Is that Bacon I smell?

[PabloVTA]

California: Police Raid Car Enthusiast Gathering, Generate Revenue

it's not just the Sierra club and the EPA fighting the clubs...

warrantless searches on parked cars = probable cause??

 

[SOCALFJ]

That's stupid. It's one thing if the guys are illegally street racing and indangering other motorists. That i dont agree with! Go to a track! Im guilty of this myself and learned long ago it's not right. But they're just having a car show. The problem is, most of those shows develop into some type of race manor later on it the night. Many times people are killed racing. Other bad things can happen like people getting shot or stabbed or cars being stolen.

If they want to get critical.... I bet the cops drive home at the end of the night with their pickups with over sized tires with no mud flaps , headlights higher than the law allows cause the truck is raised, something hanging from the rear view mirror and window tint.

I dont know, seems like over kill to me and yes i know friends and family that our with law enforcement and probably agree its overkill or a waste of their time too.

 

[calfj60]

just my 2 cents....but one of the biggest causes for high insurance rates in this state is fraud because of these racers...see they race for parts..when someone looses the race they have to give something up...wheels, seats, carbon fiber hood...then guess what, it gets reported stolen and you me and the next guy gets to pay for it....in higher insurance rates...not to mention all the cars that get totaled and written off by insurance companies. Then there all the lives that are effected by them...racing on the streets..freeways...putting me and my family at risk...if I sound bitter its because I have spent a lot of my adult life dealing with this kind of stuff and yes I get killed in insurance for my stock 05 WRX.....rant off have a nice day...

 

[bluto]

...
If they want to get critical.... I bet the cops drive home at the end of the night with their pickups with over sized tires with no mud flaps , headlights higher than the law allows cause the truck is raised, something hanging from the rear view mirror and window tint.

I dont know, seems like over kill to me and yes i know friends and family that our with law enforcement and probably agree its overkill or a waste of their time too.

Ohhh this is too funny! I met one cop that drives a green S/C 80 series with J springs, 35s, no rear mud flaps last Sat. Had two SoCal 80s stickers on the rear windows too! Not sure if the headlight was aimed for legal use - I was too busy just watching him go over steep hills in Gorman and it was still daylight.

 

[bluto]

Ohhh this is too funny! I met one cop that drives a green S/C 80 series with J springs, 35s, no rear mud flaps last Sat. Had two SoCal 80s stickers on the rear windows too! Not sure if the headlight was aimed for legal use - I was too busy just watching him go over steep hills in Gorman and it was still daylight.

*This post was not done in disrespect for law enforcement officers. Just the irony of Daves post and me meeting Tim on last Saturdays Gorman run. Okay Im just covering my ass on this!

 

[calfj60]

I can take a joke....and if you want a ride in the truck consider yourself uninvited


just kidding...I am sure I wilkl have to answer to the man in tan for my lack of flaps...just like everyone else...

 

[PabloVTA]

I'm not condoning the racing, yes it's a hassle to everyone.
But the fact that these guys were just having a meet and greet (in a sense) and all the cars were parked when the raid went down is what's seriously jacked up.

What if they were to do this at Big Bear some weekend? What if they were to do it at one of the TLCA events?

"where's your flaps?" Window tint? Fuel cans? etc.

What gets me is the easy pickings they do when the cars are parked. I bet you 90% of those cops have a big block chevy at home in a Muscle car with some serious mods on it..did they ask themselves when they bought the headers and glass packs and manifolds "why do I need this?"
HELL NO...

It's not illegal to mod a vehicle within the laws. If it is, then the ACLU and a bazillion lawyers out there will be busy this year.

granted, if they walk into a parking lot and see stolen goods and blatant illegal stuff, then sure, do your job. I just find it a little misguided that they go after car guys and rack up 400 million in fines, yet they wont go after semi rigs with illegal smog, bad tires, a driver with no sleep, insurance , etc. that can cause just as manydeaths, or even worse damage.

How many classic car shows get popped? Ever see a 502 in a 57 Bel Air? they are everywhere in SoCal...but it's these ricers that get hammered. weak.

 

[rfjtoy]

I'm currently representing a guy who was speeding for the fun of it. Seems another guy thought it would be fun to turn try an catch my driver, in the process he lost control, spun out into the center divider, hit my guys car, was ejected from the car and killed. Now my speeder is looking a state prison time.

 

[calfj60]

How many classic car shows get popped? Ever see a 502 in a 57 Bel Air? they are everywhere in SoCal...but it's these ricers that get hammered. weak.[/QUOTE]

I hate to burst your bubble but it is legal for inspections by law enforcemnet and there is nothing illegal about your example above... I am out

 

[Slomo]

I have to agree with Pablo, There are almost countless vehicles out there with some form of illegal mod. To surround a parking lot of guys bsing about thier rides is a crock of s*!t legal or not. They are using a technicality to "profile" and it is not right in this instance like it is not right to racially profile someone. Yes I know that these types of gatherings can and do lead to street racing but follow them when they do and get the ones who are taking part not those who just want to meet fellow enthusiasts. I am totally against street racing but to assume that every person with a tuner car is going to race illegally on public roads is wrong. My .02

 

[miked]

I hear ya on the insurance issue.
When I tried to get insurance on my VFR800, they basically told me they couldn't write the policy due to high risk. Something about too many yahoo's bouncing R1's down the road...

 

[PabloVTA]

having the 502 isn't illegal, granted.
Impractical , yes, and isn't that the premise they were using by walking thru a parking lot asking why guys would ever need that mod in their car?

I'd bet dollars to donuts that those cops wouldn't try that tactic at a Chevy show in Pomona, but they do at every Tuner gathering they can get to.

If the car owner is accountable for his mods, and everything is legal in the end, what legal discourse does he have for the hassle of getting his car impounded for nothing wrong? sure, it's a slim chance that nothing would be wrong, but let's just say it happened.
Does the city pay the kid back for his hassles? doubt it. ~and that's just it, they are preying on the fact that these kids don't/won't know their rights, and in turn won't defend themselves.

 

[Brentbba]

My humble $.02. If there's a history of street racing complaints in the area, then I think the 'raid' was justified. It's only going to get them to move elsewhere, not stop what happens.

Stan...sounds more like a street race to me. Good luck!

 

[calfj60]

having the 502 isn't illegal, granted.
Impractical , yes, and isn't that the premise they were using by walking thru a parking lot asking why guys would ever need that mod in their car?

I'd bet dollars to donuts that those cops wouldn't try that tactic at a Chevy show in Pomona, but they do at every Tuner gathering they can get to.

If the car owner is accountable for his mods, and everything is legal in the end, what legal discourse does he have for the hassle of getting his car impounded for nothing wrong? sure, it's a slim chance that nothing would be wrong, but let's just say it happened.
Does the city pay the kid back for his hassles? doubt it. ~and that's just it, they are preying on the fact that these kids don't/won't know their rights, and in turn won't defend themselves.

I would beg to differ on their lack of knowledge and thus ability to fight the impound. The fact that their vehicles were impounded means that something was more amiss than just a mod under the hood...ie stolen parts or stolen vehcile...their cars would not be impounded for a illeagal air intake or headers...

The tuner guys know what is legal and not more than most officers...Most cops I have met, know nothing about the combustion engine let alone what is leagal and what isn't...