VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

Who has actually been pulled over because of the drag-net (profiling "modified looking" cars)? I have to write an argument essay and I'm doing it on the profiling of modified looking cars. I need an interview as a source but those are kind of hard to come by on this subject....so I'm going to make this count as one.

1) what kind of car do you drive?

2) is it modified?
-if so, what are the mods?

3) did the cop pull you over for a technicality (ie: failed to use turn signal) or did he claim to pull you over because he "suspected your car was modified"?

4) how long did the whole process take?

5) was the cop full of crap? (asking what the parts on an STi are red, asking if it came with an intercooler)

6) what was a cops attitude? was he an ******* or was he cool about it?

TIA guys. If you know anyone who has been pulled over for this, can you have them answer the questions? TIA again.

yes, I know I posted it in both the Bay Area and SoCal forums...just trying to get this out to more people.

mattsn0w

iTrader: (23)

wish I could help you, but I drive a wagon and try not to 'look' modified. Every time i've been pulled over it was for speeding.

Good luck.

jdadour

iTrader: (3)

+1 wagon here as well. gotta love that fifth door.... and all that space... and the look on everyones face when they realize its a wagon.... lololol i freaking love my wagon

RedStage

iTrader: (4)

+2 for the wagon and being pulled over for speeding....once....

Onizuka

iTrader: (17)

I had no idea that the profiling was called "Drag-Net." Looks like I need to start carrying my brochure in my car again.

STi-owns-evo

iTrader: (4)

1) bugeyes sedan
2)Yes it's modified, but only thing you can tell from the exterior is exhaust non riced out
3)Pulled me over for speeding since he heard my exhaust as I was WOTing to get to freeway speeds from an on ramp. Never paced me and was actually following a van in the slower lane at the time. He didn't say anything about modifications or did it seem like he cared much. I know he pulled me over for my exhaust note though since other people were going a lot faster than I was.
4) About 10-15 minutes.
5) No, he wasn't really much of an ***, but he did say that because I was a new driver I didn't know how to handle a sports car.
6) He was kinda cocky with his whole I'm a better driver because I'm old attitude. And in court too, the judge was a jerk to me, making fun of me while I was asking for permission to have a trial by declaration because I was the only teenager in the court at the time. Atleast he didn't show up in court.

XkrazyAsianX

iTrader: (5)

i dont think that's drag-net. Aren't drag-net units specially equiped to handle modified cars and high speed chases? And they are also "trained" in spotting modified cars and can measure the loudness of your exhaust with their ball sacks ....

sonic_yellow

iTrader: (13)

1) what kind of car do you drive?
When I got "profiled", I was driving a 2003 Sonic Yellow WRX Sedan

2) is it modified? Yes.
-if so, what are the mods?
Exterior/Performance mods - Greddy Cat-back, 17" Steel Grey Rotas w/ polished lip, Morrette projectors, mesh fog covers

3) did the cop pull you over for a technicality (ie: failed to use turn signal) or did he claim to pull you over because he "suspected your car was modified"?

I was going speed limit on the 91 freeway and he pulled me over aaround 1:30 AM for "not driving straight". I knew it was B.S. because I saw him coming up to me from about half a mile away in my rear view mirror and when he flashed his red lights I signaled right to pull over in less than a second. The greddy EVo exhause system is rated at 92 dB, so I knew he pulled me over for being modified.

4) how long did the whole process take?
About 5-10 minutes total, it was CHP so he had some loudspeaker system telling me to get off the freeway and ask me a lot of questions.

5) was the cop full of crap? (asking what the parts on an STi are red, asking if it came with an intercooler)
Yep, full of it, hehe... He asked me to rev my car so I politely and easily revved to about 2500 rpm and then let off slowly on the throttle ( I had an HKS bov at the time, so a quick release would have made it audible). But he still wasnt satisfied, he said: "NO, I mean I want to you really STEP on it". I didnt panic, I just took it to about 4k and then eased off again. Exhaust stayed quiet as ever, so I was just chillin' - I knew he had nothing on me, so any ticket would have been a bogus one, also I think he was looking for a reason to make me open the hood, but he had none I think I was lucky that he didnt ask. I also had an Injen CAI with the CARB sticker and the Greddy exhaust is within legal limits so I think I was in the clear anyways.

6) what was a cops attitude? was he an ******* or was he cool about it?
Although he didnt have a mean or bad attitude the whole time, He still wanted to act tough at the end so his last words were: "You know those things are illegal, right?" At that point I felt smug, but I wanted to be able to leave sooner, so instead of arguing, I said: "Yeah, I'll probably change some things and go back to stock" (Yeah, right). He drove off, and I drove back home a bit bewildered but ok. I changed to a Borla Hush in the next two months.

Akira-R

iTrader: (1)

car - 04 sti
mods - none
pulled over for alleged modified exhuast
time ~ 30 minutes
cop was an idiot, making threats of sending me to a state ref if i didn't agree with him it was a modded exhaust (stock exhaust) he kept claiming he used to sell aftermarket parts and knew his ****....
no traffic violations occurred as he only followed me from a gas station to my house at ~1/4 mile distance. Actually pulled me over as i was halfway in my driveway.
car was still brand new with dealer plates on.

DRFTwRx

iTrader: (1)

wow....so what ended up happening?? i bet he was pissed when he found out he was wrong and realized how stupid he just made himself look

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

thats what I'm asking about, the modified car crackdown. San Diego calls it the "drag-net" program. I'm not asking about getting pulled over for speeding, I'm asking about getting pulled over because the cop thinks youre modded just from a sticker or tint or something of that nature. Thanks for all the info guys!

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

Sonic_Yellow and Akira, can you please PM me your first name and last initial so that my "interview" is legit? Thanks everyone

illusion

iTrader: (10)

Current:
1) 05 WRX Wagon

2) Yes, turbo, IC, UP, TBE, yada yada.

3) No front plate.

4) 5 minutes

5) Little sense of fecal matter in his brain, but not too bad.

6) He was pretty decent. I think the fact that I was telling the truth about things got me a little leniency. He looked surprised when he came to the side of the car and realized I was a white guy. Asked if I had exhaust “yes, borla”, asked if I had an intake “no”, asked if I had cats in the car, he didn’t specify OEM or all of them “yes”, are your front windows tinted “yes, but as light as I could go” (should have said as light as I was willing to go, they are 50% but the 5% the rest of the way around offsets the fronts). That was it, wrote me a fix it ticket for no front plate, paid my $10 and called it a day.


Toy:
1) 02 R6

2) Two brothers Slip on, alba race header, jet kit, few other goodies.

3) “Speeding” although I was actually doing the speed.

4) 20 minutes

5) High cranial fecal matter content

6) His attitude was ok, but he was obviously biased. He said I was speeding. I asked why he didn’t pull the Camaro over that was pulling away in front of me if I was speeding. He said “I didn’t notice any camaro”. He commented on my exhaust just as two Harleys came by at deafening levels, I asked “what about those?” he replies “oh, Harleys always sound like that” WTF? My neighbor has an Electi Glide with stock exhaust and it is very quiet. Anyhow, after checking my license he comes back and says “well, just make sure you keep it down”. I shut my mouth, thanked him and left.



Previous:
1) 01 V6 accord Sedan.

2) Yes, Comptech supercharger(with “offroad” 12psi pulley), headers, intake, exhaust, unichip and the other usual bolt ons.

3) Suspected illegal exhaust.

4) 45 minutes.

5) Aboslutely FOS. I had the paperwork for every part on the car and all had CARB OE numbers(well the ones he noticed at least). He didn’t know washer fluid from oil. Absolute complete tool. He kept arguing with me about things he obviously had no clue about.

6) Complete and utter retard, did the towing threat, all kind of other threats, I demanded to see the shift supervisor and he got bent WAY out of shape about that. The shift supervisor came, looked over my paperwork then pulled Mr. Tool aside. A few minutes later Mr. Tool got in his car, lit up the tires as he was leaving and the supervisor came back, apologized for the trouble, then wished me a good night.

Onizuka

iTrader: (17)

Actually, now that I think about it, I think I got profiled one time.

1) 04 WRX STi (In Aspen White)

2) At the time, no front plate, side windows tinted at 35%, rears at 20%, completely visible from all angles (you could see in easily), all badges removed from trunk, still had wing on

3) When he came to my window, I asked him what I was being pulled over for, he said, "Wait here, I'll tell you in a second" (in other words, he didn't have a damn clue why he pulled me over) then he proceeded to walk around my car, look around for 5-10 minutes, then come back to my window and say, "How fast do you think you were going?"

4) Maybe 45 minutes to an hour.

5) Cop asked me to pop my hood under possibility that I may be "modified." I gladly complied and his reply was, "Oh sure, that's stock all right." Then he asked me about my exhaust, which is also stock, in fact, I even said, "Officer, it's stamped with STi and this car just came out and it a WRX STi." He also said, "What about this big aftermarket wing?" My answer, "It's stock, Officer." Then he said, "I think you were going faster than 40." I told him, "Officer, I was going exactly 40 as posted. I was not going under 40 nor over 40. I was at 40 the whole time in 6th gear." (I was taking my time that night and I really was in 6th gear to keep myself slow).

6) I felt like he was apologetic at the end, but since I was being harassed by not 1 cop, but 2 cops, I felt pretty crappy. After these two police units pulled me over, a third unit went flying past me at 60 mph. He gave me a ticket for tinted front windows and no front plate. Complete BS since BOTH of my windows were rolled down when he came to my car and it was 3:30 AM. Officers with nothing to do? I think so.

Akira-R

iTrader: (1)

After all that he just said to fix it as he bolted off. I quickly siad it's stock again, before he left. He never admitted being wrong.

I asked him a bunch of stuff, it was funny. If i needed a letter from the dealership, dmv, smog ref, SOA to show future cops the car was stock.....i'm too lazy to type his lame responses,

--reid