I've seen a recent post asking this question (its was posted like a week ago). But i want to know about Mass. State troopers now are pulling tuners over on fridays and saturday nights and forcing them to pop their hoods. Heres what gets me. They'll pull you over just because your a tuner "dont have to be racing or anything, literally" and they'll force you to pop your hood and arrest you for mods. what i dont get aas well is that the same thing happens to cars that are out the factory that way (STI's, Evo's ect.) anyone see anything wrong with this????

 

Regional boards may work better for this kind of stuff.

 

that sucks bro.
greedy cops.

 

cops always gotta target tuners or cars that look modded for racing....that's just the way it is. It isn't fair but it happens i've been pulled over 5 times in the past couple months actually now that i think about it, 4/5 times i got a ticket lol.

 

This doesn't happen in most areas... You all should move... I made sure that the cops weren't like that when I moved to FL and I have had no issues... I didn't have any issues in MD either... I've had loud exhaust on every one of my cars and have never been harassed...

 

Come to canada. No worrys about Smog testing. The cops were i'm at aren't too strict.

 

not sure about VA, but i got pulled over for my exhaust, and license plate being in the window...

so i put stock bumpers on it, mounted the plate on the bumper, and got super turbo muffler i had laying around installed, the car now gets no looks from cops that i can see.

and if they pop my hood, all they see is MSD coil and wires, intake, and a header...
i loved showing the trooper up with my tint i have... its barely legal... but, legal :D

 

wisconsin dont have that many laws. we have sum cool cops that kick it with us when we street race..lol sometimes they call who an who races...lol

 

i dont understand what people are talking about saying cops are dicks and ****...i drive a right hand drive eg6 that is captiva blue on YELLOW volk te37s and i dont even get looked at funny by cops let alone pulled over

 

well since no one is seeming to give a practical answer to op other than first answer how bout this. I dont know the laws in MA but im pretty sure thats illegal. my father is a cop in FL and you can get pulled over but you dont have to let a cop search your car. you can tell them no and they are not allowed to hold you for any longer than it would take to write the ticket. i would try to contact the city police chief or sheriff depending on the agency giving you guys problems. I think it can also be considered profiling. Check with a trustworthy cop or lawyer in your area. I would raise hell. and like i said, at least in florida, you can tell them no when they ask to search your car. also are those mods illegal in MA?

 

arrest you for mods?!?!? sounds like bs to me, the most you will get is a ticket....

if you saw the thread like a week ago then you would know that A COP HAS TO HAVE A WARRENT OR PROBIAL CAUSE to search your car.
it is in your best interest to let them, you have more a chance of getting a warning if you are honest. DONT LIE TO A COP

it could be called profilling but your not going to win, theres no way, you drive a modified honda your labled a street racing punk thats all there is to it, in most states if a cop asked to search your car you can say go to hell, in others you cant, but being arrested for mods is bull ****! op i want proff to people being arestted, even in cali you dont, you will get a ticket.

and now a days cops are trained on what to look for, 90% of cops arent as stupid as you think, and will know what they are looking at. as i said b4 be nice, tell them exactly what you have, cops dont like being lied to, or people thinking they are stupid.

 

I completely agree with that above. i didnt mean to be a smart *** when telling them no. but its like you see on tv where the drug runner is pulled over for speeding and is officers ask if they can search the car. they didnt have to let them(at least in FL) and unless there was a K-9 nearby even if they suspected drugs they still cant hold them longer than it takes to write the documentation.
Definitly be nice. i have gotten off tickets of 25 over from highway patrol by being nice and not being a jerk. I dont look like a tuner but i do have an intake so coming on an onramp at 80 in a 60 in 3rd with my foot down def makes enough noise. be nice def but dont let them search if you dont absolutely have to and feel you will be arrested.

 

i can already see that this is going to be a copy of the last thread lol

 

butt having a lowered car is good enuff for probable cause ryte so either way everyone is gonna be screwed

 

The whole issue of probable cause doesn't apply to motor vehicles in the same way as illegal search and seizures of personal residences. There is a grey area in the most state and federal motor vehicle codes that allows for an officer to conduct a visual search of the entire vehicle if they believe it to be out of compliance with vehicle emissions and safety regulations.

So, police officers are taught to profile drivers and vehicles. If they see something, anything, that causes them to believe that you have modified your car beyond what the state's laws allow for, then they can pull you over. Since they suspect that you have altered the vehicle they have the probable cause necessary to ask you to allow them to do a visual search of your engine compartment, passenger cabin, and trunk.

The requirements for civil law violations are different than criminal law violations. Most vehicle safety and emissions codes fall under civil penalty and not criminal penalty. And under civil penalty a policeman only has to have reasonable proof that you have done something illegal. This is different from criminal penalty where there has to be undeniable proof that you have done something wrong.

It is a subtle difference but that is the difference that allows an agent to search your car and it's entire engine bay, trunk, and passenger cabin.

They are not accusing you of committing a criminal offense they are accusing you of a civil offense. The fact that your car shows reasonable evidence of modification is enough.

This is the same portion of the law under which stoplight cameras are allowed. If a stoplight camera takes a photo of your car running the red light you will be sent a ticket even if you weren't driving. The reason they can do that is because a red light violation is a civil penalty and as such doesn't fall under the same guidelines of proof as criminal penalties. You get the ticket no matter who was driving the car.

In the same way police can search your car under civil penalty. In fact under most state laws all a police officer has to do is measure the distance from the front headlight to the ground. If that measurement is less than 18 inches you are in violation of vehicle safety codes and then they can search the entire car for more evidence. Another example is if your car has a decibel value greater than 98 you can be pulled over for a civil violation similar to noise pollution. Once you have been established as a law breaker they can search whatever they want. Simple as that. And what really sucks is that the police officer only has to visually inspect that distance or volume and be reasonably sure that it is less than 18 inches or greater than 98 decibels...no tape measure or audio equipment required.

In the end if they see one violation then they don't have to have a warrant to search the entire car.

 

You think you have it bad?

Come to California.

 

To the OP in california cops can always ask to pop your hood.

If you say no they will get a search warrant easily and if you have mods you will be fined no matter what.

 

Sorry, but I find this very hard to believe.

 

that's why you keep your car low key as possible...in cali at least.

 

since, i am police, i will touch on this briefly. a vehicle stop is considered a seizure of the vehicle and the driver, by supreme court precedent. if i have probable cause to believe there are performance mods that are against local code, i can look for that specific mod. now, this scenario is getting kinda borderline, and i cant really judge whats exactly going on with this without being there and knowing all of the facts (both sides of the story). popping the hood is alittle too much of a search. id bet that the police there are "asking" the driver to pop the hood and most people dont realize they can say no. if you get stopped, and they ask,"would you mind popping your hood?", reply "no". at that point see what happens. you may have a nice little law suit. personally, i dont hassle tuners.

 

yup cali cops ARE MADD DICKS ON THE HONDA SCENE HERE!!!!!

 

I am not a law expert.

I don't think the police can search your car or look under the hood without your permission.

Here is a link with answers to some of your questions.

http://www.flexyourrights.org/traffic_stop_scenario

 

AGREED!

 

yup cops in cali our to get you! i just got pulled over friday night for "BLUE HEADLIGHTS" ive been driving with the same HIDs for almost two years. never got harrased. as soon as i saw the cop car reach the interesection with no lights on, i knew he was looking for someone to bust and sure enough i got the lights and yes he did search my car and trunk but didnt ask to see the hood. I think its BS and I got a ticket cause they were bored !! you dont see luxury cars being pulled over for the same thing just hondas

 

MD is the best, nobody cares.

-Froth