Starting July 1, a new law on modified trucks and cars could mean fines for certain drivers.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in March signed legislation banning a modification known commonly as a “Carolina squat,” which refers to cars and trucks with front ends raised to sit higher off the ground than the backs of vehicles, so that the bodies of the vehicles are no longer parallel to the ground.
The modification law makes driving “squatted” vehicles a misdemeanor offense worth $250 the first time a driver is spotted, with tickets up to $500 and a year-long license revocation for repeated violations. The bill passed a vote in the state Senate 32-0 and made it through a House vote 84-7, with one representative not voting.
State Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville, was one of the law’s cosponsors in the House. He said that the bill was brought on by concerns for motorists and pedestrians.
“It’s a safety issue,” Richey told The Daily Times in a phone call Thursday. Lawmakers — in other Southern states, as well as in Tennessee — including Richey have said that the drivers of “squatted” vehicles have a reduced field of view and difficulty seeing what’s immediately in front of them.
Safety questions recurred throughout the most recent legislative session. The state General Assembly this year has also taken votes to establish a task force to reduce street racing in Tennessee and ordered the state’s Department of Transportation to establish a student pedestrian safety program, among other actions tied to transportation.
“The roads are dangerous enough as it is,” Richey said. He commented that there’s a difference between modifications that have an aesthetic component — those are fine, he said — and those that restrict a driver’s ability to see the road in front of them.
Other modifications illegal in Tennessee are overly bright headlights, automatic license plate covers, certain degrees of window tint, red and blue lights, and mufflers altered to increase their noise.
Most Popular
Comments / 0