'A Serious Danger': Officials Seize Several Illegally-Modified Street Cars

Transportation officials in the Philippines have seized several illegally modified street cars that they believed posed a serious threat to public safety. The local Land Transportation Office (LTO) captured the vehicles during a weekend enforcement operation in Batangas City. All six were Honda models that'd been converted into racing-style cars, and all were allegedly being used on public roads in the Calabarzon region. Authorities said the cars violated multiple traffic and safety regulations and were impounded as part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal modifications and unregistered vehicles.

"The illegal modification being done to these vehicles, especially if they are used for illegal racing, is not only a violation of the law but a serious danger to the lives of everyone on the road," LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao said (via Daily Tribune). He made it clear that the LTO wouldn't be stopping with these six, either: They'll continue regardless of a vehicle's type or class. If the car's being used to race or is some sort of experimental build, they're going to seize it.

According to LTO Region IV-A Director Elmer J. Decena, the seized vehicles were all sorts of illegal. Of the five Honda Civic EG Hatchback models and one Civic SiR, investigators found cars operating without proper registration, equipped with defective accessories, and brandishing illegal mods that failed to meet basic safety standards required for public road use in the Philippines. 

More specifically, two of the hatchbacks had defective headlights and mufflers, while other vehicles featured rear bumpers drilled with so-called "speed holes." (That's a racing-style modification that can weaken the structural integrity of the car.) One car was fully missing a rear bumper as well as a side mirror. The cherry on top: they were also cited for illegal parking and obstruction. Several of the vehicles were fitted with improvised license plates, too. In other words, not the kind of Honda Civic you can buy off the lot. All six cars were impounded and taken to the LTO Lipa District Office, where they will stay as the individual cases move forward.