Cases in Craven courts: 'Carolina Squat' truck owners already being cited

If you have a truck with a "squat" modification, the look is now illegal in North Carolina as of Dec. 1 and owners have already been sent to court if in violation.

Craven County Sheriff's Office is buckling down on the new law and owners of these custom vehicles have been issued warning and court citations from deputies.

Maj. David McFadyen of the sheriff's office said it is unclear how many citations or court orders were given because the office does not keep those statistics.

"Every time an individual is observed operating a vehicle in violation of the statute, they're gonna receive a citation," he said. "If they get that first citation and they don't correct it and they're caught on the road again, they're gonna get another citation."

Two citations have been issued with the New Bern Police Department, said Lt. Donald McInnis by email.

Anyone who violates the statute three or more times risk having their driver's license revoked for a year minimum.

McFadyen said individuals could be fined in court or sent with a warning that requires the truck owners to provide proof the modification was corrected.

Blake Peffley, salesman of Jacksonville's OCC Auto Truck Accessories, said people have called to remove the modification, but not as much as he expected.

"Some of those trucks that were squatted weren't the safest," he said. "A lot of them weren't built correctly and they weren't really safe on the road, but people are gonna do what they want to do."

Peffley said shops normally do not "squat" trucks and instead drivers achieve it themselves.

"They would just remove some of the components at the rear of the truck and make it squat," he said. "It’s pretty easy to do. All you do is remove the block out of the rear of the truck and then it makes it sit lower in the back."

How we got to the ban on the 'Carolina Squat'

Gov. Roy Cooper signed the "Carolina Squat" law in August, which passed on Dec. 1 making the after-market popular modification banned in the state.

The law states this prohibits a private passenger vehicle, including those registered out of state, from being driven on a highway or public vehicular area if the height of the front fender of the car is, by alteration of the suspension, frame, or body, 4 or more inches greater than the height of the rear fender as measured from the ground, through the centerline of the wheel, to the bottom of the fender.

The safety problem with the modification is when the front of the vehicle is raised, drivers vision is limited causing them to not see down the road or cars in front of the truck.

"I'm surprised we did not see more vehicle accidents than we did with those vehicles," McFadyen said.

One year ago a petition was created to make the truck modification illegal and it has over 71,000 signatures. Their goal was 75,000.

The petitioners argued "these trucks blind people with their headlights pointed to the sky and show zero care for others safety."

Another petition was created going against making the "squat" look illegal stating "we like it and if it (ain't) tooted up we don’t want it." The petition almost reached it's 25,000 signature goal with over 24,000 people who agreed.

Drivers can still have the squat look in private lot areas, such as a car show.

"They can have the modification as long as they don't operate it on the highway or public vehicle area," McFadyen said. "A lot of the modifications are done from folks who like to enter their vehicles in these car shows with modified vehicles."

McFadyen said months before the law passed, he has seen fewer lowered trucks on the road than he has in the past, but they are still an issue of concern.

"We will be working with the owners of those vehicles to ensure they comply with the law," he said.

This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Carolina Squat truck owners receive citations in Craven County court