94]

Maybe I dont really wanna move to Cali.

I know its illegal to mod your car. Ive gotten crap from Police about it up here in Washington about modifying my stock car but dayum! i doubt i would stick out though in Cali.
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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.

Related Reports: Red light camera study roundup

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)

Regional News:
Other news about Sacramento, California

Other news about Santa Fe Springs, California

Heres the original article, featured in the Sacramento Bee newspaper:

Area law enforcers to receive training to combat street racing
By Tony Bizjak -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 4:25 pm PDT Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Sacramento city police and other Sacramento county law enforcement agencies have been selected as the first in the state to receive special training on how to catch street racers with souped-up cars.
Announcing a $5 million federal grant Wednesday, state and local officials vowed to crack down more on speeders, and especially young drivers who illegally alter their engines to make them faster.



"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.

The event took place a few hundred feet from where Kimberly Marie Wheeler, 40, was hit and killed by a 19-year-old street racer on a June weekday afternoon as she left work.

The state's top transportation official, Business, Transportation & Housing Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak, called Wheeler's death an example of "a needless incident that has to be stopped."

Officers representing most law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County will be trained on ways they can legally stop a car they suspect has been illegally modified, then how to look for and recognize illegal modifications, officials said.

Those officers then will train others in their departments on how to spot and check out illegal engines, and on what citations they can write.

Notably, owners of illegally modified cars can be cited for failing to meet state emissions standards, which can lead to fines and fees of more than $2,000, said Gregory Sloan, a San Diego city police officer who will conduct the training.

The program funded by the grant is called Drag-Net. The program also includes increasing efforts to find out where street racing occurs and to crack down on the races.

[soulshadow]

Whoosh, that was scary reading the thing. I would deff. fail at every one of those things to look for in a car minus the window taint and body kit. Its a good thing that I live in Arkasas tho. And damn those cops, ASIAN! Im ASIAN. Does that mean I'll get pulled over more often now?

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

And damn those cops, ASIAN! Im ASIAN. Does that mean I'll get pulled over more often now?

Yes, yes it does. If you can't tell from my other posts, I'm completely outraged. I can't believe no one else expresses my level of discuss with this. My mom has told me that Cali is wierd and it won't spred to the rest of the country. I sure hope not. I want to go to Canada. I've done my research on different countries, and Canada and Japan seem good choices. Both have good economies and friendly people and stable nice government. Canada is too cold, and Japan is way to crowded. Canada is also english speeking, but still so very cold.

[94ST2]

Hey Im very angry about this. I cant even drive my car to the local cruise areas or even to any main areas of the city on the weekend nights because of the threat of a ticket/impound. The cops here plan it all out too there will be none of them patrolling and then all of the sudden they will all just show up and start pulling imports over left and right. Also I dont know if you read my previous post about the smog checkpoints that they set up like DUI checkpoints but for smog. They have a few of the undercover cars here a few civics with exhaust and some body mods and window tinting but if you look closely you can see the blue/red lights in the rear window.

[dlx742]

today i was cruising in San Diego with my friend in his turbo civic si hatch and we got followed by a cop. he followed us about 5 blocks and through about 10 turns. he finnaly left us once we went into a private yaucht club where we sail. we thought we were going to get rolled

but on the other hand i really havent seen many people in socal get pulled over for a decent modified exhaust or any other decent modifications. i mean, if you aren't speeding or doing something stupid like a ricer, then your chance of getting pulled over is pretty slim.

one of the big reasons cops dont like "tuner" or "ricer" cars is because a lot of people who are actually "ricer" are stupid and do **** like rev all the time and burn out in parking lots and hurt people. its all a mater of being smart about the way you drive. dont be ricer

[hioctane]

yeah and i live in cali. I have already gotten several tickets!!! Nowadays everyone in cali drives a modified car. Cops are really anal in cali. I don't blame them for cracking down on illegal street racing 'cause I have seen many several where people would do stupid things like doing donuts. once a mustang almost hit my car after doing donuts, but a big rigged smash right into it before it could. People find street racing to be amusing and thrilling but it's actaully a waste of time. The street racing scene is appealing to hs kids who just go the DL and they're out to make a rep for themselves that's why it's bad for college people to go to the runs because theyll most likely do something stupid. Personally, i think it's stupdi that they spent 5 million dollars on the program and cutting school budget and then telling us that we have a budget spending problem. This is probably arnold's way of getting us to pay taxes by giving us tickets. jaslfkjsldkfjadksfjsf and gas prices are high and housing and rent is crazy!!! california sucks the people are cool though.

This post has been edited by hioctane: Nov 19, 2005 - 6:47 AM

[LewFX]

the gas prices are high everywhere, housing should be high from the economy. where do ppl expect we get back this money thats owed? he didnt raise axes so ppl should be happy but he has to take it somewhere. if u want higher taxes then vote for a democrat. its like prez bush, yeah he spent more money because we are at war so it kinda makes it tough to fix the debt. i believe clinton's era we never went to war and he didnt have to shell out millions of dollars threfore the debt wasnt as high. clinton had it easy for 4 years, not much happened except in his pants with monica.

[mr_dude]

Well, never war on this scale. There was the whole Serbia thing. If we compare our cost of living (gas, taxes) to the rest of Western society (Europe) we've got it good. I think we're in for some tough times. China has bought a buttload of US treasury bonds...

But back on topic, as an alternative to spending money training cops to be like Paul Walker, I say Sacramento should supply cheaper, more accessible race tracks for the masses. Driving 3 hours to Buttonwillow to spend 150 for track time sounds mildly appealing, but if I could do it here for 50 I'd be there every weekend.