Police and Nissan Skylines

[megar32]

Re:`Police asking to open hood.

Spoke to a Lawyer today on this subject. she stated that the Police has the authority to ask you to open the hood.

Frankly, I think she thought the question was a waste of her time as she didn't elaborate or maybe she was just guessing. She didn't mention anything about the Police having to have a special license.

Most employers have the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which entitles you to free consultation from a lawyer. My suggestion is that those who have access to this make call and we pool our findings.

[nissanconvert]

talked to a lawyer a couple years back because i was asked to get out of my car etc, and sit in theirs, in order for them to ask you to get out etc, they have to have probable cause, they have to be charging u with something, otherwise state that it is your right to stay where u are

much i would say the same for popping hoods.. they have to have a legitimate reason to ask u to pop your hood..

in my expereinces going through roadblocks about 5 times last summer in my GTR all i got was thats cool etc, and props from our police.. Also never had problems in the past with fixed up civics etc..

And they have to be somewhat on track to issue vi's etc... most will not flex muscles unless u tick them off.

[shore_rider]

Ya I have gotten the "Cool" and such going through roadblocks, no problems at all. But every once and a while in Nanaimo the police seem to be very bored...... I got pulled over last night at 9:30 PM for pulling over! I even have him stating that on a voice recording (yes i let him know about the recorder) Although over the 45min ordeal they had 3 police cars there, 4 officers, he spent 20min telling me that my car is illegal (even when he had my inspection papers and customs paperwork in his hand) and then he tried to find something to give me a ticket for. Which was that my "N" (for those of you not form BC its a "new driver" in the graduated licencing program) was not clear enough, as in he could see it but not well enough.

I think I posted in her about another similiar incident I had back in January, I got pulled over and issued a VI for making a right hand turn too slowly. The officer stated that the transmissions in our cars are unsafe as the reason.


Total BS eh!


But I think it may have something to do with the "shiny" rims so I am in the process of getting rid of them and the body kit for something wider and cleaner, and then painting the car and changing the plates. Maybe that will put an end to this.

[darrenbt]

Well..... where to start. I'm not sure of the order of posts, so my comments may not all be in order.

-About the salary thing, cops make fairly good money all over canada. When you add in overtime, shift differential and court time we don't do that bad.

-One thing people should keep in mind. I'm not sure about different people's legal knowledge so I'll speak to the lowest common denominator. There are several different types of legislation that you will need to be aware of.
--There are municipal bylaws that are created by the city, these will differ between different cities even in the same province.
--Then there are povincial statutes. These vary by province, not by city. This is the big one where most of you guys are getting caught. I'm only familiar with the Alberta regualtions, but you would be suprised (I sure was) at how strict some of these regulations are.... You're right, most of the cops out there may not know the different between a bov and a maf, but it would be stupid to generalize and say that no cops know anything about skylines or cars.... Just look behind the cop station one day and you may see several modified cars, sport bikes, sports cars, etc...
---The last type of legislation is the federal stuff like the criminal code. This is the same all across the country.

-Traffic offences are typically listed under provincial statutes. That means that everyone would have to investigate the different rules in each of their different provinces.

-BTW for those who think "I saw this on the GTRC message board and the guy from Ontario stated blah blah blah..." You may have a rude awakening. If you're in Alberta and you are referencing the Ontario legislation you would be wrong. Since they are the cops there is a chance that, believe it or not, they may actually have a better grasp on some of the legislation then you. Also need to keep in mind that if your wrong and start to be overly uncooperative, or refuse to follow the direction, you may just get arrested for Obstructing a Peace Officer (this is a criminal code charge, which means criminal record...)

-Sooooo things to keep in mind. Research the rules that apply to YOUR province. Cops have been known to step over their bounds/knowledge in the hope that you don't know any better, but people have also been known to step outside the boundaries of their knowledge by refusing to cooperate with the po po.

I figured this was obvious, but be polite. I've been pulled over several times too, but I was polite and my car was never towed due to the enlarged exhuast pipe (which is an AB regulation...). BTW I was issued a ticket every time...

The cops are definitely going to be targeting people with modified vehicles because their experience has probably taught them that most of the people who wreck their cars racing are people with modified cars... (which is probably a realistic presumption)

As for the person who posted a picture of their pink (gay) (unless female, then it's cool) engine bay. If you have a stock BOV on your car you are not allowed to modify it (i.e. aftermarket atmos bov) according to AB provincial regualtions... I couldn't see if you have one or not.

If you going to get educated get REALLY educated... Remeber, not everything posted here is true. Research it for yourself, because it will be you ass on the line if you're wrong....

just my .02

[SoupGTR]

Wow. Nice post. Very true.

Do you think one could go to the cop shop and request this type of information? I.E. What vehicle mods are unacceptable etc?

[darrenbt]

"SoupGTR" -You could try, but you may not get the best response. Cops aren't required to be nice, just professional...

Better idea would be to go to the queen's printer site for your province. Below is the alberta site...

( http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/index.cfm )

The one thing the cops should be able to tell you is which provincial statutes you should look under to find the information.

Another idea would be to call the local POINTS, or equivalant, for your province. These guys have current court and case law experience and are generally ex-traffic cops, the kind who really know their stuff. The laws can change based on the most current case law. The case law could kill you if you are just researching the legislation. This is where the POINTS guys could probably help you out...

[Shadao]

The cops are definitely going to be targeting people with modified vehicles because their experience has probably taught them that most of the people who wreck their cars racing are people with modified cars... (which is probably a realistic presumption)

i dont think that is a realistic presumption.

my reason is because most of the accidents that occur from people street racing happens with vehicles that are closer to stock than they are a race/show car. if these racers wreck there cars while racing then why are they in ONT threatening to crush potential racers...?

hell the last person to crash and die in a illegal street race in BC was driving a stock 350Z.... he sure was modified.... and

the cars that are heavily modified are more likely to look stock(sleeper) than they are to look modified... so the only way they would know if any modifications have been done is to pop the hood of the vehicle in question... but without probable cause why do they need to look under the hood, unless the vehicle was invovled in a race prior to being pulled over they have no real reason to look under the hood....

[darrenbt]

the cars that are heavily modified are more likely to look stock(sleeper) than they are to look modified... so the only way they would know if any modifications have been done is to pop the hood of the vehicle in question... but without probable cause why do they need to look under the hood, unless the vehicle was invovled in a race prior to being pulled over they have no real reason to look under the hood....

I agree that not all street racing vehicles are modified. I retract that portion of my statement.

I disagree with the statement about most street racing vehicles being made to look like sleepers. Once again I may be wrong, but in my experience there is not a large quantity of "sleepers" on the road. That said, we very well may have a varying defintion of what would constitute a sleeper.

I could add one more statement into the mix. I would also say that there is a large amount of modified vehicles which do not comply with all of the regulations. When you think about it, it is quite easy to step outside the regulations. I would also say that it is quite difficult to stay inside the regulations.

For example. Think of the number of people who have;
-enlarged muffler tips
-modified/aftermarket bov's
-tinted side windows
-illegally colored headlights/corner signals
-no cat
-exhausts that don't meet decibal requirements
-lowered cars that don't meet bumper height requirements
-modified bumpers that don't meet manufactures crash test ratings (for aftermarket intercoolers) etc...

If you were to target modified vehicles I would say it would be pretty easy to find parts of the vehicle that do not comply with the regulations.

As a side point, this is where most people have to be careful. These are the areas that the police will use to target certain groups. Personally I don't agree with this method, but in their defense the majority of the times where I am buzed at a high rate of speed it is a younger driver in a slightly modified, and generally cheaper, vehicle.

Oh, and the whole "probably cause" thing. I believe that is a US term. We use Reasonable and Probable Grounds (RPG). If I hear a bov I would have an easy time justifying my RPG to ask the driver to open the hood. Refusing would constitute obstruction and the driver would risk arrest and criminal charges.

Once again, do your research and make sure you're really, really sure before telling a cop he's wrong and you refuse to follow his commands. Personally my recommendation would be to do everything they say and check on the legalities after. If they steppped outside their boundaries you will be able to crucify them in court...

[rockcrete]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but modifying and replacing an item are two completely seperate things. As I read it, cutting holes into your existing mufflerto make it louder is illegal. Replacing your existing muffler with a different (aftermarket) one (as long as it meets the db limit) is fine.

[Neal]

that pink valve cover should be illegal

DAMN all you guys i just found this thread today... HAHAHAHAH...

but yeah on the cop topic... i have had no issues with my car, and as you all know my car is not the most subtle thing on 4 wheels :-P

but as john said no excessive speeds no eratic lane changes no screaming loud exhuast and no scraping undercarraige and you should be good to go...

[R32_TDOT]

wow man if u havent been pulled over in that skyline of yours... maybe i do stand a chance of getting a skyline and not being harrased by police.. and besides i wudnt be driving it MUCH.... mostly to work at my dads business and to school which is like 1.5 -2 kms away...:-D

[aaronisonfire]

I was pulled over on No.5 road in Richmond at dyke road. Just driving along normally and he pulled me over to 'check my temp permit' and that was all. He asked me how I liked 'these cars' and I said I loved them and he let me on my way.

[Neal]

wow man if u havent been pulled over in that skyline of yours... maybe i do stand a chance of getting a skyline and not being harrased by police.. and besides i wudnt be driving it MUCH.... mostly to work at my dads business and to school which is like 1.5 -2 kms away...:-D

LOL they probably think i wont do anything crazy in it cuz... just imagine ... "in pursuit of a pink car with lots of stickers"... i dont think they will have any trouble at all finding me :P

[G.T.R]

Yeah but if your in toronto I wouldnt try any of this camera buisness if you feel harrassed then just say your going to record this and ask for the badge number and there name. most of the time they will just say something stupid like your exaughst is too loud and let you go cause they dont want to get involved in it. Like A while ago I got two tickets a condition ticket for not wearing my glasses and one for speeding. According to her 85 in 60. When I went to court she couldnt confirm that it was 85, she didnt print a speed slip. And before the court date she pulled me over came up to my door same officer and she said. Just checking and laughed and walked back to her cruiser and drove. away. She didnt have anything to say in court so both charges were dropped. I still see her periodicly which is why I am now a chronic gauge watcher as the officer present in my area has increased dramaticly.
Steve

[R32_TDOT]

hmm.. so :-D this is ma plan

1.) get a skyline (DUUUHHH!! )

2.) paint it a ridiculously crazy color scheme???

3.) sleep in it for the first month of owning it and have sex in it at least 7 times a week :-)

4.) mods?