is nitrous illegal?

no.

Dave, what is in your avatar?? That is hideous! :D

Nitrous is illegal to use on public streets, correct??

Yes, it is illegal. In Canada (ontario) you'll get your car impounded if the bottle is open. The safest bet is to have your cable disconnected from the bottle while on the street.

Best regards,


T.

Originally posted by Scho
Dave, what is in your avatar?? That is hideous! :D


i think it has something to do with where you live.... ;)

thanks

i know in virginia its illegal for street use...


but then again, anything that is "not stock" is technically illegal.

Here is a question along those lines...

I'm an attorney (but not a criminal one) and I don't know the answer to it, not definitively, but I think I do. I can verify it with my criminal attorney friends.

I do know a bit about search and seizure (they teach to death in law school) and I know that you do have to consent to a search of your car unless a cop has reasonable suspicion - now as far as I know the only cases this applies to involve drugs and weapons. The reality is that most people do consent to search, and if you don't they'll bring in a dog, and if the dog alerts them, they have their reasonable suspicion.

So if you are pulled over, and the cop suspects you have something extra under your hood, you should have the right to deny consent to search. That should prohibit the cop from looking under your hood or opening your hood without reasonable suspicion (which he may claim to have due to sound, or stickers, or body kits).

Now, there may be some other laws that allow cops to inspect your cars. But I would guess the 4th amendment would preempt it.

Does anyone know of any cases where a cop has tried to inspect under the hood of a car for mods, and the car's owner has denied consent?

I believe they need "probable cause", not reasonable suspicion...

I believe you are correct, reasonable suspicion is a lower standard that would allow a search of the car compartment for weapons to protect the officer's safety, but looking under the hood would most likely be held to a standard of probable cause like looking in the trunk would be.

Regardless, the reason most people consent to search is because they are intimidated by the officer. I would think that only a lawyer would deny search, or someone who has been busted enough times to know they can deny consent.

I ain't letting any officer look under my hood. With 3 tickets in the last year though, mods have not been an issue, even though my car is loud as hell.

I think you're referring to the way things used to be. Nowadays, all the officer has to do is say he thought you might have some terrorist shit in your car ("looked like he had a tank of nerve gas in there") and

1. Your car is seized, on the spot.
2. You are arrested, and held incommunicado, indefinitely.
3. 20 minutes later, your wife is arrested.
4. Your house is searched.

It really depends on where u live and what the cops there are like. I remember once a long time ago my friend got busted for having his sound system up over 50 db. But then the cop thought he had drugs for some weird reason. But my friend new that he didn't so he let the cop search his car. He had nitrous in there connected and everything. The cop just said nice car and gave him the ticked for the sound. Nothing about the mods or anything. But then again we got some pretty lenient cops here.

Originally posted by cal_guy19
I think you're referring to the way things used to be. Nowadays, all the officer has to do is say he thought you might have some terrorist shit in your car ("looked like he had a tank of nerve gas in there") and

1. Your car is seized, on the spot.
2. You are arrested, and held incommunicado, indefinitely.
3. 20 minutes later, your wife is arrested.
4. Your house is searched.



Thank God for the Patriot Act!

Possession all depends on the state, some states consider all forms of NO2 a schedule 2 drug, might as well be a pound of marijuana. Other states, like Georgia for instance, makes the distinction between Medical and Industrial use NO2, illegal and legal respectively.

Most cops could care less if you have Nitrous or not. They would much rather catch you using it, since street racing is becoming more popular and more problematic, laws are becoming tougher. They'd much rather have a conviction for street racing than having Nitrous on the street.

If a cop ask for consent and you are worried about the Nitrous, just say "I don't feel comfortable letting you search my car but you can let a drug dog check it out". I've seen this work a few times when underage possession of alcohol was an issue.

The biggest thing is to be respectful to the cops, an officer's attitude changes alot if you act like a thug rather than a useful member of society.

Side note: In Georgia, Street Racing is considered an equivalent offense as eluding(running from the cops), leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving. Misdemeanor offenses that can carry up to one year in Jail and Up to $1000 fine, but the kicker is FOUR points on your driving record.

Nitrous for cars is a little different than the nitrous used by dentists, which can be used to get high. Car nitrous has an additive, usually sulphur dioxide, which makes it bad for inhaling. It smells real bad, is somewhat toxic, and can make you sick, so it can't be used as a "drug". If you're busted with the variety used in cars, a good lawyer could make a case that it's not a drug, since it cannot be used that way.

The first week I installed my nitrous kit, I got arrested for drag racing, go figure:dunno. The cop just looked around my car and found the nitrous. He checked if it was on, which it was by the way. They really did not care about it and one of the cops was telling me how he has nitrous too! They did say however, its legal to have it but not use it on the street.

Just cover the nitrous bottle with a fake plasic bazooka sub housing and make the line look like amp wiring. Be creative :D

Originally posted by JazzM
Yes, it is illegal. In Canada (ontario) you'll get your car impounded if the bottle is open. The safest bet is to have your cable disconnected from the bottle while on the street.

Best regards,


T.


What if u have a remote bottle opener?



Also it is only illegal if it is found. There is no reason a pig should go into ur trunk. The only time a pig can go into ur trunk is if u are arrested or if u allow them to. So when it comes to the question, "mind if I search ur car", answer is "NO". It doesn't matter if u have something in ur car or not. Once u give them permission they are free to do what ever. Once they find something then u will be charged with it. If u don't give them permission and it is NOT out in the open they can charge u with it but since it was an illegal search it will then be thrown out, its called the Spoiled Fruits of something , its been sometime since I was in Criminology. So if they think u have drugs or anything in the car be sure to ask them what they think is in the car then refuse to allow them access. U DO HAVE RIGHTS, USE THEM.







Juker008