Virginia State Troopers in Waverly went to a guys house (a friend of my sons) and pulled the plates from his truck and told him if he drove it on the road again, they would have it impounded. He had a muffler on it too but it wasn't a factory muffler. The trooper is telling him it must be factory exhaust all the way. What's up with this crap?

Dennis, watch out if you come down that way for sure.

Sounds like it is lawyer time.

 

Being from VA it really sounds like someone Edit off the local sheriff. I swear that some of these backwater towns will try any crap that they can get away with. Personally I would buy the factory muffler and run a straight pipe straight through it and have it installed. Technically they are right that the exhaust cant be altered but OE equipment was not a impound offence. Especially if the cat is still there. $25 dollar noise fine was what I got when the whole muffler fell off in the road.
My best friend had to paint his car, drive different vehicles, and finally quit driving for a couple of weeks to get them off his butt. The county came out to his house and told them they had 15 days to get rid of a bunch of cars, dmv sent paperwork saying his vehicles were uninsured and threatening suspension and fines, and the constant patrolmen driving up and down the road. The guy was truely being harrassed considering he lives 30 minutes from town. What he do? Drives about 10MPH over the speed limit on his road like 75% of the people around him. He is just younger and drives mustangs.

 

So non-factory means any muffler installed by Meinike or Brake King or any other muffler manufactirer is illegal? I took mine to the trooper barracks in Suffolk and both of them said there was nothing wrong with it. (see photo gallaery for pics)

 

Its all how you play the law. This is a smog law that they are trying to enforce that says no mods to the exhaust. Technically anything you run is illegal if it didnt come from Chrysler. By law even the replacement muffler at the auto parts store is illegal. Most places have common sense and realize that parts need replaced and dont sweat it as long as the number of cats and mufflers are retained and are in the stock location. If the cat is there and noise is moderate nothing is said. Remember that glass packs where factory on turbo corvairs back in the day. Dealers even installed them on cars during the muscle car days. Your sons friend had to seriously Edit someone off because the worst he should have got was a noise ordanance fine that gets dropped in court when ya tell the judge that its fixed. Been there and done it along with half my friends. He can try to fight it but the best he will get is the charges dropped and the local troopers watching him because they looked like an idiot in court. Best thing is to fix then pull it back off in a couple weeks. Running the straight pipe through the center of the muffler would work best as a CYA move after the court date thing.

 

He is putting the stock stuff on for now but I'm sure this is not the end of it.

 

Make sure he lies low for awhile and things will eventually blow over. He just has to wait for the local cops to find a new public enemy #1.

 

If he really did something to deserve it, then he should take it but my son says the engine is louder than the exhaust on this particular truck so I can't imagine what happened.

 

I had to move out of my old town because the cops would harass me so much. I could tell stories for a week, but here are a couple of examples:

-Got stopped in my old CJ-7 and ticketed for "Flaps and Flares Violation" because the 33" tires stuck out past the body 1". Technically they were right...in N.H. the tires must be covered by flares. The next day I got up early and swapped out the 33's and put on little 235/75/15 tires, which looked a little funny with the slight lift. I got stopped on my way to work that day...and delayed 30 minutes while i was chewed out for "Excessive clearance between the tires and fenders". No win situation, so the 33's went back on.

Got stopped another time and had my truck searched by 3 officers. I asked what they were looking for, and was told "we'll know when we find it". I watched them as closely as i could, suspecting that they might try to plant something. Sure, my driving record sucked, but mainly because of being harassed so often, and I've never had a DWI, drug problem, etc. Just speeding tickets and equipment violations.

Yea, small town cops can be bad. Hopefully things will blow over for the guy, but they may not. If he did something to tick off the cops, they tend to hold a grudge for a very, very long time. I was harassed from the time i was 16 and got my license, until I was 31 and moved out of town. Funny thing is, once I moved, my driving recoed cleared right up. Gee, I wonder why...

Jim

 

How bout one of Rip Rook's "Sneaker" series mufflers? Click here .

 

What have you guys down in that neck of the woods been doing to those troopers?
I'm going to stop hanging around with you guys,,,,,,, you are being a BAD influence on me,,,,,
Us long-haired-bikers never got that much attention from the troopers in that area!
I'm wondering if someone down in that area has really ticked off the MAN and now everybody is going to get hassled. If the State Police are that concerned about noise,,,, they need to come west a few miles and start stopping some of the 18 wheelers that run through the 45mph zone at 60mph or the ones that lay on the jake-brakes when they think they spot what looks like a police car parked in front of the Fire house, about half way through the 45 zone. Most of the out of state 18 wheel "Garbage Skows" running in front of my place, going to Sussex landfill look like they're falling apart,,, trash blowing out from under the torn, flapping tarps,,,,, and wheels wobbling on the trailers so bad, I don't even like to get around them (I've seen a set of duals come off twice since living out here,,,,,,and it ain't pretty at 60mph!) The bad thing is that these are on the roads between Sussex and places like Maryland and New York everyday!

 

I had to leave home myself for awhile and thats why I am in the military now. I wasnt an angel by any means but guess where my problems started. I was an outsider (lived 4 miles from the county line one way and 1/2 hour from what they considered my town the other way) that was seeing a local girl. They sure seemed to find every reason to hassle me. Even the old "you have a tail light out" routine. Don't get me wrong as I love where I am from but man did it ever have its days.

 

Hate to tell ya, but if the VA State Police do something, like taking plates or something similair then most likely it's legal for them to do so. VA State Police is one of the top accredited law enforcement agencies in the country, and has been for quite some time. As a matter of fact, I want to say they're in the top 5. They will do their research before something like that happens, and they will make sure they have every right to do so.

A State agency taking property that belongs to the State in the first place would not be considered theft. Citizens do not OWN license plates, and if citizens break the law, then they are expected to turn them over in some cases or have them removed.

Having said all that, if they did come and remove the plates, the one thing you could do is check the court documents to see if that was actually approved by a judge. I don't think they could remove them until a judge gave them a court order to do so since there would have to be a conviction of some sort. Did the kid not get his day in court?

PS - The comments on small town cops is ignorant. Some of the best cops I've know have been from small towns of 1500 people or less.

 

I come from a pretty small town and pretty much have never heard of anyone being given a hard time by Leo’s. (not to say in never happens). Most of the guys in the Sheriff's Dept and a lot of the State Boys are very much local guys to begin with anyway. I have had great luck with Law Enforcement from all the local agencies round here.
(Knock on wood), I'll probably end up face done in the felony prone position on the street on the way home now. I think it has to do with respect. I for one think that being a Cop is a crap job; I mean at least one that you would have to WANT to do. It ranks up there with teachers (little respect and pay for a tough job). I'm here to tell you, Cops can pick you out in a heartbeat if they think you are up to something. I've been pulled over and even detained for many 'a jail-able offense, honesty and just being down to earth have kept me out of trouble.

Gotta be something else going on down there.

 

I do agree with you and maybe we are not getting the whole story,That was the only reason I said that.By all means I am not putting down any official at all. I too know alot of officers and they do not have the easiest jobs in the world, trust me.I am sorry if I offended anyone in any way. But like I said we are only getting one side of the story.

 

Never mind the mufflers, what about the annoying subwoofers spueing obscenities for half a mile. The radios in these grocery getters rattle windows a city block away and I haven,t heard of a trooper giving them a ticket for excessive noise.