((TITLE)) LOWRIDING IS LEGALIZED
((TRT: 04:40))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor/Producer: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 0 female; 1 male))
((Blurb: Lowriding has been a part of Mexican-American culture in the U.S for many decades, this year the state of California repeals the laws from 1958 and 1986, that were prohibiting lowering the cars and cruising.))
((NATS))
((Lorraine Quinones
Community Activist))
My husband and I were cruising in our Bel Air, and then we were refused access to the public street, Whittier Boulevard, which is our community. We wanted to cruise the public streets and we were told, "No lowriders allowed" by the sheriff's department.
((NATS))
((Joe Ayala
Legislative Attorney))
((SKYPE logo))
The laws that regulated cruising and really lowriders in general, first started off in 1958, when the legislature passed a bill that limited how low you could operate your vehicle on the public highways. They said you couldn't operate it if the bottom frame of your vehicle was lower than the lowest part of your rim of your tires.
The second one was when in 1986, they passed another law that allowed cities and counties in California to adopt local ordinances that would ban cruising.
It was kind of in response to, I guess, I'd say a lot of stereotypes were about lowriders in general. There was a lot of movies at the time that came out that depicted lowriders as equating to gangs and crime and violence, which I’m sure happens, but I'm sure that happens with a lot of different kinds of car club enthusiasts or any kind of activity for that matter, where you have a big crowd.
((NATS))
((Joe Ayala
Legislative Attorney))
((SKYPE logo))
As the state law got passed, cities and counties started enacting ordinances that prohibited you from cruising, which was defined in the state vehicle code as going around, kind of like in a circle between two stop signs or stop lights three times or more in a given period of time.
((SKYPE logo))
It targeted us. There's no other state that has that limit on how low a car…there's no public safety reason, there's no mechanical reason that the city or a county should care or that the state should care for that matter, other than the type of people who lower their cars tend to look like me.
Yeah, I tend to have cars that are a little bit more customized, and if you want to keep them out of your neighborhood or your city or you want to penalize them, make a law and have the cops start enforcing it.
((NATS))
((Lorraine Quinones
Community Activist))
As an educator, as a community activist, as a Chicana, it’s a political statement and we felt like that that law was unjust. It’s discrimination. And seeing those “No Cruising” signs along the boulevard was not okay. So, we decided to stand up and fight back.
I started that local petition on Change.org to see if other people agreed with repealing the ordinance and getting rid of that ban.
It took off. A lot of people were supporting it. On Friday the 13th, October 13, 2023, Governor Newsom signed it. You can cruise. You don't have to worry about how many times you pass in one area. How low your vehicle is.
((NATS))
((Lorraine Quinones
Community Activist))
Overall, the emotions are exciting and victorious because we helped change law. That’s not easy, especially for people like ourselves, coming out of areas like East LA, and getting heard in such a big way statewide.
((NATS))
((Big Rob Moreno
Lowrider Owner))
I got a phone call, a text from my daughter, stating that they got pulled over around the corner. So, we went over there. I started telling them, you know, "Why are you pulling them over? They’re not doing nothing. They’re not hopping or anything else." The way you see it, that’s the way it was.
((Joe Ayala
Legislative Attorney))
((SKYPE logo))
Just because you have hydraulics doesn’t mean it’s legal. You could violate other code sections by driving your car with, you've seen, I don't know if you've seen anywhere they have their car that’s basically just on three tires and the fourth one raised up. That could be dangerous. Now, that can be an unsafe vehicle.
So, they can still give you a ticket for that. But the idea about the hydraulics was to lift the front or lift the back and kind of show your car off, show off maybe some of the lower suspension or your tires kind of just like a parade.
((Big Rob Moreno
Lowrider Owner))
They could have said, "Okay, lower your car." or "Okay, I'm going to give you a warning." A warning would have been fair. But getting a ticket, how much is this going to cost?
((NATS))