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Topic: Idea for a board-wide project: (Read 2734 times) previous topic - next topic

Idea for a board-wide project:

Quite frankly, I wanted someone like Eric to post this, just to eliminate some of the griping about the source.. but he's too busy, so here goes.

I was thinking the other day that there's a lot of hearsay when it comes to the "little" laws regarding our cars. Things like whether or not we need pre-cats, how many fog/driving lights we can mount and where, tint, where our exhaust pipes can exit, etc. I know there are answers to these things out there, (and that some of them might be either federal or local) but tracking them down can sometimes be a pain.

So what if we compiled a list of common legal questions about the little things on our cars? A list one of us in each state could fax/Email/snail-mail to someone in our state government, and compile a list of the current responses for each state on CoolCats? We can disclaim the list by saying laws change all the time and that the person reading should check with such-and-such, and we can list the contact info as well.

I'd think we should limit it to mainly state and federal stuff.. or stuff that is either one way in some areas of a state, or the other way in the rest of the state. (like your E-check in Ohio, if I am to understand it correctly) I also think we should try to keep it to a printed page worth of common questions if at all possible.

I know there are some sites out there like AAA that list some state laws.. but chances are they don't cover everything we'd want to know.

EDIT: As evidence that I should never post until I've had my morning coffee.. I completely forgot to mention that the idea encompassed all of our Canadian members as well. Oops.  :canada: Just substitute words where appropriate. (state/province, etc.)
 

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #1 –
when i read the first post i thought what a waste. just do a google search for your state/area/province and read up and your done. How wrong i was phrased ny search question several ways and couldn't find the info. lots of stuff about insurance and traffice law but nothing so far about the vehicle restrictions. so i think it would be a good idea
Baylensman 97 XR7

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #2 –
I'm pretty sure I've seen an answer or two in past government literature. The source is really not quite as important as having it all the right info in one place.. although the source is important in the context of being factual. Hearing it from a government employee or government website is good.. hearing it from Uncle Bob's best friend's aunt's hairdresser is iffy.

We can all get answers on the bigger things.. and the smallest stuff, well I'm sure a lot of people don't care about. But I'm guessing there's a gray area in there of stuff that people don't know but might like to. Take me for example: I am thinking about putting an exhaust on my LSC that exits before the rear tires.. but I don't know if that's legal here in Florida.. and frankly, I'm pretty burned out on searching for car stuff on Google.

Yeah, I got your PM on tint. Thanks.

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #3 –
yeah, i'v searched about tint laws, and exhaust exiting the vehicle +6" or further away from the rear most door and what not, and i cant find anything realy worth trusting. im sure at the very least their is a site somewhere for local and federal laws orginized by state and county.

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #4 –
Quote
lots of stuff about insurance and traffice law but nothing so far about the vehicle restrictions


Baylens,  Restricted equipment and also necessary equipment should be under Vehicle and Traffic Law for most states/provinces.  The problem is like you said.  Finding a full version of these laws online......
Here's NY.  This one was easy to find.  http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/vt-ndx.htm

Florida seems to be proving difficult.  If I find it, I'll post it.
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #5 –
The point isn't to answer one or two specific questions for a couple of users/states. The point is to figure out what questions we should ask in every state/province we have users in, (within reason) and collect those answers for a hopefully brief but informative guide for the majority of the board. It's great that you're looking this stuff up for Florida after looking it up for NY.. but I'm looking for the same info for everyone here, and there's no way you should have to do that searching all by yourself.

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #6 –
True, and I think the idea is great.  I was just curious myself to see how the laws differ in different parts of the US :america:  and Canada :canada: (See, I remembered our Northern Neighbor :hick: )

Quote
But I'm guessing there's a gray area in there of stuff that people don't know but might like to. Take me for example: I am thinking about putting an exhaust on my LSC that exits before the rear tires.. but I don't know if that's legal here in Florida


A perfect example right there.  I'm sure this varies state by state, province by province (no resrictions here....just on sound/loudness and that in itself is a grey area).  The list of "grey areas" could potentially become quite large as every state and province is factored in.....
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #8 –
Well that's part of the project.. to figure out what questions we're best off trying to get answered.. keeping it to maybe stuff we could (for example) fax on 1-2 properly formatted pages of questions, plus a cover page explaining the project.

We can, of course, answer these questions by other means.. but the answers should be from official sources. (EDIT: Or, in the case of what Crystal just posted, possibly a source whose job it is to know this stuff)

Limiting the questions also helps cut down on the work needed to translate it to a database for the website.

Here's another example of a possible question.. but not necessarily one that applies to most of us: I've often been told that it's illegal here in Florida for tires to be sticking out from under the fenders.. but the ricers do it all the time around here. (and it looks retarded)

Re: Idea for a board-wide project:

Reply #9 –
Actually, I think that is Illegal here in Wisconsin as well. More targeted at the off-roading crowd.  I know that in California, its Illegal to lower the ride height of your vehicle too much. They will atually measure from the center of your headlights to the ground. Now on the other side of things, You can lower a vehicle in Wisconsin as much as you want, as long as if you have a flat tire the frame is not resting on the ground.  Most of the laws in wisconsin, like I said are targeted twards trucks. I would love a guide to tint, Ride height, exhaust systems, and other unknowns, just to compare the laws. On another plus, it could help out people that are considering moving to another state/Province so they are aware of the regulations BEFORE their firs ticket....avoiding many headachs. Just my 2 Cents
88 TC, Lots of Mods.