SC bans Carolina squat trucks. When will the new law go into effect for local drivers?

Time is running out for Carolina Squat trucks.

Gov. Henry McMaster on May 16 signed a measure that will pull the modified vehicles off state roads next year. South Carolina joins North Carolina and Virginia as the only states to so far ban the trucks.

His approval wasn’t surprising, as the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to ban squats, sending him legislation on May 4 to outlaw them. Myrtle Beach is a haven for the modified vehicles, with its skyline often serving as a backdrop for social media clips of squat drivers as they amble down Ocean Boulevard.

Amy Prock, the city’s police chief, played a key role in outlawing the trucks - she testified multiple times in Columbia during committee hearings. She offered language that wound up in the bill’s final form.

Other city leaders, including Mayor Brenda Bethune, have supported the effort.

“The purpose of this bill is to maintain safety for all who utilize our roadways,” she said. “This is another step to share the responsibility in public safety.”

Tickets won’t be written until 2024, and chronic offenders could have their licenses suspended.

While the law takes effect with the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, the General Assembly included language setting 180 days before squat truck drivers can be fined for their rides.

Once tickets can start being written, violators face penalties of between $100 and $300, and could have their licenses suspended for chronic offenses.

South Carolina will become the third state to prohibit squatted trucks, following North Carolina and Virginia, where penalties range from a mandatory one-year license revocation regardless of offense or a simple $250 fine for each violation, respectively.

What is a Carolina squat?

Most people would say they know one when they see one, but the actual definition under state law is a height differential of at least four inches between a vehicle’s front and rear fenders.

“Fender means the pressed and formed part mounted over the road wheels of a motor vehicle to reduce the splashing of mud, water or similar substances,” according to a description in the bill.

Here’s how HotCars.com, a leading automotive industry publication with 10 million visitors a month, describes the trucks whose origins actually lie in California desert racing.

“First off, the raised front end impedes greatly outward visibility, which increases the risk of crashing into lowered obstacles or passersby. The raised bumper also becomes a danger to other people and their vehicles in the case of a collision, since it won’t bash against their bumper (which will most likely be at a standard height),” a July article explained.

A pedestrian in the summer of 2021 was killed in the city after being struck by a Carolina squat — an incident Myrtle Beach police discussed with lawmakers last year while testifying in favor of their ban.

What do people say about Carolina squats?

During a January hearing, state Sen. Greg Hembree, R-North Myrtle Beach, called the modified trucks too hazardous to be allowed among regulation-sized vehicles.

“We’ve had, really, kind of a tragic problem with this in our community. It’s something that we’ve been dealing with and law enforcement’s been dealing with for a while,” he said Jan. 18.

ABATE, the state’s largest motorcycling group also wants to see the trucks banned. So do the S.C. Police Chiefs Association and the State Department of Public Safety.

Squat truck drivers say their low-riding trucks are part of street culture. Some owners, like Coastal Carolina student Brett Michaels, say they’ve spent more than $15,000 on rigs.

His TikTok channel, which is filled with clips of the trucks headed down Ocean Boulevard, has 762,000 followers.

He has over 762,000 followers on TikTok and isn’t worried a ban would affect his social media presence.

Michaels told The Sun News last month he understands the concern by opponents when it comes to the trucks that are “outrageously lifted and squatted, but when it’s something that we feel is reasonable, that’s where the problem arises for me.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 9:29 AM.