If you've read my other thread about MoT VS Pits you'll gather the cops here are pretty harsh towards imports. The way it usually goes down is if a cop sees you driving along doing anything slightly wrong, you'll get massive fines and a yellow sticker. If you're doing everything right, you'll get pulled over and they'll invent reasons to give you a yellow sticker. Basicly, a yellow sticker's official name is a Defective Vehicle Notice, and it means that the officer has found 3 things on your car that make it unsafe to drive on public roads. They stick a yellow sticker on your car and give you a limited time (1-14 days depending on how you feel) and after that time is up, your car is no longer allowed to be driven on the road and you have to take it to the pits to get checked over. Cops here though tend to use yellow stickers as a way to get at import drivers when they can't be fined for anything else, either because they're bored and feel mean or they're acting under the misguided thought that if they get all of us off the road then suddenly the road toll will be 0. I once recieved one for; "Seatbelts MIGHT be frayed" "Exhaust MIGHT be too loud" "Tyres MIGHT be too bald" However when I went to check it out, none of those things were an issue with pits inspectors. There have been other people defected and the only reason given being "Check Modifications". So hopefully that gives you an idea of how the cops look at us =P Is there a UK version of a Yellow Sticker? And how often do they get handed out? Often or are the cops pretty good over there towards imports/modified cars? TL;DR How do cops treat imports and modified cars in the UK?
What Nick Said^^ BUT Some, if you get pulled over, can be an arse. But if you aren't an arse, they most likely won't be. Tbh, There isn't much of a problem with imports/modified cars on the road here. Is it true that you aren't allowed to drive a modified car on the road anymore over there? Thats what i've been told from Chris (DRF73K) whos brother has a RB26 180sx which he was going to use on the road to get to events but can't now.
its pretty simple over here from my experience, drive sensibly and give them no reason to pull you over and they leave you alone. Drive like a cock and if you get caught then admit you was wrong, apologise and generally suck up and you tend to get away with it, or if you was really naughty you might get a slight telling off. As for defects ive only ever been pulled for lights being out, no plates, blowing exhaust, all of them ive just been told to get fixed and to get on my way. Once ive been given a defect slip thing, where you just have to take it to the mot station with in 14 days i believe and get it checked out and stamped to say its all ok, then just drop that back in at the police station and its all good again. youll always get the odd police man who is a cock and just looks for something to do you for, but just keep your tyres legal and all your lights working and its all pretty easy going from there really.
I think here in the UK that if the police pull you and find 5 things wrong your car will be taken away. But this wouldn't be for exhaust too loud. It will be for more serious issues such as bald tyres. Plus things serious like bald tyres generally carry fixed penalty points on your license. I've only been pulled by the police when driving into london. It was a random stop and they seemed to like the car (Ae86 sprinter trueno) they talked to me about where I got the car and so on. So In my experience the police don't have any issues with imports. When i first imported the car i drove the car with out license plate or tax disc but had a booked MOT test and drove passed 2 police cars and they didn't even bother to stop me. Although if you are driving stupidly you're likely to get buggered.
i got pulled up saturday for doing a skid and hooning down the road with no mot and no front bumper............. spoke to them like people and admited i was a cock and hey presto.. 60 notes fine for no mot
I think we're really lucky here in the UK compared to other places. I've been pulled over for modifications before but to be fair they were a bit ridiculous, i had wheel/tyre poking quite far out of all four arches and a tail pipe which the copper walked into I got a telling off but because i was polite they let me go and told me to take the wheels off or at least cover them with arch extensions. You can get a PG9 in this country, which i guess is like your yellow sticker however you're not even allowed to drive the car home. It needs to be trailered i believe. You then need to get it re-mot'd. So yeh, we're lucky! and it's one reason im considering when im thinking of moving to Oz!
oh yeah got pg9 too but he let me drive it back to a mates garage lol its amazing what just talking nice can do haha
Can be ok, can be utter bells, depending. Ive had both. Massively stitched up by them getting me done for stuff i've never done (ending in a 750quid fine!), but twice in the last two months ive been pulled for blatant streeto right in front of unmarked cars and got away with it with jus a telling off.
so the moral of the story is, do streeto, then cry and suck their cocks when you get caught. and repeat.
i got caught driving a classic mini to my mates garage to be painted.the car was fully stripped as in no lights,windows,doors etc.. i had a mate drive in front and another behind. dont know how i got away with that. i got caught practicing on a roundabout and they told me to carry on and sat and watched me until my tyres were getting near the legal limit so i had to say good bye and go home.
Every copper I've dealt with has been sound. I think they deal with so many cock heads, its a breath of fresh air when they come across someone polite and normal.
One night at a well known Essex skidding spot, we had a copper come round the corner, do a handbrake turn and drive off.... we took that as a friendly... go home before you get in trouble lol funny though!
I laugh at all these awsum stories I swear, you guys get off so much lighter down there than us! My mate dan got fucked the other day in the rain as they said he was doing big smoky burn outs.. (note: ice and heavy rain) since they knew he couldnt prove shit.. they went over his whole car for 4 hours. He's fucked now, Tax disc not being displayed right, sticker on front window, number plate being smaller than it should be by a few mm, tyres being stretched, car being too noisy and all this shit. Police HERE are cunts. They do nothing good for our community to which any of us have seen, and this is coming from everyone. People I work with (30's-40's-50's+) My folks (50+) Neighbours around here, infact pretty much any single person you speak to here... they have been pulled over and given points/fines for stupid shit. Funny though, I put my complaint in to the IPCC.. and the seemed to have moved out of the village.. no ones seen them since.
you will always get some knob head coppers, the same as you do in any profession, and you can also catch them on a bad day like anyone else!, luckily ive been let off pretty lightly the times ive been stopped, first time I got stopped for driving a banana shaped car, (may have accidentally taken out to sign posts with the side of my car) all the copper did was check I was insured and let me on my way. second time I was at some traffic lights and floored it away in first, lots of wheelspin and noise, little did I realise there was a copper in the car behind me 'd'oh' he was okish about it but obviously tried the whole scare routine and gave me a section 59, (which is now expired yay!) as said a few times if you tend to put your hands up admit you were wrong and act pretty civil you will be ok most of the time
