Riverside CA Police run what seems like a sting operation on a car meet.. BOO

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/04/police-raid-california-car-enthusiast-gathering-to-generate-reve/

It isn't uncommon for automotive enthusiast groups to organize gatherings in large commercial parking lots. Quite often the local businesses even support the groups due to increased sales generated by the crowds. Such is apparently not the case in Riverside, California. The city believes large automotive-focused get togethers promote street racing and that must also be the purpose of any vehicle equipped with performance modifications. To quell the situation, last Friday night around 11PM, police surprised 150 vehicles and their owners during a meet at Canyon Crossing shopping center. Fifty police cruisers from Riverside County, Irwindale, Ontario and a few other regions were paid overtime to block off parking lot exits and issue citations. Tickets were written for illegal modifications, paperwork violations, window tint and having no front license plate. Twenty vehicles were even impounded due to suspected stolen parts.

The funds for the crackdown, and others like it, get drained from the California state gas tax account. Typically the gas tax goes towards transportation maintenance and improvements, like better roads and public transport. Rather than put all the money into aiding traffic flow, California's math calculations have determined that more revenue can be generated by handing out fix-it tickets with increased frequency. Of course, that is as long as the violation fares are more than law enforcement overtime expenses. Even still, most likely a few folks will fight their citations and thus drain more funds from the state government through the legislative process.

Original story link http://thenewspaper.com/news/23/2302.asp

freaking a.

i would think that being with a bunch of other car enthusiasts in a public place would reduce the amount street racing, mostly due to the fact that the car is PARKED and not on the road.

Trouble is, it's when people break away from the group as the meet winds up that racing becomes a problem.

 

I'm all for cracking down on illegal mods and stolen parts...

You're a Canadian, eh?

Only thing surprising me is why they just started doing this.

if i was a cop i woulda been doing this ages ago.

Yep.. I'm sick of hearing news stories about people complaining that they received tickets for something illegal...

I dont take issue with people being ticketed for illegal mods or being busted for street racing, what I take issue with is the way this was done.

I'm not sure how it was done that is an issue...

So you are okay that they basically ran a raid on a car meet?

One word;

Komifornia.

Illegal mods, so pretty much dropping our car, getting an intake, getting HIDs, a downpipe, uppipe are all something we should be getting a ticket for?

We are car enthusiasts, not street racers or dumb people who like to do stupid stuff to harass other people.

I personally mod my car because I like the speed, but not speeding, I just like to feel the horsepower and torque, without breaking the speed limit.

But then again, if I get ticketed for street racing etc. I have no excuse.

Raiding a car meet like that, 2nd one of this month, I think its just pure gay. Does that mean that we can't have our meet?

Yeah this just doesn't seem right to me. when you're in a parking lot isn't that considered private property??

EDIT: just read this comment............

In the question of legality, in sacramento I was doing dohnuts in my friends mustang. I was cited by a cop. My dads best friend is a layer. He scowered the books, you cant cite someone for violations on private property. The owners MUST press charges. This means the cops need to wait for those cars to enter the public streets. I got out of a 1500 ticket and 2 points on my license because of that clause.

Are coilovers illegal in California? What are the regulations regarding a lowered car? I know here that no part of the tire may come in contact with the fender or well lining, and no part of the car should hang below the lowest point of the rim, basically saying if you took the tires off the wheels the only thing touching the ground would be the wheels.

 

If air intakes are illegal along with downpipes and uppipes, then I do think that is unfair. However if the law simply states you are not allowed to remove the catalytic and you do (without installing a high-flow cat) then you are in violation of that law.

 

HID retrofits are illegal. Period. The regulation is not stupid, it is intended to keep people safe.

Yeah, I have no excuse for all of them, but I try my best to keep it safe, and not bother other people.

I guess just the way they have been handling this recently really grinds my gear

Only thing surprising me is why they just started doing this.

 

if i was a cop i woulda been doing this ages ago.

Your LGT would be in bad shape then....

not really........

C/O are legal, u just don't drop the car lower than 22 inches from center of headlight to ground.

intake (if carb approved or just a hi flow filter), wheels, tires, seats, gauges, nos, all internal engine work (ie port/polish, pistons, cams, spark plugs), brighter bulbs (non-hid).

pretty much anything that doesn't touch the exhaust side of the engine is fine/legal. cali is filled with too many tree-huggers so they just don't want u to pollute more and since they are not car enthusiast, they only know the basics, so if u tell them u changed a exhaust pipe all they will think is "oh, they are letting more exhaust flow out, it must be polluting more so we must stop it"

but hey, it was the ppl that voted these car mod hating politicians into office, maybe when re-election comes around, the car enthusiasts crowd should go out and vote? ppl complain of the problem, but yet no one is actively seeking to solve it.

not really........

 

C/O are legal, u just don't drop the car lower than 22 inches from center of headlight to ground.

 

intake (if carb approved or just a hi flow filter), wheels, tires, seats, gauges, nos, all internal engine work (ie port/polish, pistons, cams, spark plugs), brighter bulbs (non-hid).

 

pretty much anything that doesn't touch the exhaust side of the engine is fine/legal. cali is filled with too many tree-huggers so they just don't want u to pollute more and since they are not car enthusiast, they only know the basics, so if u tell them u changed a exhaust pipe all they will think is "oh, they are letting more exhaust flow out, it must be polluting more so we must stop it"

 

but hey, it was the ppl that voted these car mod hating politicians into office, maybe when re-election comes around, the car enthusiasts crowd should go out and vote? ppl complain of the problem, but yet no one is actively seeking to solve it.

right and wrong

each city all so has their own ordinances.