Jump to content
SAU Community

Being Told To Open The Bonnet After Being Pulled Over

Astro Bear

By Astro Bear,
in Victoria

 Share

Recommended Posts

Astro Bear Veteran

Astro Bear

Posted
Posted

Hi guys,

I had an interesting experience earlier in the week, when I was pulled over as part of a "random check".

My girlfriend was driving the car at the time, he breath tested her and checked her licence etc. All good. When he found out it was my car he stated asking me what modifications had been done etc, I replied and told him that for the most part it was pretty stock.

My car looks very stock from the outside, no rims or bodykits etc, it hardly ever gets any attention. However, it does have an exhaust and a front mount which are visible externally. He asks me to pop the bonnet, which I did. The officer then noted the pod filter and boost controller in the engine bay.

In all fairness, the officer was a pretty good bloke, he knew what he was looking for and went about his business in a pretty professional manner. At the end of the day I was in the wrong for having those modifications. The officer didn't defect me or anything, however, he did tell me that I should expect a letter in the mail from the EPA in the future. Naturally, the officer was doing his job, and I obviously deserve this.

However, reflecting back on the experience, i'm curious to know under what circumstances an officer can look under the hood of your car. I've been told that the officer must have "reasonable suspicion" that there is something illegal going on, but looking back, I'm hard pressed to know what suspicions could have been formed in the officer's head, particularly given that my car looks so stock.

Obviously the common sense approach is to comply with the officer's request and be polite etc, however, at the same time, i think it is important to know your rights. So, my question is:

Under what circumstances an officer can look under the hood of your car?

Thanks guys, happy motoring.

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

assyrian4evaa Proficient

assyrian4evaa

Posted
Posted

dont qoute me on this but i belive the hoon legislation gives officers the power to search a car for illegal modifications which unfortunatly in your case were there so it was well within his power i think

WYTSKY Veteran

WYTSKY

Posted
Posted

I was 400m from my house last night... coming back from drive ins with the gf.... pulled me over...and my gf had to use the girls room pretty bad.... luckily they didnt take too long.... just the regular checking...

they pulled me over because 1 of my headlights were out... which I seriously had no idea... must have happend last night... i flicked them from high beam back to low beam and then the one that was off turned on and the other 1 turned off.... :P my hid balasts were playing on me...... the cops had a chuckle and just said fix it up....

10 days ago i was coming back from work in the city at about 11:30am.... talking to my dad on a blueant (bluetooth handsfree) which is legal to use while driving... they pulled me over for thinking i was a nutter...... i mean come on... who doesnt know about handsfree?! especially them when they are so ready to give out fines for talking on the mobile.... i was sooo tempted to say yeh theres this new technology going round called hands free..... they were just trying to be ass's werent they? then they asked if the car belonged to me and I lived at the address thats on my license...... in the end nothing happend and I want my 15 mins of life back they wasted....

joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo Grand Master

joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo

Posted
Posted
10 days ago i was coming back from work in the city at about 11:30am.... talking to my dad on a blueant (bluetooth handsfree) which is legal to use while driving... they pulled me over for thinking i was a nutter...... i mean come on... who doesnt know about handsfree?!

they must have been taking the piss...

Astro Bear Veteran

Astro Bear

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Does anyone know where I can site the relevant piece of legislation that refers to vehicle searches / police powers with regard to the searching of vehicles?

Cheers

paulr33 Grand Master

paulr33

Posted
Posted

i guess the question is why do you care

if they pull you over and want to check

they will check, if you refuse, it raises suspucion and you are probably hiding something

its not rocket science really

(B1) MR_fanny Grand Master

(B1) MR_fanny

Posted
Posted

i've been told this one, be it a myth or not but the officer has to be a senior Sargent or to that affect to have an uncontested look under your bonnet. A friends work colleague used this to avoid it but he probably had a lot to loose if defected so it was a chance he was willing to take. That said if you give permission to look for a lower ranked officer then that's enough for them. But as someone said before, your probably gonna be in a bigger world of hurt if you don't comply robo-cop style.

Last time i got pulled over was 3 months ago in knox right infront of the cop shop. was stopping at the red light saw a persuit car waiting to exit the cop station and low and behold the pulled up right behind me..ha didnt make it 50m lol. They were good about it, i got out of the car as I always do and complied with their requests. Wasn't the typical muzza with attitude that they normally encounter and that was that. Was expecting an exhaust epa in the mail....still have yet to receive it so i guess they gave me the benefit of the doubt?

Shadz Collaborator

Shadz

Posted
Posted
pfttt cops in the northern suburbs seem to be carrying tools and removing kick panels to discover aftermarket ecu's as experineced by one of my customers

They sure do! I got pulled over in my 33 (by Gibson) and he moved the kick panel to have a look and looked for a controller behind the dash and in the glovebox. Which company do you work for mate?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • mr.torquesplit
      T56 In Gtr

      By mr.torquesplit · Posted

      looking forward to your t56 swap man its a game changer if it works! 
    • Kinkstaah
      MLR's Bogan cruise ship

      By Kinkstaah · Posted

      So, when are you trying the new GR86 or BRZ?
    • The Bogan
      MLR's Bogan cruise ship

      By The Bogan · Posted

      Uncle Duncan Yeap, FI Interchiller  Works well, normal IAT's cruising with the WTA only went from 50°c+ to 25-30°c with the interchiller  Before, when on it hard, the IAT would see 80-90°c, now, the highest has been was around 38°c IIRC IAT is measured under the blower hat I recommend it for the street or strip where your only on it hard for 10 or so seconds, but it wouldn't be efficient for sustained track use as it would heat soak from the AC turning off or whatever it does during WOT to protect the compressor It really needs the AC running for it to not heat soak and keep the WTA coolant chilled My WTA coolant temps when just cruising is around 2°c
    • Duncan
      MLR's Bogan cruise ship

      By Duncan · Posted

      Hey Mark...sorry to interrupt your career change to hair dressing... but...did you ever fit the interchiller to the commodore, and if so how was it? And, who made it?
    • The Bogan
      MLR's Bogan cruise ship

      By The Bogan · Posted

      I've been pondering this, I really enjoy the convertible thing, for me, it's like riding a motorbike, without all the issue of riding a motorbike, mainly, my old sore arthritic joints getting beaten up, and, being able to do it in shorts and a T-shirt and not needing a helmet and all the other gear required, especially like wearing jackets and pants in the summer, or needing 6 layers of cloths in the winter, or not having wet weather gear handy when your 100km away from home on the bike when it decides to start raining As for the hard top and its Coupe look, whilst I do lose all that open top feeling that I really enjoy, from my experience with the NB with a detachable hard top, the cabin is a much nicer place to be, the difference in noise for one, a hard top quietens down the interior, alot, with the soft top up or down it's pretty noisy, which, after 5 or so hours, can get tiring But, as you stated, the detachable hard top totally changes the look of the car, in a really good way, and for me, the look of a detachable hard top is so much better than the PRHT which looks more like a after thought with its weird bulbous rear roof line For me, the minimal effort of putting in on, or storing it after removing it, is well worth the time and effort for the look alone And yes, I'm sure the next owner will be grateful for it as well.......  
×
×
  • Create New...