Owners of lowriders were banned from ‘cruising’ in most California cities since the mid-1980s, but next year they can once again drive their low-and-slow classic cars on public roads.
The Californian government has lifted the ban on owners of lowriders ‘cruising’ on public roads in certain cities, following the implementation of laws which prohibited the low-and-slow vehicles from driving since as early as the 1980s.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, ‘cruising’ – in which lowriders are driven slowly in groups, often scraping along the ground with the help of hydraulic suspension to create a shower of sparks – was banned from the 1980s and 1990s, with law-makers at the time associating the activity with gang violence.
While lowriders have legally been able to be driven in California, the anti-cruising law – which opponents claimed was racially motivated against Hispanic and Black communities – prevented the cars from driving in groups and in their lowest forms.
However, from 1 January 2024, cruising bans will be lifted in all California cities which banned the activity.
The bill – which was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom last month – will also allow lowriders to have parts which extend from the bodywork to below the bottom of the rims, such as ‘kerb feelers’.
The repeal of the ban comes after decades of criticism that lowrider cruising “interfered with local businesses, wasted law enforcement resources, impeded traffic and caused pollution and ‘undesirable noise levels’,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite the lifted ban being received positively in the lowrider community, opponents to cruising continue to claim the activity has links to “narcotics, DUIs, assaults and gang violence”.
Members of the lowrider community also expressed concern about whether police would target them and their cars for other reasons, though these situations will not arise until 2024.
In Australia, hydraulic suspension systems such as those used in lowriders – as well as the more modern airbag substitutes – are legal provided they are installed by an approved mechanic, but the vehicle they are installed in must adhere to the minimum height limit of 100mm at the lowest point.
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