Is stance a crime?

The stance is not a crime movement has become the talk of the town in Nelson Mandela Bay.

This comes after Aldayne Ramsamy from Durban was stopped and fined by Metro police because his vehicle was too low. Ramsamy then took his experience to social media via a Facebook post, as he felt that he was not in wrong and that his car is roadworthy. His social media post went viral, resulting in multi social media posts where people voiced their support hence the popular hashtag #Stance is not a crime.

This leads me to the topic: Is stance a crime?

Firstly, let’s define stance  “Stance” is used to describe a car customization style. The key elements of the stance include lowered suspension, large wheels, stretched tires, negative camber and most would agree that excessively loud music should be added to the list.

To try and figure out whether stance is a crime or not Kurtley Liberty an engineer and also “Stance enthusiasts” has promised to give his objective opinion on whether or not stance should be considered a crime, based on the pros and cons of have a stanced car.

The Pros of stance.

• Improved aerodynamics

A lowered suspension reduces the air going underneath the vehicle creating a better outcome for the wind drag on a car.

• Improved traction and handling

The vehicle being so low to the ground can increase the grip of the lines on the roadway and improve handling.

• Reduced rollover risk

Almost any vehicle benefits from lowering, the higher the vehicle, the easier for it to tip over.

• Greater comfort

Additional stiffness is a major perk.

• Tyres

Tyre stretch makes the sidewalks harder and slight amount of negative camber makes the car handle better.

The Cons of stance

• Rough Roads

With your car having a lowered suspension, rocky potholed roads will be difficult to drive through and could cause damage to your car.

• Tyres

Stanced cars are terrible on the tyres. They wear out quickly meaning you’ll have to spend more on tyre than a person with a normal car would.

• The engine and gearbox mounts

The extra stiffness of the suspension puts a lot of strain on the engine and gearbox mounts, resulting in the car rattling more causing an increased amount of damage to your car.

• Negative Camber

Having this much camber results in only the edge of your tyre being on the road, reducing tyre patch, thus reducing your grip as well.

• Warranty issues

Once you tamper with your car and some how mess it up your warranty will no longer be valid and the cost of damage will come out of your own pocket.

• Lifting and towing

Normal jacks do not work on stanced cars also in case of an emergency your car will not be easy to tow because of how dropped it is. Towing your car will most likely cars damage to your car.

Clearly the negatives outweigh the positives, although the positives do make a compelling case.

One thing that stands out from the stance is not a crime debacle is that so many of our young men have become passionate about it, especially in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth. Damien Van Rensburg who lives in Hillside, Port Elizabeth has been “stancing” his cars for years. Damien says, “ Stance does not hurt anybody. It is a way for us young men to stay busy, doing something we love”. This is a common response from the men in the Northern areas of Port Elizabeth.

However Police Officer Marbie from the Mount Road Police Station has stated that they will continue to remove cars that are not roadworthy from the road, and stance cars are not roadworthy.

So many believe that Stance is not a crime, but the cons and Metro police prove otherwise. But, if it brings a community together in numbers and keeps the youngsters occupied and passionate, providing character development the question still stands: Is stance a crime?