Exhaust violations are lame, I'll just tell you that up front.

One code tells you that you cannot change any exhaust component with the intention of modifying the sound or noise level from OEM.

Another code section says that you may replace faulty or damaged OEM exhaust components with reasonable replacement products within a specific noise range.

So, even if your exhaust is 50 state legal, the cop could technically write you a ticket for it from the other violation. Could you get out of the ticket in court? Yes. Will your court even hear your case? Maybe not. Some county courts don't let you contest non moving violations.

Basically you were stopped by an officer that either didn't care, felt like writing you a ticket, you gave him attitude, or maybe he was just having a bad day. Either way, cops are people to. I'm sure he didn't think he was making the streets a better place by giving you the ticket, or maybe he's sick of street racers with loud exhaust and you were hit by a stray cite.

 

Oh I f_cking hate that!

I understand that I do have mods that are not legal and my car is loud. However I just do not get how my car could be considered so loud to be pulled over whereas a bike goes flying by and almost puts my ears in to ring mode. It's not fair at all.

What the hell is up with that? That happened to me once and I looked at the CHP guy and just laughed.

"Oh so I'm louder than that bike?"

no comment.... "Sign here"

 

The issue in discussion though is not Cali residents with equipment violations, but out of state visitors and military personnel who are on the roads in Cali.

What the state of Cali can enforce on out of state cars depends on reciprocity agreements between states and equipment codes between states nor can Cali enforce codes of other states. IE a CHP officer cannot cite me for having no front plate if I decided to take my front plate off since my car isn't registered here, nor can they enforce it for a state that does not issue front plates.

Tint laws depend mainly on state reciprocity agreements. Some states deny reciprocity altogether and make everyone adhere to their own regardless of your registration and can ticket you even if you're just passing through. Other states agree to allow your tint cause it's likely you could be passing through or visiting. Most state troopers and highway patrol tend to let out of state cars slide on tint most the time however.

Exhaust is a fairly hard one to really enforce even if cali states that every vehicle must adhere to it's code. So difficult that unless they can visually see that it is emmitting a lot of smog or in violation of federal laws they could and would lose to anyone who decided to keep appealing up to the federal courts. An easy example is cali legal catalytic converters are not readily available in every state, nor is anyone from out of cali going to go out of their way to find nor front the cash for a cali legal one just to enter cali.

 

I don't know where you guys are reading this stuff from? If you are driving your car on a CA road and any CA law enforcement officer pulls you over he can give you a citation for any equipment violation or law that they feel you violated.

 

Just cause an officer pulls you over and tickets you for something they say you violated does not mean it would hold up in courts. Military especially gets out of tickets as such due to time constraints and forced orders. Simply put if I take my front plate off (I do not have CA tags) I cannot be cited for no front plate, doing so oversteps the limits of every cali officer. Which is why cali officers tend to avoid military for all but moving infractions.

 

I hope the next guy that tries to run him over doesn't fail like the 1st time =P.

It's about 6'2, 300lbs, not hard to miss.

 

Lol, I hope you argue with the officer about it to. It would be a good way to make sure your vehicle is fully up to code As far as what the courts will do, that's up to them. Some courts don't even hear cases of non moving violations. You could get something totally BS and just have to pay it.

Officers don't avoid military. Officers respect military. There's a big difference. If you give attitude you'll probably get a cite. The court doesn't care about military status. Maybe the judge will like you and dismiss something...don't plan on getting out of it because of a duty order. That just gets you an extension...if you're lucky. The courts can deny you an extension and make you default/pay. The court can do whatever it wants with citations.

I'm done posting in this thread for this kind of stuff. I was just trying to help clarify some legal stuff, but it seems there are so many internet lawyers available that somehow learned all these things about the system. They seem very willing to tell you all about it

If anyone on the board needs a citation signed off for something like a 50 state legal exhaust that they got boned on, tint that should be legal, some other lame thing like a mud flap/front plate ticket PM me. I'm an automotive enthusiast myself, so I understand. Just know that not all of the boys and blue are out there picking on the car guys.

 

And this here is why most military hates the state of california. The officers and state overstep their bounds. Are you saying you're going to ticket a person from North Carolina or Florida where no front plate is issued? Nice try but that is trying to enforce laws that don't apply to them. It's the same as trying to say they have to change their registration even though they're not residents.