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Pulled over by the Po-po. What do they see when they check rego/look for defects?

4.2K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  MeanGQ  
#1 ·
Hi Team,

I have a hypothetical question and I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on it. Perhaps someone has been in a situation like this, or has (even better) been a police officer or has some other sort of inside information.

SO, say someone did a simple engine conversion from say ZD30 to TD42T, and completed the change of vehicle particulars form with the relevant state transport department, and bingo it was registered as a TD42T. No mod plate. Then one nice day, not to hot outside and the kettle isn't anywhere near boiling, this person noticed the flashing red and blue lights behind them and had to pull over.

My question is, when Mr. Plod pulls up the vehicle particulars (rego etc.) on his little computer thingy, what exactly does he see? Can he see without looking into it that the powerful and impressive 4WD pulled over in the long dead grass on the side of the road in front of him formerly had a miserable, costly ZD30 engine in it? Or, does he only work this out when he starts going over it with a fine tooth comb, looking for defects, perhaps because he saw the passenger footwell had a couple of empty Great Northern cans and empty shell casings* rolling around in it and he didn't like the look of him?

All of this is hypothetical, I haven't been pulled over and I don't leave incriminating evidence lying around in my car as a matter of course. I am just wondering about people's experiences that they might share, to contribute to the greater good.

*Many vehicles up here actually do have these as permanent features.
 
#3 ·
Attitude test lol, so true. I was more interested though in what records they check while they keep you waiting, and what they see. It will be interesting to hear from someone perhaps who has been pulled up for lack of a mod plate for engine conversion.
 
#5 ·
The tyre and wheel size combo is SO easy to check. The placard in the glovebox and the writing on the sidewall just make it so simple. Shocks me how many get around with 35” tyres, 15” rims and ridiculous offsets, all of which are illegal (for my 09 in NSW anyway) without engineering. Lift is a bit harder to calculate on the side of the road, but anything over 3” is definitely asking for a defect.

probably of bigger concern to me would be if youre involved in an accident. People like to convince themselves that cops are dumb and don’t know a thing about modified 4x4s (not true, many are enthusiasts themselves), but it’s an insurance assessors trade to know these things.
Then you’re left out in the cold without insurance, and even more likely to be found at fault. Hopefully it wasn’t a modern euro luxury car you hit or you’re gonna have to remortgage the house 🤷‍♂️
 
#6 ·
As an ex NSW Police Officer (never highway patrol). The vast majority of police that pull you over know nothing about cars and vehicle regulations.

The records will tell them name address etc, vehicle rego ownership engine number etc etc.

There are some vehicle enthusiasts and HWP seem to know more about regulations and will go deeper if you are a smart arse.

Normally if you get pulled over for a traffic offence and you accept the reason and pass the attitude test they will not go further unless the vehicle looks out of whack.

They will also do the obvious, name, check, check for outstanding warrants and some other checking if they deem necessary.


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#8 ·
As an ex NSW Police Officer (never highway patrol). The vast majority of police that pull you over know nothing about cars and vehicle regulations.

The records will tell them name address etc, vehicle rego ownership engine number etc etc.

There are some vehicle enthusiasts and HWP seem to know more about regulations and will go deeper if you are a smart arse.

Normally if you get pulled over for a traffic offence and you accept the reason and pass the attitude test they will not go further unless the vehicle looks out of whack.

They will also do the obvious, name, check, check for outstanding warrants and some other checking if they deem necessary.


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"Normally if you get pulled over for a traffic offence and you accept the reason and pass the attitude test they will not go further unless the vehicle looks out of whack".

That about sums it up, I've had a few cops in the family and know a few others, the vehicles I see around here, mostly dual cabs, that are blatantly illegal are mind boggling, every now and then they will have a blitz on Teewah Beach and you wonder how on earth they think they would get away with some mods and the owners will whinge about it.
 
#11 ·
I’ve got a Gu converted from rd28 and I’m not too keen on spending a lot of money on it and setting it up how I want to, purely because of this exact issue . Getting the swap engineered is a lot of work.. I think I would have to change my high mount set up and take body lift out etc etc ... maybe one day I’ll get a factory td42t :D