Lmao. The “Carolina squat” ban.

In a Thread that is surely to get locked in less than a page of comments, here we go: 

https://jalopnik.com/lawmakers-are-banning-the-carolina-squat-but-im-not-sur-1847026771/amp

Oh, and I'll save everyone the time- yes it's too dangerous and shouldn't be done. And yes, "they" shouldn't ban our vehicular nonsense. 

I'm all over the safety portion.  Bad headlamp angles, bad bumper heights, poor forward visibility.

The part about them looking stupid is not part of the argument.  Even if it's valid...

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Well it is jalopnik. The quality is in the title. 

I'm a participant in that argument. In general I'm a very chill and middle-ground kind of guy, but I'm flabbergasted at how many people are invoking slippery slope and calling it overreach. Couldn't care less about the aesthetics, but that is such a functional and safety nightmare that IMO keeping stuff like the Carolina squat off the road is exactly what government should do.

Streetwiseguy said:

I'm all over the safety portion.  Bad headlamp angles, bad bumper heights, poor forward visibility.

The part about them looking stupid is not part of the argument.  Even if it's valid...

This!!!   Technically it is already illegal here in ma based on the state inspection laws.   

While I'd love to see the law go through, if there are already bumper height restrictions and headlight aiming laws in place, it's repetitively redundant. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

 IMO keeping stuff like the Carolina squat off the road is exactly what government should do.

Precisely. Im sure someone will be along to cite something to the effect of "don't we all deserve to be happy though?" And that answer is a resounding no. You don't get to be happy if you're going to ruin anyone else's happiness. 

DrBoost said:

While I'd love to see the law go through, if there are already bumper height restrictions and headlight aiming laws in place, it's repetitively redundant. 

I am not sure what those standards are, but they seem to either be entirely worthless, or are routinely violated by manufacturers.  Pull a CIVIC up to the front of almost any mid to large size truck, and the lights and bumpers are way out of wack safety wise.

Not THE most stupid trend to emerge. 

Episode 1

Episode 2

And the exciting conclusion

NOHOME said:

Not THE most stupid trend to emerge. 

That may be so, but the videos after your comment sure are trying hard to disprove your theory. The still of episode 2 alone is very convincing.

Actually all you need to do is make it a ticketable offense for safety that then goes to the owners insurance and then encourage the insurance company's to add a big surcharge to both the vehicles Vin and the operator.  No law needed.  Similar to insurance company's revoking insurance if they find you on a race track or if you are ticketed for street racing.  Just legislate a massive financial penalties or insurance cancellations. 
 

You don't need to make it illegal just make it such a risk to insurance company's that the market will take care of it. 

Does SC have a yearly state safety inspection? 

aircooled said:

DrBoost said:

While I'd love to see the law go through, if there are already bumper height restrictions and headlight aiming laws in place, it's repetitively redundant. 

I am not sure what those standards are, but they seem to either be entirely worthless, or are routinely violated by manufacturers.  Pull a CIVIC up to the front of almost any mid to large size truck, and the lights and bumpers are way out of wack safety wise.

I agree. And I know we're on the same page here, so this is just a statement, not an argument. 
if there is a law(s), that make this illegal, don't make another law, just enforce the existing law(s).  

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Does SC have a yearly state safety inspection? 

 

No. It was ended in the early 90's I think. Never properly run so many places just sold stickers without performing actual inspections.

DrBoost said:

I agree. And I know we're on the same page here, so this is just a statement, not an argument. 
if there is a law(s), that make this illegal, don't make another law, just enforce the existing law(s).  

I agree. If we aren't going to enforce existing laws, why make new ones to ignore?

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Does SC have a yearly state safety inspection? 

 

No. It was ended in the early 90's I think. Never properly run so many places just sold stickers without performing actual inspections.

And there's your problem.

It seems to me the simpler solution is to simply enforce existing laws. This of course assumes SC has laws that cover this. The language of the bill is not especially well written.

As for the overreach aspect; the article mentions "potentially" dangerous. So the question is has there been an uptick in accidents related to these modifications? The answer is likely no. I'd rather see my local/state government put the energy into kerbing impaired driving. 

From a safety standpoint the headlight angle is a genuine concern.

So with all that said even if the law passes there are ways to still modify your truck in this manner; be it hydraulics or air suspension. 

There are lots of stupid obnoxious car and truck mod cults out there.  I don't know if the Carolina Squatters deserve to be singled out, but if I understand their mentality, it will be viewed as a great honor.

Mostly, I just wanted to post here to prove the OP wrong.  I know we as a community are civilized enough to discuss this for near two pages before it gets locked. 

dean1484 said:

Actually all you need to do is make it a ticketable offense for safety that then goes to the owners insurance and then encourage the insurance company's to add a big surcharge to both the vehicles Vin and the operator.  No law needed.  Similar to insurance company's revoking insurance if they find you on a race track or if you are ticketed for street racing.  Just legislate a massive financial penalties or insurance cancellations. 
 

You don't need to make it illegal just make it such a risk to insurance company's that the market will take care of it. 

Not sure how it works in the various states but in my province, the police are allowed to issue a vehicle inspection notice on crap like this.

Owner has to take it to a registered inspection facility and it has to meet all standards that it met when it was new. This means lift kits, non-DOT parts, etc all have to be removed and the vehicle has to be put back to stock to pass the inspection, otherwise the vehicle is now a pumpkin and can't be operated on the road.

The police also have the ability to issue VI notice again, as soon as they like so if you're being industrious, change everything to pass the inspection and then change it back the next day, you can receive another inspection notice as soon as the police see you again.

There must be something like this in their toolbox that they can start using more.

Oh if only someone would make an 800 hp reinforced wedge Carolina squat truck flip car.....  

1988RedT2 said:

Mostly, I just wanted to post here to prove the OP wrong.  I know we as a community are civilized enough to discuss this for near two pages before it gets locked. 

I'm all for that.