Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Blind_Io;n3543066 said:
I remember,it was parked in my driveway for several days.

I think it pulled up the property values, maybe even enough to compensate for the Xterra.
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:lol:
 
Blind_Io;n3543060 said:
As long as there is proof of insurance and no evidence that the car is stolen, such as a broken window or damaged ignition, the police have zero grounds to impound the vehicle.

"Here's the registration and insurance. I have the owner's permission, he gave me this key."
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And if they can't contact the owner (good luck getting an agency after hours), they can detain/arrest you on suspicion of auto theft, thereby impounding the car.
 
prizrak;n3543062 said:
Also Adrian was able to drive his Euro spec car on Euro plates no problem. I doubt anyone would look twice at anything carrying a Canadian plate as long as the driver isn't doing something stupid.
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Adrian was the registered owner of the car, though. Big difference between "I am the owner and all the paperwork is in my name" and "the car belongs to some foreign agency."
 
Spectre;n3543102 said:
And if they can't contact the owner (good luck getting an agency after hours), they can detain/arrest you on suspicion of auto theft, thereby impounding the car.
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Well you figure anyone running that business will have a 24/7 answering service of some sort.
Spectre;n3543103 said:
Adrian was the registered owner of the car, though. Big difference between "I am the owner and all the paperwork is in my name" and "the car belongs to some foreign agency."
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Sure but at the same time, if you had say a Hertz rental the cops wouldn't give you any grief over it, as long as the paperwork is in order saying that the car is a rental and you are the driver of record I wouldn't think there would be issues.

Unrelated to the above, just drove the car to my mechanic to get new tires mounted, it is currently 15 outside. Holly crap, the tires make a ton of noise, grip is almost non-existent and the gear oil is clearly a lot more viscous than normal. Add to that not having heated anything and the shifter being made out of aluminum and you have one miserable drive, luckily his about 5 minutes away so not a big deal to make it there.
 
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Spectre;n3543102 said:
And if they can't contact the owner (good luck getting an agency after hours), they can detain/arrest you on suspicion of auto theft, thereby impounding the car.
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I don't think that driving a car with no signs of break in and no report of it being stolen will result in an impound if they cannot reach the owner. I've been pulled over driving someone else's car and the police never tried to call the owner. He asked if I had the key, which I presented and explained I was borrowing the car. Police need reasonable suspicion of a crime to detain you for that kind of investigation, typically cars are not impounded unless you are actually charged with a crime, which would need probable cause - a harder legal standard to achieve. People borrow cars from each other all the time, no reasonable person would assume that the car is stolen without corroborating evidence - a broken window, broken ignition, or not being able to produce a key combined with the car being registered to another person.

In all my time working with the courts, I've never heard of a car being impounded just because the owner wasn't the one driving. Hell, Kiki's car is in her name and I don't even appear on the insurance card. Why has her car not been impounded just because I'm the one driving it?
 
Blind_Io;n3543114 said:
I don't think that driving a car with no signs of break in and no report of it being stolen will result in an impound if they cannot reach the owner. I've been pulled over driving someone else's car and the police never tried to call the owner. He asked if I had the key, which I presented and explained I was borrowing the car. Police need reasonable suspicion of a crime to detain you for that kind of investigation, typically cars are not impounded unless you are actually charged with a crime, which would need probable cause - a harder legal standard to achieve. People borrow cars from each other all the time, no reasonable person would assume that the car is stolen without corroborating evidence - a broken window, broken ignition, or not being able to produce a key combined with the car being registered to another person.

In all my time working with the courts, I've never heard of a car being impounded just because the owner wasn't the one driving. Hell, Kiki's car is in her name and I don't even appear on the insurance card. Why has her car not been impounded just because I'm the one driving it?
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Because you're not driving on foreign tags and therefore a magnet for revenue generating cops? Because if you show your license, the address matches Kiki's?

And yes, if the cop can't get ahold of the registered owner, they are in their rights to detain you and as a result will impound the car because they won't leave the car unattended on the road.

prizrak;n3543112 said:
Well you figure anyone running that business will have a 24/7 answering service of some sort.

Sure but at the same time, if you had say a Hertz rental the cops wouldn't give you any grief over it, as long as the paperwork is in order saying that the car is a rental and you are the driver of record I wouldn't think there would be issues.
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One of the problems with early car rental services that does indeed continue to this day with smaller private car rental services - inability to verify information because the agency is closed. Hertz and the other big chains have 24 hour hotlines that police or others can call.
 
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Do you have some kind of example or source on that, Spectre? I've worked with the courts and the police for years and I have literally never heard of that happening unless there was some other evidence of theft. The address matching doesn't matter, what if I borrowed my roommate's car? We have different names and the same address. Or my sister's car, who changed her name when she got married? Or my neighbor's truck? No reasonable person would naturally assume the vehicle was stolen.

Now, if questioned about it and the driver can't say who he "borrowed" the car from, where they live, etc, then you have reasonable suspicion that it is theft. But just having a mismatch between the owner and driver isn't sufficient and anyone who wanted to challenge that in court would undoubtedly win.
 
Blind_Io;n3543124 said:
Do you have some kind of example or source on that, Spectre? I've worked with the courts and the police for years and I have literally never heard of that happening unless there was some other evidence of theft. The address matching doesn't matter, what if I borrowed my roommate's car? We have different names and the same address. Or my sister's car, who changed her name when she got married? Or my neighbor's truck? No reasonable person would naturally assume the vehicle was stolen.

Now, if questioned about it and the driver can't say who he "borrowed" the car from, where they live, etc, then you have reasonable suspicion that it is theft. But just having a mismatch between the owner and driver isn't sufficient and anyone who wanted to challenge that in court would undoubtedly win.
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I've personally been a passenger in a rental car when this happened in California. The driver had rented the vehicle from an auto repair facility while his Crap-maro was being repaired. The driver had the key, documentation, etc. When he was pulled over at 8pm, the cops wanted to contact the registered owner to verify that the Civic was being driven with permission. Being unable to contact them, the driver was arrested and the Civic was impounded; at the time there was a huge rash of Civic thefts. Fortunately, the cops were good enough to give me a lift home.

There was an feature on KCAL-TV news not too long later saying that this was what was happening, so it wasn't just this department or this rental situation. I later was present in Oklahoma when something similar happened to another friend of mine.

Talk to the cops where you're at. They may choose not to do it, but they *do* have the legal option.
 
Did three races at K1 Speed today, AMA.
 
That second part.... did you bug my phone?

There was this girl that barely met the height for adult karts and drove barely fast enough. When she got to corners she would dive bomb without looking causing a lot of crashes. Last race we hardly got a full speed lap. It’s nifty how the refs can turn down the speed when a crash occurs. Also in the last race, this girl spun her own father out. Nice thing is, we got another race without her or her father. Made up for the fuck ups.

I had some legitimate freak out moments because I’ve never been in a kart that can get to these speeds and requiring me to actually slow down or brake for turns. I know where most of my money is going this coming year.
 
Got the new tires on the car, even with as cold as it’s been the traction is almost equal to P0s in summer
 
Spectre;n3543136 said:
I've personally been a passenger in a rental car when this happened in California. The driver had rented the vehicle from an auto repair facility while his Crap-maro was being repaired. The driver had the key, documentation, etc. When he was pulled over at 8pm, the cops wanted to contact the registered owner to verify that the Civic was being driven with permission. Being unable to contact them, the driver was arrested and the Civic was impounded; at the time there was a huge rash of Civic thefts. Fortunately, the cops were good enough to give me a lift home.

There was an feature on KCAL-TV news not too long later saying that this was what was happening, so it wasn't just this department or this rental situation. I later was present in Oklahoma when something similar happened to another friend of mine.

Talk to the cops where you're at. They may choose not to do it, but they *do* have the legal option.
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Do they want to get sued by the ACLU? Because that's how you get sued by the ACLU.
 
Blind_Io;n3543179 said:
Do they want to get sued by the ACLU? Because that's how you get sued by the ACLU.
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IIRC, the Supreme Court has said that in cases where the owner cannot be contacted and the officer has question about permissions or legality, the police can actually do that. It's a dick move, but it's legal.

The ACLU would only get involved if the driver was of a 'protected minority' - which was not the case in either incident.
 
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Those kart races are a blast. Spendy but a blast. There's definitely people who are serious about it, they were just straight flying around the track.
 
I hate NYC drivers, there is a bit of a dusting off snow, nothing major not even an inch and it's not coming down hard at all. Of course the roads are mostly treated and there is no snow on them both due to the salt and the cars, but EVERYONE is going 10mph and turning at 2. Your FWD 110hp Camry is not going to fucking spin out JUST GO!!! Somehow I manage to make those turns at close to normal speeds with RWD...
 
At the first snow here, I try to stay off the roads. Everyone in a truck with mud terrains or AWD with bald all seasons thinks they are invincible and takes out three other cars.

By the second snow, all those people's cars are in the body shop and traffic flows well again; it's self clearancing.
 
That is hilarious, funnily enough I just came back from a store and someone managed to spin a Corolla out on the highway and block two lanes with their stupidity.
 
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