[bigron]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Thanks for your post, bigron.

That is the problem with the judgement of the SC. It raises ambiguity. The SC has left the interpretation of the judgement to the understanding of the Central and the State Government.

If a State wants to strictly follow the judgement then even a winch or a fog light without a cover is illegal and will be stopped. If the state wants to interpret it more liberally then unless some thing like this that is so apparent is on the road, they would turn a blind eye to regular/more mundane modifications. So a state can make the RC a be all end all document to judge all modifications or take it on a case by case basis.

Coming to me and as far as my posts are concerned, they are limited to this particular modification and the danger it poses to other commuters. I do not think morality has any role to play in it for me. I had a look at that gypsy thread and yes, it too needs to be off our roads. Thats just plain dangerous. In my book both these vehicle modifications are on equal footing.

The question you ask me in the end, unfortunately I cannot answer. As for myself, you will see me posting and opposing if similarly modified cars show up in future also.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by alikidwhy

I’m surprised at the responses to this thread.

Team-BHP is India’s largest automotive forum with strict rules for entry and only enthusiasts are here and yet we are appreciating illegal mods.

It doesn’t matter if they’re tasteful or distasteful (its all subjective) the point is that mammoth is a menace to other road users and pedestrians and it should be taken off the street.

How can BHPians vouch for such practices on a public forum as huge as ours? This will just motive every tom, dick and Harry to illegally modify their vehicles because the general emotion here is that of sympathy towards the owner.

I personally do not care if the mods were expensive or not. We already have a huge chunk of our population flouting general traffic rules just because they ‘know’ somebody. Imagine what will happen if this car ‘nut’ wins this in the court of law. The people with massive 20inchers and black tints on their Scorpio(s) will have another motive.

Simple things like Window tints is illegal in India but it does not deter people from using them and our government is busy in making useless rules and charging us for every penny we have. When in a country as hot as ours we do not get the option for tints (regularised) we really can’t expect anything.

This is an offence and should be condemned. If one wants to modify their car (trust me, I hope we could modify as much as various countries that allow) they must show their car to the RTO which should approve of the car and state that it, in no way compromises on the safety of its occupants and other road users.

For those appreciating the young lad, you should not be doing so on a forum such as ours to motivate others. Imagine being hit by this bulldozer. What will you do if he does that? Since he has money, we know how the law will affect him.

The problem is that our laws are poorly thought out, and quite frankly absurd.

In India, any modification done to a vehicle is considered illegal. And getting RTO approval, yea right. The only way one would get that is with deep pockets and connections.

My '06 Honda City came with 175mm tyres from the factory. For my own safety I have upgraded them to 185mm tyres.

What I have done is completely illegal. Therefore, I highly urge you and any concerned members to report me.

The laws of a country should be a reflection of what it's people want, and I full heartedly support the owner of the modded Isuzu and hope he wins his court case (however unlikely that will be).

Edit: After some reflection, I take back what I said about supporting the Isuzu owner. His mods are downright dangerous to other road users, and therefore it's good that action is being taken against him.

However, I stand by my statement that our laws are downright stupid. My tyre upsize is technically as illegal as the Isuzu mod. The fact that no sane authority will ever come after me for that mod is irrelevant. The laws should be written better, and there should be clear distinction about what mods are allowed and which are not.

The all mods are illegal approach the government is currently taking is just downright lazy.

[snappysam]

Originally Posted by Revmatch99

Go on show me how many lives were lost because of these modifications, just because there are many stupid laws in effect right now doesn't mean they're right. In my first post i said how the government wants to ban modifications because they're dangerous but there are government vehicles running on the road that are more of a threat than this. Maybe they should fix those vehicles first and take them off the roads before coming after modded cars, not to mention the crap conditions of the roads that have taken more lives than any modded car

Likewise can you prove that all modded vehicles in India absolutely respect other road users. I don't think so.

Yet if we're to take a statistic of modded vehicles bullying other road users, a significant number of these vehicles certainly bother road users with their loud, modded bikes, cars and trucks. In my locality in Kochi, everyday at around midnight a bunch of "enthusiasts" do street racing because there is an 500m stretch of well maintained road, which after a 90 degree turn expands to a very wide sweeping, largely traffic free 400m stretch. Sure I too would like to have a blast through these roads, BUT on either sides of the roads are thickly populated residential areas. So at night, these modded vehicles and mostly with some exotic Lambos, Porsches come blasting through.

These nut jobs also come out during day and have a free for all. Like most roads in India, daytime brings in its share of morons who cross these very roads without even glancing either sides. Add to this mix, small kids, stray dogs and the odd cow crossing in front of these projectiles.

Don't get me wrong - I love modded vehicles a lot. But not at the cost of safety to others on and near our roads. Just yesterday a young hot head in a modded Yaris tried to overtake me dangerously several times on the narrow Kochi-Kolencherry stretch, narrowly missing my rear few times. All this endeavours amidst a continuous stream on vehicles in the opposite direction and with speeds at way less than 60 KMPH. He was trying to show-off his hot rod. I did not have any space to let him through and eventually pulled over onto the shoulder, entirely off the road. As to avoid getting hit.

Modding should not compromise the safety of the vehicle nor those of others on the road. And yeah! if you want to show-off let's try to get some events all round the country to satiate the enthusiasts. It will help the modding community to mature and expand.

[GTO]

Mod Note: Topic has been discussed enough. Closing thread.

[GTO]

Thanks to neil.jericho, Dry Ice & ruzbehxyz for providing this update:

The Kerala MVD has posted on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mvd.socialmedia) an update on this situation. The FB generated English translation is below.

"The registration of the vehicle KL 17 R 80, which was published on social media, has been temporarily cancelled. According to Section 53 (1) of Motor Vehicle Act, the action is of Muvattupuzha Regional Transport Officer. Suspension is first until six months or until illegal changes are avoided and present for inspection of vehicle. Vehicle cannot be used in public during this period.
Registration will be permanently cancelled as per Section 54 of the Motor Vehicle Act if illegal changes are not avoided within six months."

[Aditya]

Thanks to Govardhan Reghuram for providing this update:

Hi,

The fine has been partly sponsored (Rs. 40,000) by a company.