The controversial ‘Carolina Squat’ has been officially banned in North Carolina.
The Carolina Squat, also known as the Tennessee Tilt and Cali Lean, refers to modifying a pickup or SUV by lowering the rear end and raising the front end. Like so many other car modification trends, it serves no practical purpose but is quite popular in certain car communities. As of December 1, however, it will be illegal in North Carolina after House Bill 692 was signed into law on Monday by Governor Roy Cooper.
Read More: Is There Any Data Behind North Carolina’s Proposal To Ban Squatted Trucks?
Under the new law, car owners cannot modify the front suspension of a vehicle by more than 3 inches at the front and no more than 2 inches at the rear. Current state law prohibits modifying the original height of a vehicle by more than 6 inches – either at the front or rear – and without written approval from the state commissioner of motor vehicles, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.
Once the new law comes into effect on December 1, anyone convicted three times of driving a vehicle with these modifications will lose their driver’s license for at least one year.
North Carolina cited safety concerns when initially proposing the ban, although these concerns have not been expressed publicly. Among the concerns are thought to be the risk that such trucks/SUVs pose to oncoming traffic because of the angle of their headlights at night. It could also be argued that the front and rear crash structures of a vehicle perform differently when positioned at a non-standard angle.