Gardaí seize dangerous 'modded' cars

Gardaí in Ennis seized a modified car which had its battery "relocated" to its boot and held in place with cable ties.

The modification could "start a fire or leak acid," gardaí said.

It was one of several vehicles inspected by gardaí in a seven-hour blitz targeting cars which have been modified in such a way they pose a danger to road users.

The seizures were carried out as part of Operation CURB (Changing Your Road Behaviour) by gardaí from the divisional roads policing unit in Clare.

The operation was undertaken in a seven-hour period overnight on March 6 and 7.

Each car was seized under either Section 20 of the Road Traffic Act or Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act. A Garda public service vehicle inspector examined the cars.

Three of the cars inspected were found to be dangerously defective.

One of these cars had its engine replaced by another.

The modification did not allow a battery to be stored in the engine compartment and it had been moved to the boot area, where it was held in place with cable ties. Gardaí said this was "extremely dangerous" as the battery could "start a fire or leak acid if disturbed".

As a result of this modification, the driver was also not insured as they had failed to inform their insurer of the modifications that were made.

An examination of another car found that the airbag malfunction lamp was permanently switched off and the suspension had been modified so low that the car undercarriage was dragging along the road surface, with the wheels trapping themselves on the body structure. This would render the vehicle unsafe on most road networks.

Other modifications made that rendered the cars dangerous to drive include:

• Handbrake not working 
• Airbags not effective 
• Lowered suspensions that rendered the vehicle dangerous to drive 
• Engine leaking oil to such an extent that it could not be driven following inspection 
• Tyres wider than those specified for the car which are capable of throwing debris into the path of other vehicles as the debris is not caught by the flaps.

Another of the vehicles inspected was found to have a modified handbrake. Gardaí said this would allow for the vehicle to drift, an action deemed dangerous outside of controlled circumstances. The introduction of this modification interfered with the normal safe running of the car.

The other three modified cars detained for inspection were found not to have been in breach of any legislation. The drivers of these vehicles were commended for their efforts in ensuring their car remained roadworthy and legal.

Inspector Paul Slattery said: "Some of the cars we have seized during this operation are dangerously defective. Whilst the car may look and sound great, by altering a car past what the legal standard is makes it dangerous to all road users."

"Educating drivers about what is allowed and what’s not is a key part of this. Our roads policing unit are always available to talk to drivers if they are thinking of modifying their car so that they are compliant with road traffic legislation."

The drivers of the three cars will be dealt with by way of summons.