Now South Carolina Has Banned the Notorious ‘Carolina Squat’ Truck Mod
The state joined North Carolina in outlawing the notorious modification that bears its name.
Your niece's boyfriend's favorite truck mod, the Carolina Squat, will be officially illegal in South Carolina this year. The state joins North Carolina and Virginia in outlawing the customization trend where a vehicle's front end is lifted sky high while the back half remains stock. Such a truck struck and killed a pedestrian in Myrtle Beach two years ago, leading South Carolina's House of Representatives to vote unanimously to ban the modification. Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill, which will become law in November.
Offenders will be charged $100 for their first violation, $200 for the second, and $300 for the third, and their license will be suspended for a year.
“It’s an education thing," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told local outlet WLTX. "I think once everyone hears they're illegal, I’m hoping they’ll just fix it themselves."
There's no guarantee that will happen as the trend continues to build steam online. Just a couple of months ago in March, squatted pickups and SUVs descended on Myrtle Beach for unofficial "Truck Week" festivities. Though dozens of drivers were busted for loitering and piloting their squatted trucks recklessly around town, it wasn't illegal then. They filled the streets with underglow and train horns, and plenty of rigs rocking the Carolina Squat had South Carolina plates.
The modification is popular across the United States, especially in the South. It's turned into an entire subculture of the car community and is often associated with wild antics. This undoubtedly played a part in the lawmaking process, along with the obvious negative implications of forward visibility for drivers of the trucks.
Some have voiced their support of the ban online, while others were content with hating on squatted trucks without making them illegal. One way or another, states are being forced to decide whether to them on public roads. South Carolina may be the latest to take an official stance against these mods, though it likely won't be the last.
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