I don't miss that cowboy attitude police in North America have... that's for sure...
Here in Japan, the law prohibits certain exhausts (usually based on emissions, I think) and any drops where the bottom of the car has less than 10cm (4 inches) to the pavement from the bottom of the car, BUT the good part is that they only check these things when you are getting your car inspected every two years at the "sha-ken" safety inspection. I was behind a dropped Toyota wagon, windows pitch black, huge booming exhaust, tail lights blacked out, and there was a cop driving right next to him, not even batting an eye. If you get caught speeding, it might be a problem, but in normal conditions, they could care less. Pretty much typical of Japanese law enforcement... strict laws, but nobody bothers to uphold them.
That's why it's 8:22 pm, and I'm still at work, even though I don't HAVE to work overtime if "I don't want to"... ugh.