To squat or unsquat. Time’s up for banned SC automobiles. Will house owners select to threat fines?
The crimson Silverado 4×4 that Noah Flowers drives was already squatted when he purchased it, however that reality didn’t cease him from getting a warning ticket in early April.
The 18-year-old Conway man was pulled over by Horry County Police early final month and issued a warning ticket for his truck.
Flowers’ truck, sometimes often known as a Carolina squat truck, has been banned in South Carolina. And whereas police have solely been writing warning tickets now, come Could 10, drivers of the vehicles will face heftier fines and fairly probably revocation of their driver’s license.
But it surely doesn’t seem that there was a rush for squat truck house owners to have their automobiles unsquatted.
Flowers mentioned he might unsquat his truck some, however he doesn’t intend to switch it an excessive amount of. As of Could 1, his truck was nonetheless the identical.
The Carolina squat is a classy alteration normally discovered on a pickup or SUV that lifts the entrance of the car and lowers the rear.
“It form of sucks,” Flowers mentioned of his ticket. “Not everybody drives (like) dumb*****.”
Tonya Gatquard with T&R Truck and Auto Repair in Myrtle Seashore mentioned the store has obtained a couple of cellphone calls, however nobody has are available to have their truck modified to make it authorized.
“I’m stunned,” Gatquard mentioned. “They’re so harmful.”
Often those that squat their vehicles do it themselves, in response to Tammy Cassidy of C&G Auto and Truck in Myrtle Beach.
“These individuals who have these vehicles are considering they will be below the radar,” Cassidy mentioned. “(We) received’t see any till they’re passing out tickets.”
Starting Could 10, drivers can obtain tickets for violations under the new law. First offense is a $100 superb; second offense is $200 and a 3rd offense is a $300 superb and a license suspension by the South Carolina Division of Motor Automobiles for 12 months from the date of the conviction.
The tickets are for unlawfully elevating or reducing a motorcar by greater than 6 inches by a modification or change in bodily construction, except for pickup vehicles. Nonetheless, the peak of the entrance fender of a pickup truck can’t be raised or lowered 4 or extra inches larger than the peak of the rear fender.
South Carolina joined Virginia and North Carolina in banning the popular squat trucks.
Though the legislation went into impact July 1, the Basic Meeting included language that the legislation wouldn’t truly take impact till 180 days after approval by the governor. Following that 180 days, which was in November, solely warning tickets can be issued to violators of the legislation.
It’s unclear what number of warning tickets have been written since November. Myrtle Seashore Police mentioned their warning tickets “don’t observe” if a car is a squatted truck and had been unable to offer the variety of tickets. A Freedom of Info Act request to Horry County Police for the variety of warning tickets issued was not accomplished by time of publication.
Ocean Boulevard within the Myrtle Seashore space may look totally different this summer time, as Myrtle Beach has long been a haven for squat vehicles, which will be seen touring down town’s busy most important drag.
Myrtle Seashore Police Chief Amy Prock performed a key position in outlawing the vehicles, testifying a number of instances throughout state committee hearings. One incident used to encourage the ban was the demise of a pedestrian, who was struck and killed by a Carolina squat truck within the metropolis throughout the summer time of 2021.
If folks do select to get their automobiles unsquatted, Scott Fedan, proprietor of Scott’s Garage in Loris, mentioned they are going to almost definitely do it in their very own yards.
However the extra doubtless possibility, he mentioned, is “They’ll simply get the ticket.”
