USA vehicle modification rules - (BRZ)

[Trap63]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Sorry, I don't believe that.

Florida's front/rear/back limits are 28%, 15% and 15%. That's ridiculously dark. Those are among the darkest limits in the country. About the only way you're running darker tint than that is if you have limo tint on your car. Cops in Florida don't bother with tint violations, because there's simply no point.

In contrast, Pennsylvania's limits are 70%, 70% and 70%. The factory Chrysler tint on my Jeep is not even technically legal there. If you were running tint that would get you pulled over in Florida, you were long past illegal in Pennsylvania and should have gotten a ticket anyway.

So you mean that your stock Jeep US road legal in Florida isn't tint compliant in PA? You mean that Chrysler sells two different tint window in PA and FL?

[zimo]

Thanks guys this is very interesting! Your laws are made with a smart, automotive way.
Plus here in italy yesterday i pay for a litre(0,3 gal) of 100 octane gasoline 1,92 euro (2,286 $) you can easily untersdand that it's hard life for a car guy down here!!

What abuot speed limits in usa? What happen if you get caught exceeding? Do you have laser or other instruments on the street to have your speed misured?

[Trap63]

Originally Posted by zimo

Thanks guys this is very interesting! Your laws are made with a smart, automotive way.
Plus here in italy yesterday i pay for a litre(0,3 gal) of 100 octane gasoline 1,92 euro (2,286 $) you can easily untersdand that it's hard life for a car guy down here!!

What abuot speed limits in usa? What happen if you get caught exceeding? Do you have laser or other instruments on the street to have your speed misured?

compared: Eur 7.26 per Gallon (US)/USD 8.65

[why?]

Originally Posted by krayzie

And I've never understood who makes all the rules there, the country itself or the EU?

Both.

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I always hear about how strict modification laws are in place like Europe and Australia/New Zealand, but are they actually enforced?

I feel like California has really strict laws, but they are not that enforced unless you are doing something stupid.

I have no problem modifying my car how I want, even if it's something illegal. I've had motor swapped cars, cars with loud exhausts, cars with no front plates, etc etc.

I always wondered how strict it really is over there. You always see pictures of high end and super cars with front plates attached. It blows my mind. I won't attach a front plate to my 20k Subaru, I sure as hell wouldn't do it to a 200k car.

Is the punishment really that bad? Will they tow and crush your car?

I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to understand. A lot of people outside of the United States seem really hesitant on modifying their vehicles out of fear of the mods being illegal.

Are people just afraid of breaking the law? Or is the punishment and enforcement really that severe?

The laws are strict but the enforcement can be even worse. I've had people living in Italy say the cops can stop you even if they just think your car might be modified and take hours going through it with a fine tooth comb. Supposedly in some of the cities they just go nuts and stop everyone. I've heard a cars and coffee type event like we have in the USA wouldn't fly in Italian cities because the police would basically impound the entire thing and take however long they felt to search every single car.

But also remember this is people complaining on the internet too. But that list of fines in and of itself is insane.

Originally Posted by Trap63

Yeah, you're partially right, but Denmark and Switzerland are the worster ones. Worst than Italy. Unbelievable the daily war against.

That's crazy. I didn't think anything could be worse than Italy.

[zimo]

Originally Posted by why?

Both.


The laws are strict but the enforcement can be even worse. I've had people living in Italy say the cops can stop you even if they just think your car might be modified and take hours going through it with a fine tooth comb. Supposedly in some of the cities they just go nuts and stop everyone. I've heard a cars and coffee type event like we have in the USA wouldn't fly in Italian cities because the police would basically impound the entire thing and take however long they felt to search every single car.

But also remember this is people complaining on the internet too. But that list of fines in and of itself is insane.


That's crazy. I didn't think anything could be worse than Italy.

I see cops many times just outside mugello track( or other track) to stop , inspect, ticket cars go for open pit lane or time attack

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by why?

The laws are strict but the enforcement can be even worse. I've had people living in Italy say the cops can stop you even if they just think your car might be modified and take hours going through it with a fine tooth comb. Supposedly in some of the cities they just go nuts and stop everyone. I've heard a cars and coffee type event like we have in the USA wouldn't fly in Italian cities because the police would basically impound the entire thing and take however long they felt to search every single car.

WOW that's crazy.. and here I am thinking we live in police state

[SuperTom]

Originally Posted by Trap63

compared: Eur 7.26 per Gallon (US)/USD 8.65

Holy FK!!

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Trap63

So you mean that your stock Jeep US road legal in Florida isn't tint compliant in PA? You mean that Chrysler sells two different tint window in PA and FL?

My Jeep is a 2000, so I'm not sure what they do now. But when I got it, you could either get clear windows or the factory tint option. Dealers in states where it was illegal would steer customers away from it. The problem comes when you don't buy it there but register and drive it there. Then it's "illegal" even though it was a factory option.

It has come up multiple times on the Jeep groups, with people in Pennsylvania getting ticketed for factory tint. One guy posted on the Cherokee Forum looking for someone without factory tint to trade rear doors, hatch and glass with him so he could get the ticket dismissed. He said the cop told him he had to peel the film off the window or get a ticket. When he said that wasn't possible, the cop gave him the ticket anyway.

Because they're like that.

Originally Posted by zimo

What abuot speed limits in usa? What happen if you get caught exceeding? Do you have laser or other instruments on the street to have your speed misured?

The speed limits vary from state to state. Texas has high limits (up to 85 MPH on some roads), while other states don't exceed 65 MPH.

What happens when you get caught depends on how fast you're going. Most states have "speeding" and "aggravated speeding" or something similar. If you're caught just going fifteen miles over the speed limit, you'll get a ticket, which results in a fine. You can go to court to contest it, but most people just plead guilty, sign the back and pay the fine even when the ticket is bogus. Usually you'll get "points" added to your license as well. If you rack up too many points, you can have your license suspended or revoked. How many points you get and how many get you suspended varies depending on the state.

Aggravated speeding, sometimes called reckless driving or felony speeding, also varies by state. In some places it may be triggered by exceeding the limit by a certain MPH. For example, in Alabama where I grew up, if you go 30 MPH over the speed limit you'll get a ticket for reckless driving. I believe some states set the aggravated speeding level as a percentage of the speed limit instead of a set number.

Some states have a maximum state speed, often 80 MPH or 90 MPH. In those states you can get a reckless driving ticket if you exceed it even if the state max is only 10 MPH over the speed limit of the road you're on.

You can also be charged with aggravated speeding in certain zones. Some states charge you with aggravated speeding in school zones or construction zones.

Usually a ticket for aggravated speeding means you can't plead guilty and pay the fine but must go to court for it instead. It's usually going to result in a suspended license, but it varies by state.

Speed is measured in a variety of ways. Most of the time it's a cop sitting in his car with Lidar or K-band radar. Then he chases you.

Americans in general HATE speed cameras, so they're not as prevalent here as in some other countries. Some states have them. Some states have actually outlawed them so that cities can't use them. Just depends on where you are. You'll see red light cameras a lot more often than speed cameras.

In some states the law recognizes police officers as "speed experts," able to judge your speed just by looking at you. In Texas, for example, state troopers routinely write tickets because they judged your speed at a certain level. Not long after I got this car, I was going 74 in a 75 north of Austin and got a ticket for 85 MPH because the cop just said I was going that fast. I was going to contest it but found out that unless I had proof that he was lying, the court would rely on his "professional judgment" to determine my speed. In other words, cops in states that recognize the "speed expert" bullshit can just write you a ticket for whatever speed they feel like to make their quotas.

[Tristor]

Here in Texas I was just complaining because 93 AKI (98 RON) just went from $2.359/gallon just a few months ago to $3.159/gallon just yesterday. That's about 1/3rd the fuel price in Italy... wow.

Speed limits here tend to be relatively decent, most roads are 70mph (113km/h), 75mph (120km/h), 80mph (129km/h), and a few 85mph (136km/h) in Texas. Enforcement is performed with a mixture of police vehicles utilizing ALPS (Automatic License Plate Scanner) systems with always-on radar (Stalker Radar system), which is in the KA band, to police using hand-held Laser/LIDAR guns. Most State agencies in Texas utilize LIDAR, some of the metros do, but most metros and most county agencies utilize KA band radar. Radar detectors are legal, but laser shifters are illegal in Texas.

If you're caught for a speeding infraction here, the fines can be quite severe, but the police tend to enforce speed limits lightly on major highways. Typical Interstate speed is 80-85mph, even though the speed limit is 70mph. Toll speed is typically 95-100mph (160km/h) with an 85mph speed limit. These speeds would not be likely to get you pulled over (although anything is possible).

Special note for Austin area. Travis County Deputies are... not nice. Austin PD are straight up assholes. There's a long history of people being brutally beaten by the cops and the cops covering it up, shooting people's dogs for no reason, and doing no-knock raids without warrants or evidence. You can just start Googling and find non-stop investigative journalism articles about this. Austin is a shit-show, and the local municipal court believes in "speed expert" testimony, so you can often be ticketed on IH-35 going through Austin which is a 60mph speed zone even when not speeding. The good news is that the toll road is a State Highway (SH-130) and is outside the jurisdiction of Austin PD. Since it's the road to Circuit of Americas, that's the only one you ever have to go on and can otherwise avoid the City of Austin. I'm generally pretty supporting of the police, but yeah Austin PD is straight ****.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Tristor

Special note for Austin area. Travis County Deputies are... not nice. Austin PD are straight up assholes. There's a long history of people being brutally beaten by the cops and the cops covering it up, shooting people's dogs for no reason, and doing no-knock raids without warrants or evidence.

I can attest to this. The big story just as I was leaving Austin was about Austin cops giving a black guy a beating and arresting him... for jaywalking. As in walking across the street against a red light. And it was on camera, so anyone with half a brain could see he wasn't resisting at all.

Originally Posted by Tristor

The good news is that the toll road is a State Highway (SH-130) and is outside the jurisdiction of Austin PD. Since it's the road to Circuit of Americas, that's the only one you ever have to go on and can otherwise avoid the City of Austin.

I love SH 130. I used to use it to avoid the disaster on I-35 when I had to go to San Antonio or down to the coast. The state troopers don't bother to patrol it at all, because what's the point? The limit is 85 MPH all the way to Seguin, and half the traffic doesn't even go that fast. The only pigs you'll see out there are the feral hogs you have to dodge when they come up into the road at night.

[Tristor]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

The only pigs you'll see out there are the feral hogs you have to dodge when they come up into the road at night.

Haha, yeah that is definitely true. I've rolled up on the aftermath of a pig strike on SH-130 that destroyed the front end of an F-250 even though he had a full coverage brush guard welded to the frame. They're some dense animals... gotta watch for them. Good news is they're legal to shoot on sight in Texas.

[Trap63]

Hi guys. It's amazing to hear from you these details. It seems that your cops are on focus all day for tickets.
Here the situation is more focused to grant ticket for municipalities budgeting. Cams everywhere (my daily work travel of 18 kms - 10 miles - get 3 speed cams). 10 yrs ago introduced the general rules that all renvenues from road tickets due to violations about speed limits need to be sent to counties only for road safety and maintenance.
How do you think the story end?...we drive on Calcutta's road (therefore is very difficult install low setup) each day. Only Highway, where speed limit is 130 Kms , are best track test..but we get the "Tutor System"..so you are driving about 120 kms (Turin to Milan) under cams surveillance system where speed is a medium of some random vehicle plate surveillance.
Some of us stop the car for a coffee in a coffee point to wait some minutes to increase time of driving. It's not guaranted 100% but it plays. Each driving license starts with 22 point, it's easy to loose 3 points (10 kms over the urban speed limit of 40 kms) during daylight, after 11 PM these points double itself (6). 3 points means Eur 186,00, on night near Eur 400.00 and a decurtation of 6 points. If you are under a wine glass drink....your driving license will be suspended up to 12 months. It's very difficult to meet these police check point during daylight but on weekend on exiting from pubs or disco often your risk is very high not so moderate you might think.
In the end, the big fear is Laser Speed...no chance to avoid your driving licence to be destroyed...when cops take a snapshot of your car no matter you can require an instant credit to your bank.
I cross my fingers many times.

[Trap63]

Originally Posted by SuperTom

Holy FK!!

100 RON gas for Eur 74,00 per week with supercharger (illegal)

[Spuds]

In Virginia anything over 70mph can get you jail time I think. Even if the speed limit is 65.

Everywhere I've lived, (NY, MD, PA, NH) you generally don't get pulled over until you are at least 10mph over the limit. I've gone by speed traps at 5-10 over (indicated) with no issues. There's some roads or places where speed is enforced more than others. My strategy, stay within 10mph of the speed limit and/or don't be the fastest car you can see in front of you, at least until you know the common speed trap locations.

Now I've never been ticketed, but from most folks I've talked to if you aren't a d1ck and not actually endangering anyone you usually get a reduced ticket or just a warning. Unless the cop is a d1ck.

Mostly towns and cities try to catch speeders entering when the limit drops.