I have a question, can a cop look under your hood, without a search warrant? I got pulled over for doing 90 on the freeway... and the cop pulls me over and starts cussing at me.. why the f^&* were you racing. and he rudely said pop your hood. I told him dont you need a search warrant to look under my hood. His reply was I can tow your F^&%& car right now if I want to, and I dont need a f*&*()* warrant. I can tow your car and search it there then. So I pop the hood, and he says come out and open it. (Now this guy is getting too demanding) . So he looks and says ohhhh cold air intake. ok...and other stuff in here that I should know about.. HE finally goes and writes the ticket. for Speeding 90 in a 65, and for having blue turn signals... This guy has serious problems.

 

Just a thought, but you might want to consider not doing 90 on the freeway. When I suffer from angst, I find that identifying and removing its root cause generally eliminates my discomfort.

 

If you were doing 90 on the freeway he could have towed your car. In fact he could have hooked you up and taken you straight to jail. Nice of him just to write you a ticket, you should send him a thank you note!

 

Sounds to me like he's a car nut and wanted to use the opportunity of pulling you over to see what mods you have! Don't think there's anything illegal about looking under the hood, if he's pulled you over he can look in any part of the car if he's suspicious.

 

I agree that webestore was seriously asking for it by running 90 in a 65 zone. The officer was definitely justified in pulling them over.

However, the officer also showed a very poor attitude with his demeanor. It was unprofessional and totally uncalled for.

JMO!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

d,

The officer can look in any part of the car if he's suspicious, but suspicious of WHAT?! If he suspected web of drug smuggling, OK, I can buy that story, but looking under the hood because he was speeding? Sorry, but there was no just cause here, just a prick of an officer high on his own authority.

web, since this offense on his part was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, there's not much you can do. You could try to argue "illegal search" and "no just cause", but what would be the point? You're already on the hook for a ticket, so attacking the officer and his department may put you in bad favor with the judge/magistrate. Let it go, fight the ticket, and just remember that there ARE a few nice cops out there, but they're overshadowed by the multitude of assholes who took the job just so they can boss people around.

 

Welcome to California, depending on where you are they can look just about everywhere on your car even if you not speeding, in san diego we have cops who specifically look for aftermarket parts and carb violation. The hood popping though has to have a justification, so if you have larger then normal exhaust outlets or clear corners then can and will go into the engine bay if they feel like it.

Now on that note if your in california form now on try and get your carb numbers sorted out, their will be a much larger lockdown on imports in SD and some smaller areas over the next two months, mainly due to the incedent that happened last saterday.

 

I'm not sure why everyone's getting bent out of shape for going 90 in a 65. It's illegal sure, and the S2000 tends to attract more attention than other cars, so one should be cautious.

HOWEVER, on LA area freeways, people regularly cruise at 75-80. I mean LOTS of people. Driving slower can create an unsafe situation at times. Passing someone will take you to 85 or higher with no difficulty. It may be different in other parts of the US, but it's very common here. In my opinion, the CHP should be pulling over the many SUVs that drive that speed instead of the cars that are capable of doing it safely.

 

ANYWHERE in the US, on ANY day, you will be passed by someone on the freeway doing 85-90 MPH. And many times, its a cop without his sirens on, which is illegal as well. Around here, 75 is the norm.

Having just got a ticket written for 80 in a 55, I feel your pain. In the state I got it in, the judge can suspend your license for that speed, which is one reason why I hired a lawyer.

Are speed limits wrong? Maybe, especially when so much of the population is breaking the law. But it is the law, and a citation when your caught is what you should expect, not some overzealous detective-wanna-be who thinks he just got a bank robber and decides to give you a speech. Its a misdemeanor, like jay walking. Half the time the police put others in danger to enforce the speed limit- by causing traffic jams, parking on the inside emergency lane around curves, and accelerating to 100+ to catch up with someone doing 80.

Bottom line, the system needs an overhaul. Cops need to learn that they're serving the public, not lecturing them. Each state has its own rules for speeding, and laws don't discern driver experience and vehicle capabilities as they do in many European countries. If you are ever in northern Europe or Scandinavia, look for cars with round stickers on them and a number in the middle. These denote the speed at which the vehicle may travel. Those who just got their license have a lower speed limit than those with experience. Certain vehicles, trucks for example, may not exceed certain speeds.

But more than anything, police need to realize they are empowered by the people and that their own relatives and the cops themselves disregard the speed limit when they see fit.

No clue why he wanted to see under your hood though. He was probably playing make-believe like he just caught someone smuggling aliens into the country.

-B

 

This may not be just about speeding people, he says the police asked him why he was racing. Racing adds an element of danger to others on the road. Plus, what's the big deal about police asking to look under the hood? If you have nothing to hide then there is no problem. I don't get it. I don't think it is he who has the serious problem.