The epitomy of bullshit.

[King Ricer]

i say we move ther, and get a completely stock car and put a ricer sticker on it and drive around and fuck them over! hahahahahahaha

[Guest]

Ok, this pissed me off enough to send an email to the California Highway Patrol. Anyone that feels like sounding off on this can email them at [email protected]

My email was sent as follows:

Let me start off by saying I am not a citizen of California, nor have I personally had any problems with the police officers in California. Having said that I am finding it rather disturbing that (according to numerous online/offline sources) you are training your officers to target and profile automobiles that have been modified by telling them to look for stickers/decals, gauges, large spoilers and tint. If they are not breaking any laws, why bother them?

I understand the tint law states that windows BEHIND the drivers head may be tinted...and that a right side mirror is needed if you tint the back window, and have no problems with that law or with your officers pulling over someone who has an ILLEGAL tint job. But what is illegal about stickers/decals? Does the constitution not provide for FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/SPEECH? What if the sticker was one from RASR (Racers Against Street Racing) or RFC (Racers For Christ)? Do you really think people that are members of those groups street race? If not, then why should the guy with an HKS or Greddy or APS or Turbonetics or Forced Performance or Blitz or AEM decal get pulled over? Just because they like the product? Just because you think they MIGHT have an illegal part on their car.

Please explain also why aftermarket gauges are illegal. Is it a crime to care about your car to the point that you want to be able to monitor all aspects of the engine at a glance? What is more dangerous, someone who is monitoring their oil pressure and seeks service when they notice a drop in pressure or the people who rely on their CEL's (check engine lights) only to have their car stall along side a major freeway/interstate?

Large spoilers (though I'm not a personal fan of them) are also an expression of someones interests and MANY new cars come factory equipped with such wings (Subaru WRX STi, Mitsubishi Evolution VIII, just to name a couple), not as an option, but standard. How can you pull someone over for a factory option which was obviously approved by the DOT in the first place?

Same goes for exhaust noise. I can understand if someone has a blatantly loud and obnoxious exhaust (read every harley-davidson motorcycle in the world....thats a whole nother story though) that they should be subject to a fine IF and ONLY IF it is not a standard (non-damaged/modified) OEM component. Again, OEM's have a ton of red tape to go through before they can even sell a car in this country, I'm pretty sure they got the green light on exhaust noise levels before shipping them public. Worse yet is that it is based "on officers judgement". Isn't that like saying "Geez, I think that guy was going 65 in a 60 mph zone" without a radar gun or other test to determine actual vehicle speed and then actually writing a ticket out for the speed that they might, maybe have been going? It seems like it would be really easy to target the import tuner market since they are the least likely to have expensive lawyers to back them.

Ok, now that I've scolded you, I do think I must applaud your efforts to control street racing. I understand it is a problem, and I do not condone it either. I don't have a good answer on how to get that problem under control, though I don't think your methods are fair or effective.

I'm really glad I live in North Dakota, where law enforcement agents are concerned about real problems like Meth, Cocaine, Marijuana and Alcoholism instead of a state that has nothing better to do apparantly than harass young adults who are (often) of Asian decent because they MIGHT have a part that MIGHT someday maybe not be up to standards for CARB? I feel sorry for the people of your state

[King Ricer]

way to tell them off chuck!

[legacy-user-544]

somebody needed to say something and it got said. round of applause to you chuck.

[harwood39]

Way to go Chuck. Thats a great email for them to read. I wish i could right something that good.

[Guest]

damn your good!

[Pony_Racer]

very well said chuck.

[Sweet-WRX-Lovin]

Chuck, nicely done. Generate significant revenue my ass. I could see how they want to crack down on street racing, but flat out profiling is pretty scary. WTF ever happened to protect and serve down there? Yeah, I guess in California they don't have murders, drugs, rapes, homeless, underpaid teachers, etc. We better get all over the modified vehicles, because they are obvioulsy ruining the utopia that is California. But I suppose that helping the homeless, getting someone to stop abusing drugs and alcohol, or solving some more of their 2 billion murders a year doesn't turn a nice profit so fuck it huh? (sorry I'd just woken up and was crabby )

[Guest]

Nice letter Chuck.

I feel ashamed now for having been born in San Diego.

[Guest]

I think we should all copy it and resend it, with chucks permission of course.

[SmitEvo]

Too bad for those silly californians.......they should target rice and wipe that out.

[HandoEX]

99slowGSX wrote:
Too bad for those silly californians.......they should target rice and wipe that out.
They can send the ricers here so I have more people to rice around Fargo with

[Guest]

just got this response from the CHP, I plan on responding.

** High Priority **

The laws of the State of California prohibit officers from conducting traffic stops with out probable cause or probable suspicion. I have no idea where you allegedly saw the CHP training telling officers to "target and profile" vehicles. Officers are trained to know what to look for to spot VIOLATIONS. Street racing is a MAJOR problem in this state. People are being KILLED every day because of this epidemic. You may not agree with the attention and crack down and that is unfortunate, but we get hundreds of pleas every day from the families of the deceased who were killed by illegal street racing. Furthermore, illegal street racing is not limited to any one race, color, ethnicity or otherwise. "People" are racing their vehicles and killing people, and it is unacceptable.

Regarding your comment, "real problems like Meth, Cocaine, Marijuana and Alcoholism," the main job duty of the CHP is traffic enforcement. There are many "real problems" that need to be dealt with, this is our job and we intend on doing our best to keep everyone safe, including you.

Community Outreach and Marketing Section
California Highway Patrol

[Guest]

Really how well do you think this $5 million is being spent? What else does law enforcement need to track down these "highway bandits?" Have they invented a rice radar or something?

Tell them to start pulling over peopel in vehicles with 20"+ rims because most of the people that drive them are black and are drug dealers.sarcasm

[SmitEvo]

I am sure it is a way bigger problem there than it is here. Take the scene in Fargo and times it by a 1000. That is what they are dealing with. Think of how many idiots that are on the road at one time......

[Guest]

My response to their email:

So, what your response indicates to me is that probable cause can be having large spoilers, gauges, decals and other noticeable, though completely LEGAL modifications (I've read your websites listing of illegal mods.) As for where I obtained my information, please review the following link:

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/05/576.asp

or do a google search, it will yield many similar results.

I know you can't use the words "target" or "profile" since that will get your organization in trouble, but thats exactly what you are doing. Call them warning signals/call signs/whatever you want, its still targeting a group of individuals based on how they choose to express themselves (again legally) when they fit within the profile of what you consider a street racer, and that my friend is illegal. Its just as illegal as saying "Hey that guy has tatoos, he must be a drug dealer, lets go raid his business/house" or "That black man is driving a Ferrari, he must be a pimp/gangster/drug dealer/etc....lets pull him over and ask to see his income tax statements for the past 5 years".

Never once did you answer my major questions:
Why are aftermarket gauges probably cause and/or illegal?
Why are large spoilers probable cause and/or illegal?
Why are stock exhaust systems probable cause and/or illegal?
Why is tint (that is legally applied) probable cause and/or illegal?

My point was that not everyone that modifies their car is a street racer, some are show cars, some just like the look of the race cars they see in magazines. Do you pull over older camaros, vettes, mustangs, vipers, etc... that have been made to look like NASCAR pace cars (some came from the manufacturer w/ a racing decal package)? I'm guessing not. So why harass the people who drive cars that look like what they see in drifting events, drag races, touring car races, etc?

I know street racing is a problem in your state, and I am very aware of the role the CHP has in law enforcement. If you want my opinion, take that $5,000,000 that your organization received as a federal grant and do something POSITIVE for kids that want a chance to LEGALLY race their cars. $5,000,000 would buy a ton of track time at a local drag strip, why not rent such a strip and allow the racers to come in and race for a nominal fee ($10 or whatever). While they are there, have a trained officer inspect their vehicles for illegal modifications, but let it go on anonymously. In other words, no tickets. No names taken and entered in a database. No penalty. Just make them aware that their parts do not conform to CA law and if they are caught on the street with them their cars will be impounded. Then work with the industry to find out who is making street legal parts for the cars and provide EVERYONE at the track with a list of manufacturers who comply with California and Federal laws regarding these issues. Do that and the import community will have a much better respect for your organization.

Thank you for your response, I look forward to future correspondence with you and your organization.

[SmitEvo]

Noice Reply Chuck^

[Guest]

Chuck Schwan...."PR Person For The Import Community"

I think that should be my new title and you can all pay me lots of money every year to work on your behalf.

[Guest]

You can have half of that $5 Million.

[Guest]

Deal