(not my image. I just find these comical and incredibly dangerous)

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[–] 138 points 5 days ago (38 children)

They aren't. There might be places with shitty cops that tolerate them. (Quick search shows this is mostly a Texas thing)

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  • [–] 36 points 5 days ago (35 children)

    They aren’t.

    Confidently incorrect. Maybe they're illegal some places, but definitely not most places. In Texas, they're not illegal, but it can be illegal if they make your vehicle more than 8 feet wide. Since they're usually on sedans, they usually don't hit 8 feet.

    Also they're more specifically a thing in Black culture in Houston. I see them pretty rarely in other Texas cities

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  • [–] 17 points 5 days ago (13 children)

    what? they are a pedestrian hazard, how would these not be illegal in every state?

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  • [–] 93 points 5 days ago (5 children)

    They are not legal in the civilised world.

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  • [–] 109 points 5 days ago (22 children)

    Swangas are among the most fucked up modifications you can do with your car. It's literally not just a "fuck you" to other road users but actively hostile to everyone around you.

    Just reflect for a moment what kind of culture can be so deeply submerged in toxic displays of hostility as a form of "swag", "coolness" or "masculinity" as to create something like that. How insecure do you have to be?

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  • [–] 38 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    New term for me. Looking it up, found this though.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago

    I've been thinking about getting something like this for my bike! The theory is that a driver isn't worried about possibly killing me, but they sure as shit will avoid anything that might scratch their paint.

    The spikes have to be higher up though. At that level, they're only going to get caught up in car tires.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 days ago

    I'm okay with this. Gotta appreciate the creativity.

    Zooming in, appears to be tinfoil and cardboard... So, much like those caterpillars that mimic a snakes head, it's a false protective threat display. Wise technique if you have to ride a bike in traffic with assholes rolling real swangas.

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    [–] 42 points 5 days ago (6 children)

    Why would you assume they're legal?

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    [–] 25 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    Just cause they have them doesn’t make them legal. Cops probably don’t even know so they just let it go

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  • [–] 15 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    Usually, US law enforcement errs on the side of illegal since they have the presumption of good faith (or at least did until ICE went gonzo about lies and cover-ups).

    But anything that looks suspicious counts as probable cause meaning they can search you and relieve you of cash and valuables. Nowadays, they presume they can jusy rob you and it enhances the precinct budget for fun stuff.

    We see this kind of overpolicing done more to minorities than whites, but so long as you don't look super rich (enough to have a lawyer on your contacts list) then you're fair game.

    If this sort of thing is uncommon in their parts, it's going to draw more attention than a red sports car.

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  • [–] 41 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    I refuse to believe that america is a real place

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  • [–] 48 points 5 days ago (3 children)
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    [–] 44 points 5 days ago (18 children)

    Oh that’s easy! They’re not :)

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    [–] 40 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

    They aren't in any civilised countries, probably land you in prison when you are driving that on any public road in one of those.

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  • [–] 16 points 5 days ago

    They probably aren't. Doesn't stop them from existing though. 🤷

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  • [–] 36 points 5 days ago*

    According to Alexander's tactics in Gaugamela, you first have to wear them down with javelins, and then open ranks to create alleys for them to pass through your infantry, then finish them off with hypaspists. Afterwards, you can charge your cavalry straight to Darius himself and win the battle.

    Piece of cake really.

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  • [–] 27 points 5 days ago

    There's zero chance these are legal. And even in places where enforcement of such things is lax, is be surprised if this lasted very long, simply because of how crazy dangerous it would be to pedestrians and cyclists.

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  • [–] 22 points 5 days ago (16 children)

    I don't know. Why are semi trucks allowed to have these?

    I see them all the time even though they seem like a liability for a professional driver.

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    [–] 18 points 5 days ago

    This seems like a surefire way to get any insurance claim denied for dangerous modification to your car, or something along those lines.

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  • [–] 18 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    That looks like a really expensive accident waiting to happen.

    Why would anyone put that on their car?

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    [–] 27 points 5 days ago (1 child)
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    [–] 25 points 5 days ago (17 children)

    Aren‘t vehicles and/or custom parts checked for safety and roadworthiness in the US??? 😱

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    [–] 16 points 5 days ago

    Houston is a weird place.

    In short, they often make the car as wide as is street legal. Sometimes they end up being too wide, but "maybe it's too wide but I can't quite tell" doesn't meet probable cause, so the police can only really measure them if they get pulled over for something else.

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  • [–] 18 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    Satire become reality if we don't do something after learning about it: https://xkcd.com/3167/

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    [–] 11 points 5 days ago

    Nothing says idiot loser like these do.

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  • [–] 15 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (4 children)

    Nothing a big fat disc padlock and chain can't solve.

    GrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGrGr

    I hope bro likes having to carry bolt cutters in the passenger seat and having to do walk-around inspections every time he comes back to his car.

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    [–] 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

    In the Saints Row series they're called kneecappers and I tried and uninstalled them because they caused too much mayhem. They also appear in the Spy Hunter 1983 coin-op video game

    I remember seeing them on Speed Racer used by villains before seeing the chariot race version in Ben Hur.

    IRL they're obviously a hazard and inappropriate in traffic where people are just trying to collaboratively get home. (And yes, traffic is a collective cooperative effort, and we see that as soon as someone gets antagonistic.)

    But Americans imagine themselves rugged individualists, a component of capitalist propaganda, and like to show they're rebels with shit like rolling coal and truck nuts.

    This totally looks like a FAFO moment that is going to turn into a regulatory statute.

    Since it's not a firearm, I doubt courts or officials will be interested at all in pursuing second-amendment liberties over this. They seem not to care about knives or ninja gear, either.

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