The Mississippi legislature recently passed the Trooper Steve Hood Act: The Nitrous Prohibition Act. The law is named after a state trooper who died in a high speed chase while in pursuit of a nitrous equipped vehicle. This law does not ban the use of nitrous at race tracks or on race cars, but it does make it illegal to have a functioning nitrous system in your street car.
While we certainly hate to see restrictions placed on vehicle performance and aftermarket companies hampered, the law makes some sense. We feel awful for the family of trooper Hood, who was 50 years old at the time of his death and was very close to retiring from the force.
What was not made clear in any of the stories we read was exactly how the law reads and how it is to be enforced. The penalties are stiff for violators. The first offense could land the driver in the clink for 48 hours and fined up to $1,000. A second violation could earn a year in jail and a third could result in up to five years.
In many states, the nitrous system can be in the car so long a bottle is not connected and ready for use. Seeing as though this is a law fresh in the minds of law enforcement and represents an emotional event for the Mississippi State Troopers, we’d stow our bottle well away from the mount when headed to the race track.
Source — ClarionLedger.com — Fatal Crash Behind Bill
