[jeeva]

Can someone confirm if vinyl wraps (just the roof) are forbidden too?
I heard from a friend who runs a sticker shop in my hometown (Kerala) that cops have been targeting cars with blackened roof.

[hserus]

Kerala cops are now fining people for even flimsier reasons. A Nexon driver was challaned for not wearing a helmet.

https://www.news18.com/news/auto/tat...a-2125791.html

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by jeeva

Can someone confirm if vinyl wraps (just the roof) are forbidden too?
I heard from a friend who runs a sticker shop in my hometown (Kerala) that cops have been targeting cars with blackened roof.

If it's entered in the RC then it's legal.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

If it's entered in the RC then it's legal.

Change of the roof's colour needs to be endorsed in the RC as a modification, is it? I mean, there are cars which come out from the factory with black roof- most VW group cars, Skodas, Tatas, MBs, Audis, etc. The RC mentions only the body colour.

If this is true, then it's sheer madness.

[Nostalgic3r]

Originally Posted by jeeva

Change of the roof's colour needs to be endorsed in the RC as a modification, is it? I mean, there are cars which come out from the factory with black roof- most VW group cars, Skodas, Tatas, MBs, Audis, etc. The RC mentions only the body colour.

If this is true, then it's sheer madness.

That is way too frustrating imo. That means I can’t vinyl wrap my roof then

[jailbird_fynix]

Not exactly accurate but I think the message is clear.

[MadrasTurbo]

Not just auxiliary lights, they also target cars with modified headlight bulbs.

It is to be noted that, Kerala Police have invested in 150 lux meters(costing almost ₹15,000/device. related article here) to detect the brightness of the headlights.

related thread here (Cops get ‘light meter’ to fine car owners with modified headlamps)

Still not very sure on how they determine if the intensity is road legal or not. I was told they have a list of OEM (lux) values for most Indian Cars, but not very sure on how effective this would be. I understand there is a regulation by ARAI on the permissible intensity of headlight, but not sure if that is the benchmark used by the cops for testing
.

[rajivr1612]

Guys, is dashcam and mobile holder part of mods targeted by RTO? These are the only "mods" which I have made. Will be doing a trip to Kerala in September.

[neil.jericho]

I havent spotted any activity by the MVD recently. I was told by someone in the know that there is checking going on 24x7 in certain areas but I have passed through those places several times and not seen anything. Also I have noticed that the modded cars and super cars have started coming out to play in the last few weeks. Most of them were keeping a low profile during the peak MVD checking time.

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Guys, is dashcam and mobile holder part of mods targeted by RTO? These are the only "mods" which I have made. Will be doing a trip to Kerala in September.

You are 100% safe.

[mpksuhas]

All said and done, now during flood relief-



Image courtesy

[ringoism]

Just came across this, old but the same issues and attitudes keep coming up, so:

Originally Posted by avanishphatak

The police are doing their job. Its commendable that they learnt the tricks of trade or roped in experts who can detect mods. Of course things like aftermarket HID, bullbars, engine remapping, overpowered horns, low profile tyres, exhaust manipulation, impacts either the passenger safety, or environmental factors.

Imagine doing all these in European or American countries. The DMV/ETSC will make one's life miserable.

Originally Posted by hserus

As others pointed out, if some of these mods were tried in the USA or Germany, the car owners would be neck deep in paperwork and fines.

Well, all of the EU is pretty much a "police state" as we used to describe places where the powers-that-be thought they could create utopias by making and enforcing endless laws the effects of which are never really measured or proven one way or the other... it is a faith-based "religion" indeed that believes we can all become good and nice and pleasant and safe by just creating more rules.

Been speaking with someone of Indian origin (a Bhpian if you must know) the past week who spent some years in Norway. Finally left, finding it excessively "sterile" - even the Norwegians and Swedes seem to recognize that for all their outward perfections they've lost something, as well, and when they want "culture" head to the immigrant sections of Oslo.


Coming to the US, it is evident that the claims quoted above are based on absolutely nothing at all. California was an exception due to the severe pollution problems there, but in many/ most other places (state-by-state laws there, not nationalized), there are no problems at all in the view of officialdom with a very wide array of vehicle mods.

Granted that there are really dumb mods out there on Indian roads, but there are also really dumb laws / rulings out there. There's a lot of ignorant, uninformed, unscientific knee-jerk lawmaking out there.

I still cannot grasp why a retired 4x4 SML ambulance, for example, cannot be refitted as a good expedition vehicle. Already has a water tank / wash basin, four cots for sleeping, storage cabinets, A/C unit, etc. Could be used very purposefully with virtually no mods at all. Only difference is that a vehicle that was once carrying injured persons is now carrying healthy ones. And that, according to the honorable PTB, would (allegedly) be dangerous!!! (moreover it would cut sales of new vehicles to manufacturers). No good technical or other reasons, except that the SC ruled it so, as far as I can see.

In the U.S. people have creatively and safely put together some amazing motorhomes out of old delivery vans, school buses, etc. You don't read news stories about these causing bad accidents. And I'd bet in India that no real studies have been done, no real statistics ever compiled relating vehicle mods to safety. What I object to is making laws without having any real basis in knowledge on which to suppose that the laws (which restrict so many level-headed, otherwise law-abiding, conscientious persons) will actually achieve the desired ends.

Meanwhile I'm still getting blinded by high-beams on 80% of the cars that pass me by at night on Indian roads, people still leave their cars parked / standing a couple feet out into the lanes of Indian National Highways, make improper turns everywhere, drive the wrong way up four-lane divided roads, throwing litter (incl. soiled diapers) from windows, etc, etc. I see this stuff literally daily, and nobody getting challaned for these things - I mean, I've seen the cops just standing watching this stuff, just keep waving people on, keep the traffic moving one way or the other, whatever.

Where does the lack of safety ACTUALLY come in? Let's see some hard data, a pie graph, Pareto chart, whatever. Not mere assumptions / impressions.

Just random laws flying out of whomever's brain (or lifted directly from whichever "developed nation") do nobody any good, and criminalize level-headed citizens who in many cases could honestly be smarter, more conscientious, and better informed than their overlords.

How many accidents have been caused by these "Ladakh carriers" on Bullets? Had a cop tell me a couple years ago that the one on my bike was illegal. I told him there were thousands out here moving everywhere, what on earth was this about? He let me go. When they complained about the loud silencer the former owner had installed, I told him I agreed completely - and told him the truth: I was trying to get a replacement but the Covid restrictions then in effect made it impossible to source one just then.

Finally got a quieter (still non-OE) one and thankfully nobody's said anything ever since.

Going by the sorts of assertions commonly made by the PTB and PIL brigade and whichever of their supporters here or elsewhere, everything but premium imported performance tyres should also be banned. Because in that case - measurably, scientifically speaking - the stopping distances (with or without ABS) of lesser quality tyres are very significantly longer, and no doubt more dangerous.

But they're not gonna do that now, are they!!!

BTW, as per the first quote above - would you mind telling me how low-profile tyres negatively effect the environment or passenger safety? To the contrary, they actually make cars more capable and safe, higher variants of the same cars here or abroad may have them available, and the only reason the OE's aren't choosing to fit them in whichever market in the first place is ride comfort and (of course) cost. But if I as an informed individual choose to sacrifice ride quality for additional safety and control, I am criminalized and heavily fined???

There are so many nonsensical and mindless contradictions out there that the whole conversation is just about a joke IMHO.

-Eric

[allfatherodin]

hi all,

Piggybacking this thread. I have a KTM 390 Adventure loaded with accessories (aux lights, panniers, crash bars). I am planning a trip around the state and the only thing that's concerning is the MVD/Police seizing or worse ripping off the expensive mods.*How bad is it still?

[100Kmphormore]

That picture by jailbird had me ROFL. They dont make proper roads and address basic infrastructure violations like unscientific rumble strips, speed breakers etc. The atrocious visibility on the highways to Hassan, Tumkur etc (even with Maddog ScoutX aux lights) added with the fools coming on the wrong ride, high beams on etc

One thing i would love the cops to do is catch the superbikers (particularly the Hayabusa with Bronx, S1000RR with Arrow, ZX10RR with Two Brothers etc) who have extremely loud exhausts doing revbombing at family places like restaurants, giving flybys at dangerous speeds etc. Aux lights, panniers etc are not dangerous by any means.

@allfatherodin, thats no problem at all, I only heardof Kerala police clamping down on aux lights. cover them and enter the state.

[dilipkumar7278]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

If it's entered in the RC then it's legal.

MVD do not allow vinyl roofing which as per them is illegal.When I went to endorse the colour change of my swift in RC , the guy specifically asked me whether the roof is wrapped or painted.
Regards
Dilip Kumar

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

Not exactly accurate but I think the message is clear.
Attachment 1881701

I think it is accurate. Kerala MVD has a lot of ground to cover before they target modified cars.

1) Unskilled drivers & related offenses - just observe how people either join the main road or exit the main road at a T junction. You'll be surprised how acutely unaware and unskilled many drivers are. If Police plants people in and around junctions, they can make very good revenue.

2) Driving without a DL - The share of road users who drive without a valid DL is astonishingly high. Police just do not care, unless an accident happens and someone dies. Yes, a mere accident won't do. Someone has to die for police to take action.

3) Drunken driving - same case as above. Even if you point a drunken driver to the police as he/she drives, the police just wouldn't care. I witnessed an accident in which a drunken guy in a car hit a scooter, then two other cars and then managed to topple his own car. Fortunately nobody suffered major injuries. Guess what - the police did not take any action. They simply came to the hospital, questioned the driver, and left. The guy couldn't even stand straight due to intoxication.

4) Lane jumpers
5) People who forget to use their headlamps at night
6) Two-wheelers with taillamp that does not work
7) Two wheelers with no helmet
8) ...

The list goes on. If I have to write 'modified cars' in this list, that would be after the hundredth entry or so