Modding Laws

[Kris-Vtr]

** If this is useful help would you make it sticky? **

Tips, Tricks, and Advice Below :-


The Harsh & painful truth
Avoiding roadside interiews
Documents
Number Plates
Sunstrips and tints
Single wiper conversion
Lights ICE
Big alloys/tyres
Lowered suspension
Exhauts
Bodykits
Seats and harnesses
Other mods

[mcchriswood]

yeah i need a bit of help in the buckets and harnesses side now mine are fitted. i dont have normal seat belts on passenger side but i do all roud everywhere else. have hanresses on front two buckets too :) (how do i know if they legal)

[Kris-Vtr]

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The Harsh & painful truth

The minute you start down the road to a modified motor, you stand a good chance of being in trouble with the Man. It seems like there's almost nothing worthwhile you can do to your car, without breaking some sort of law. So the answer's not to do it at all, then? Well, no, but let's keep it real.

There's this bunch of vehicle-related regulations called Construction & Use. It's a huge set of books, used by the car manufacturers and the Department of Transport among others, and it sets out in black and white all the legal issues that could land you in trouble. It's the ultimate authority for modifying, in theory. But few people (and even fewer policemen) know all of it inside-out, and it's forever being updated and revised, so it's not often enforced to the letter at the roadside - just in court. Despite the existence of C & U, in trying to put together any guide to the law and modifying, it quickly becomes clear that almost everything's a "grey area", with no-one prepared to go on record and say what is okay to modify and what's not. Well, brilliant. So if there's no fixed rules (in the real world), how are you meant to live by them? In the circumstances, all we can promise to do is help to make sense of nonsense...


Avoiding roadside interwiews

Why do some people get pulled all the time, and others hardly ever? It's often all about attitude. We'd all like to be free to drive around "in yer face", windows down, system full up, loud exhaust bellowing, sparks striking, tyres squealing - but - nothing is a bigger "come-on" to the boys in blue than "irresponsible" driving like this. Rest assured, if your motor's anywhere near fully sorted, the coppers will find something they can nick you for, when they pull you over - it's a dead cert. Trying not to wind them up too much before this happens (and certainly not once you're stopped) will make for an easier life. There's showing off, and then there's taking the pee. Save it for the next cruise.The worst thing from your point of view is that, once you've been stopped, it's down to that particular copper's judgement as to whether your car's illegal. If he/she's having a bad day anyway, smart-mouthing- off isn't gonna help your case at all. If you can persuade him/her that you're at least taking on board what's being said, you might be let off with a warning. If it goes further, you'll be reported for an offence - while this doesn't mean you'll end up being prosecuted for it, it ain't good. Some defects (like worn tyres) will result in a so-called "seven-day wonder", which usually means you have to fix whatever's deemed wrong, maybe get the car inspected, and present yourself with the proof at a police station, inside seven days, or face prosecution.If you can manage to drive reasonably sensibly when the law's about, and can ideally show that you've tried to keep your car legal when you get questioned, you stand a much better chance of enjoying your relationship with your modded beast. This guide is intended to help you steer clear of the more obvious things you could get pulled for. By reading it, you might even be able to have an informed, well-mannered discussion about things legal with the next officer of the law you meet at the side of the road. As in: "Oh really, officer? I was not aware of that. Thank you for pointing it out." Just don't argue with them, that's all...



Documents

The first thing you'll be asked to produce. If you're driving around without tax, MOT or insurance, we might as well stop now, as you won't be doing much more driving of anything after just one pull. Okay, so you don't normally carry all your car-related documents with you - for safety, you've got them stashed carefully at home, haven't you? But carrying photocopies of your licence, MOT and insurance certificate is a good idea. While they're not legally-binding absolute proof, producing these in a roadside check might mean you don't have to produce the real things at a copshop later in the week. Shows a certain responsibility, and confidence in your own legality on the road, too. In some parts of the country, it's even said to be a good idea to carry copies of any receipts for your stereo gear - if there's any suspicion about it being stolen (surely not), some coppers have been known to confiscate it (or the car it's in) on the spot!


Number Plates

One of the simplest mods, and one of the easiest to spot (and prove) if you're a copper. Nowadays, any changes made to the standard approved character font (such as italics or fancy type), spacing, or size of the plate constitutes an offence. Remember too that if you've moved the rear plate from its original spot (like from the tailgate recess, during smoothing) it still has to be properly lit at night. You're unlikely to even buy an illegal plate now, as the companies making them are also liable for prosecution if you get stopped. It's all just something else to blame on speed cameras - plates have to be easy for them to shoot, and modding yours suggests you're trying to escape a speeding conviction (well, who isn't?).Getting pulled for an illegal plate is for suckers - you're making it too easy for them. While this offence only entails a small fine and confiscation of the plates, you're drawing unwelcome police attention to the rest of your car. Not smart. At all.



Sunstrips and tints

The sunstrip is now an essential item for any modded motor, but telling Mr Plod you had to fit one is no defence if you've gone a bit too far. The sunstrip should not be so low down the screen that it interferes with your ability to see out. Is this obvious? Apparently not. As a guide, if the strip's so low your wiper(s) touch it, it's too low. Don't try fitting short wiper blades to get round this - the police aren't as stupid as that, and you could get done for wipers that don't clear a sufficient area of the screen. Push it so far, and no further!
Window tinting is a trickier area. It seems you can have up to a 25% tint on a windscreen, and up to 30% on all other glass - but how do you measure this? Er. And what do you do if your glass is tinted to start with? Er, probably nothing. Of course you can buy window film in various "darknesses", from not-very-dark to "ambulance-black", but being able to buy it does not make it legal for road use (most companies cover themselves by saying "for, show use only"). Go for just a light smoke on the side and rear glass, and you'd have to be unlucky to get done for it. If you must fit really dark tints, you're safest doing the rear side windows only.Some forces now have a light meter to test light transmission through glass at the roadside - fail this, and it's a big on-the-spot fine


Single wiper conversion

Not usually a problem, and certainly not worth a pull on its own, but combine a big sunstrip with a short wiper blade, and you're just asking for trouble. Insufficient view of the road ahead. There's also the question of whether it's legal to have the arm parking vertically, in the centre of the screen, as it obscures your vision. Probably not legal, then - even if it looks cool. Unfortunately, the Man doesn't do cool.


Lights

Lights of all kinds have to be one of the single biggest problem areas in modifying, and the police are depressingly well-informed. Most people make light mods a priority, whether it's Morette conversions for headlights or Lexus-style rear clusters. If they fit alright, and work, what's the problem?First off, don't bother with any lights which aren't fully UK-legal - it's just too much hassle. Being "E-marked" only makes them legal in Europe, and most of our Euro-chums drive on the right. One of our project cars ended up with left-hand-drive rear clusters, and as a result, had no rear reflectors and a rear foglight on the wrong side (should be on the right). Getting stopped for not having rear reflectors would be a bit harsh, but why risk it, even to save a few quid?Once you've had any headlight mods done (other than light brows) always have the beam alignment checked - it's part of the MOT, after all. The same applies to any front fogs or spots you've fitted (the various points of law involved here are too many to mention - light colour, height, spacing, operation with main/dipped headlights - ask at an MOT centre before fitting, and have them checked out after fitting).If Plod's really having a bad day, he might even question the legality of your new blue headlight bulbs - are they too powerful? Keeping the bulb packaging in the glovebox might be a neat solution here (60/55W max).Many modders favour spraying rear light clusters to make them look trick, as opposed to replacing them - but there's trouble in store here, too. One of the greyest of grey areas is - how much light tinting is too much? The much-talked-about but not-often-seen "common sense" comes into play here. Making your lights so dim that they're reduced to a feeble red/orange glow is pretty dim itself. If you're spraying, only use proper light-tinting spray, and not too many coats of that. Colour-coding lights with ordinary spray paint is best left to a pro sprayer or bodyshop (it can be done by mixing lots of lacquer with not much paint, for instance). Tinted lights are actually more of a problem in daylight than at night, so check yours while the sun's out.Lastly, two words about neons. Oh, dear. It seems that neons of all kinds have now been deemed illegal for road use (and that's interior ones as well as exteriors, which have pretty much always been a no-no). If you fit neons inside, make sure you rig in a switch so you can easily turn them off when the law arrives - or don't drive around with them on (save it for when you're parked up). Distracts other road users, apparently.

[Kris-Vtr]

ICE

Jungle massive, or massive public nuisance? The two sides of the ICE argument in a nutshell. If you've been around the modding scene for any length of time, you'll already know stories of people who've been done for playing car stereos too loud. Seems some local authorities now have by-laws concerning "music audible from outside a vehicle", and hefty fines if you're caught. Even where this isn't the case, and assuming a dB meter isn't on hand to prove the offence of "excessive noise", the police can still prosecute for "disturbing the peace" - on the basis of one officer's judgement of the noise level. If a case is proved, you could lose your gear. Whoops. Seems we're back to "do it - but don't over-do it" again. If you really want to demo your system, pick somewhere a bit less public (like a quiet trading estate, after dark) or go for safety in numbers (at a cruise).


Big alloys/tyres

One of the first things to go on any lad's car, sexy alloys are right at thr heart of car modifying. So what'll interest the law?well, the first thing every copper's going to wonder is - are the wheels nicked? He'd need a good reason to accuse you, but this is another instance where having copies of receipts might prove useful.Otherwise, the wheels mustn't rub on, or stick out from, the arches - either of these will prove to be a problem if you get stopped. And you don't need to drive a modded motor to get done for having bald tyres...


Lowered suspension

did you know it's actually an offence to cause damage to the road surface, if your car's so low (or your mates so lardy) that it grounds out? Apparently so! Never mind what damage it might be doing to your exhaust, or the brake/fuel lines under the car - you can actually get done for risking damage to the road. Well, great. What's the answer? Once you've lowered the car, load it up with your biggest mates, and test it over roads you normally use - or else find a route into town that avoids all speed bumps. If you've got coilovers, you'll have an easier time tuning out the scraping noises. Remember that your new big-bore exhaust or backbox must be hung up well enough that it doesn't hit the deck, even if you haven't absolutely slammed your car on the floor. At night, leaving a trail of sparks behind is a bit of a giveaway...


Exhauts

One of the easiest-to-fit performance upgrades, and another essential item if you want to be taken seriously on the street. Unless your chosen pipe/system is just too damn loud, you'd be very unlucky to get stopped for it, but if you will draw attention this way, you could be kicking yourself later.

For instance - have you in fact fitted a home-made straight-through pipe, to a car which used to have a "cat"? By drawing Plod's attention with that extra-loud system, he could then ask you to get the car's emissions tested - worse, you could get pulled for a "random" roadside emissions check. Fail this (and you surely will), and you could be right in the brown stuff. Even if you re-convert the car back to stock for the MOT, you'll be illegal on the road (and therefore without insurance) whenever your loud pipe's on. Still sound like fun, or would you be happier with just a back box?

It's also worth mentioning that your tailpipe mustn't stick out beyond the very back of the car, or in any other way which might be dangerous to pedestrians. Come on - you were a ped once!


Bodykits

The popular bodykits for the UK market have all passed the relevant tests, and are fully-approved for use on the specific vehicles they're intended for. As long as you haven't messed up fitting a standard kit, you should be fine, legally-speaking. The trouble starts when you do your own little mods and tweaks, such as bodging on that huge whale-tail spoiler or front air dam/splitter - it can be argued in some cases that these aren't appropriate on safety grounds, and you can get prosecuted. If any bodywork is fitted so it obscured your lights, or so badly attached that a strong breeze might blow it off, you can see their point. At least there's no such thing as Style Police. Not yet, anyway.


Seats and harnesses

Have to meet the UK safety standards, and must be securely bolted in. That's about it. It should be possible to fasten and release any seat belt or harness with one hand. Given that seat belts are pretty important safety features, it's understandable then that the police don't like to see flimsy alloy rear strut braces used as seat harness mounting points. Any other signs of bodging will also spell trouble. It's unlikely they'd bother with a full safety inspection at the roadside, but they could insist on a full MOT test/engineer's report inside 7 days. It's your life.

While we're on the subject of crash safety, the police also don't like to see sub boxes and amps just lying on the carpet, where the back seat used to be - if it's not anchored down, where are these items gonna end up, in a big shunt? Embedded in you, possibly?

[Kris-Vtr]

Other mods

We'll never cover everything else here, and the law's alwayschanging anyway, so we're fighting a losing battle in a book like this,but here goes with some other legalistic points we've noted on theway:

A
It's illegal to remove side repeaters from front wings, even to create the ultimate smoothed/flushed motor. Sorry.

B
All except the most prehistoric cars must have at least one rear foglight. If there's only one, it must be fitted on the right. We've never heard of anyone getting stopped for it, but you must also have a pair of rear reflectors. If your rear clusters ain't got'em, can you get trendy ones? Er, no.

C
Fuel filler caps have to be fitted so there's no danger of fuel spillage, or of excess fumes leaking from the top of the filler neck. This means using an appropriate petrol-resistant sealer (should be supplied in the kit). Oh, and not bodging the job in general seems a good idea. Unlikely to attract a pull, though.

D
Front doors have to retain a manual means of opening from outside, even if they've been de-locked for remote locking. This means you can't take off the front door handles, usually. It seems that rear door handles can be removed if you like.

E
Tailgates have to have some means of opening, even if it's only from inside, once the lock/handle's been removed. We think it's another safety thing - means of escape in a crash, and all that.

F
You have to have at least one exterior mirror, and it must be capable of being adjusted somehow.

G
If you fit new fog and spotlights, they actually have to work. No-one fits new lights just for show (or do they?), but if they stop working later when a fuse blows, relay packs up, or the wiring connectors rust up, you'd better fix 'em or remove 'em.

H
Pedal extensions must have rubbers fitted on the brake and clutch pedals, and must be spaced sufficiently so there's no chance of hitting two pedals at once. This last bit sounds obvious, but lots of extension sets out there are so hard to fit that achieving this can be rather difficult. Don't get caught out.

I
On cars with airbags, if you fit a sports wheel and disconnect the airbag in the process, the airbag warning light will be on permanently. Apart from being annoying, this is also illegal.

J
Pace-car strobe lights (or any other flashing lights, apart from indicators) are illegal for road use. Of course.

K
Anything else we didn't think of - is probably illegal too. Sorry.

[Kris-Vtr]

yeah i need a bit of help in the buckets and harnesses side now mine are fitted. i dont have normal seat belts on passenger side but i do all roud everywhere else. have hanresses on front two buckets too :) (how do i know if they legal)

Any help mate let me know :)

[sharpie]

where did you get this?

[Ibiza_Rik]

wow, thats a lotta text

[littleracer]

Any help mate let me know :)

copied from a haynes tuning manuel from the very front and back?
nice one though as some people probably didnt know that stuff and rep for you for typing it and the thought,well done geezer.:P

[Kris-Vtr]

I was looking at a modding website saw the law's so i fort i would post them up incase anyone needs to check there cars is done by law or incase they want to read them for when they come to do mod's to there car.

You not think it was a good idea?

[Ryan]

stolen from another forum?

[Kris-Vtr]

wow, thats a lotta text

ino, have you read part's or all the modding laws?

[Kris-Vtr]

stolen from another forum?

no its not stolen :S

[Ryan]

We can't use it though due to copyright

[Jagztorious]

lol ...

22:18 - posting a thread asking if he could make a sticky
22:20 - got a response
22:20 (2mins later) a 2,000 word essay is written up!

:) very fast typer!

[Pat_Vts]

lol ...

22:18 - posting a thread asking if he could make a sticky
22:20 - got a response
22:20 (2mins later) a 2,000 word essay is written up!

:) very fast typer!

very fast at copying / pasting ;)

[littleracer]

We can't use it though due to copyright

i believe if it was a copy right infrigement then the copy right is owned by haynes as its in there manuel the tuning type,have a look when your in halfrauds next and at the front it says no part of this book shell be copied with out the publishers consent etc etc etc.
its unlikely that sax-p will be done for copy right infringement though will it?

[Kris-Vtr]

ok block it den (Y)

i'll type it all up in my own words to keep you all happy then all shall i or just not bover =/

[littleracer]

no its not stolen :S

'borrowed' does sound better

[E3D]

sounds like you stole this from haynes.

[Kris-Vtr]

its not stolen!

at least 1 person fort it was helpful to them :y:

[E1999G]

[QUOTE=Kris-Vtr;2111321]
A
It's illegal to remove side repeaters from front wings, even to create the ultimate smoothed/flushed motor. Sorry. QUOTE]

Where does it say this? my mate has just done it, its not an MOT fail

[Kris-Vtr]

[QUOTE=Kris-Vtr;2111321]
A
It's illegal to remove side repeaters from front wings, even to create the ultimate smoothed/flushed motor. Sorry. QUOTE]

Where does it say this? my mate has just done it, its not an MOT fail

my mate failed his MOT cause of it, so must be a mate or family working at the garage?

[E1999G]

[QUOTE=E1999G;2111569]

my mate failed his MOT cause of it, so must be a mate or family working at the garage?

i thought if their not there then they cantfail u for it, its like if u only have one seat they cant fail you for the rest of the seat cos they are not they

[Kris-Vtr]

ryan... how come you stated " stolen from another forum " but give me good rep for it ?

[Ryan]

because you tried to do something positive as the rep clearly states

[Kris-Vtr]

yes TRYED was the word mate but all i get is people accuseing me off Stealing from another forum, i only go on FNM (fast-n-modded) and Saxperience.com.

[sharpie]

you can't just publish copyright material on the internet though.

[littleracer]

yes TRYED was the word mate but all i get is people accuseing me off Stealing from another forum, i only go on FNM (fast-n-modded) and Saxperience.com.

look mate alot of people don't know things it doesnt really matter were you got it from because its usefull,positive info for any1 who doesnt know.

[Kris-Vtr]

can i just state 6 people give me good rep for this thread.

must of help 6 people, shame them other 5 people didnt leave me a comment :n:

[Paul]

This is out of the haynes manual.

[Danhunt]

I think its good. I didnt know alot of this stuff, and am i 'eckers gonna go and buy a haynes manual just to find this out.

Have some bum love :y:

[Paul]

Other mods

We'll never cover everything else here, and the law's alwayschanging anyway, so we're fighting a losing battle in a book like this,but here goes with some other legalistic points we've noted on theway:


Noooooob.

[Kris-Vtr]

ok everyone rant over. useful or not, but im clear not broken no rules just given help info to others.


end of rant

[Ryan]

yes TRYED was the word mate but all i get is people accuseing me off Stealing from another forum, i only go on FNM (fast-n-modded) and Saxperience.com.

it clearly is not you're work get over it to be honest

[Danhunt]

TBH he never once said it was his own work. Im sorry but he was just trying to provide people with some useful info.

[Paul]

TBH he never once said it was his own work. Im sorry but he was just trying to provide people with some useful info.

Does copyright mean anything to you mate?

ps. I admit his intentions were good, but copyright is copyright.

[littleracer]

it clearly is not you're work get over it to be honest

thread should be locked now TBH

[Kris-Vtr]

WTF IS HAYNES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

neva herd ov da fing in my car life :S

[Paul]

Are you actually trying to say you typed all this up yourself?

[Paul]

I've read the haynes book and this is word for word.

[littleracer]

yes copy rights have ben infringed
but he hasn't made a profit out of it,isnt that what copy right is for so that it stops people copying it and making a profit?
thats the ONLY reason we have copy right.
to protect company's opinion's,ideas,designs etc etc etc.
thread should be locked

[sharpie]

ok everyone rant over. useful or not, but im clear not broken no rules just given help info to others.


end of rant

what about this rule?

• Do NOT promote illegal downloading/sharing of material.

Copyright theft is illegal. Do not make or contribute to threads discussing illegal gathering of files/music/films/games, etc. Saxperience will not be held liable for this behaviour and all posts discussing this kind of behaviour will be deleted. Please refer to F.A.C.T for further information. Infraction penalties may be received for failure to respect copyright laws.

[Paul]

yes copy rights have ben infringed
but he hasn't made a profit out of it,isnt that what copy right is for so that it stops people copying it and making a profit?
thats the ONLY reason we have copy right.
to protect company's opinion's,ideas,designs etc etc etc.
thread should be locked

The website it self earns money from membership premiums and other stuff such as merchandise...

[Curran]

yes copy rights have ben infringed
but he hasn't made a profit out of it,isnt that what copy right is for so that it stops people copying it and making a profit?
thats the ONLY reason we have copy right.
to protect company's opinion's,ideas,designs etc etc etc.
thread should be locked

but he could be losing the owners money as people wont go out and buy it as they can get it for free here.

not sure about the laws of copyright though?


why not just say where you got it from? its obviously not yours so why does it matter if people know where it came from?

[Kris-Vtr]

right i have not copy from this " haynes thing ". but put it dis way then

How do you lot no i didnt type it up on Micro Word and copy paste it?
(not saying i did or didnt do that just putting my point across)

[Paul]

Other mods

We'll never cover everything else here, and the law's alwayschanging anyway, so we're fighting a losing battle in a book like this,but here goes with some other legalistic points we've noted on theway:


sure you didnt.

[Ryan]

Copyright isn't about being used by someone else for monetary gain. Copying and using without permission is. The same as downloading free music. Thread over

[littleracer]

The website it self earns money from membership premiums and other stuff such as merchandise...

iam not getting involved anymore.
ive put my opinions on it,if yours is different fine.
i do agree with you that he could have worded it different in his own words yes.
there is also alot of good info that people don't know here.

[Kris-Vtr]

well i shall report the place where i got it from then Mwahhhhhh =D

[Ryan]

right i have not copy from this " haynes thing ". but put it dis way then

How do you lot no i didnt type it up on Micro Word and copy paste it?
(not saying i did or didnt do that just putting my point across)

because the English in you're replies is shocking in comparrison

[Kris-Vtr]

so your all saying i should report where i got this from then?

to save all the bother?