Fact or Fiction, trailer ball receivers

[darkday]

I have heard of the no receiver without trailer but i believe the law allows 2 feet of overhang past taillights, any more and you need to have it flagged.

 

[goodngrubby]

Does it matter if your truck is registered commercial either way?

I wouldn't have thought so, but he made a pretty big deal about it. He said if I would have been registered personal, he wouldn't have given me the ticket for not having spare fuses. I think he was just having a bad day, or maybe his wife was sacking a sledder from out of province, I don't know.

 

[RMK Junky]

I talked to Grande Prairie bylaw services and she said there is no law reguarding this. Unless the receiver is blocking/impeading the licence plate you might get a lecture, and even this is not a written law. They enforce the same motor vehicle laws as the RCMP. So if you get hassled I would contest it.

 

[RMK Junky]

Does it matter if your truck is registered commercial either way?

If you are registered this way and crossing provincial borders you will have to comply with federal regulations. There's lots of them.

 

[Jenkie]

I got a warning from our new batch of irritators - the "Sheriff" - told em to give us all a break, and start focusing on getting back all the stolen chit from good hard working people and stop with this nonsense crap - he was not impressed, but did not change the warning to a ticket.

 

[RMK Junky]

I have heard of the no receiver without trailer but i believe the law allows 2 feet of overhang past taillights, any more and you need to have it flagged.

And a red none falshing light when dark.

 

[Cyle]

I got a warning from our new batch of irritators - the "Sheriff" - told em to give us all a break, and start focusing on getting back all the stolen chit from good hard working people and stop with this nonsense crap - he was not impressed, but did not change the warning to a ticket.

Don't forget the peace officers aka wannabe cops Last fall I got pulled over by one in a construction zone....for tinted windows. And he threatened to give me about 6 more tickets. Frickening useless, I got a warning because my lisense has a crack in it! (you can still read all the information perfectly fine) Also said my load was overhanging to far and that it doesn't matter that it's flagged. He had NO idea about the laws, my mud flaps and overhang were perfectely legal.

I will agree my tinted windows are very illegal, but i've been stoped by RCMP and they don't care. Nor did they care about my cracked lisense, illegal mud flaps or anything of the other stupid things the peace officer warned me about.

I completely agree, cops deserve their bad reputation. Make a big deal when someone has tinted windows etc, but when someone comes to them because their vehicles was broken into, stolen, etc the cops act like your wasting their time

 

[Jenkie]

Don't forget the peace officers aka wannabe cops Last fall I got pulled over by one in a construction zone....for tinted windows. And he threatened to give me about 6 more tickets. Frickening useless, I got a warning because my lisense has a crack in it! (you can still read all the information perfectly fine) Also said my load was overhanging to far and that it doesn't matter that it's flagged. He had NO idea about the laws, my mud flaps and overhang were perfectely legal.

I will agree my tinted windows are very illegal, but i've been stoped by RCMP and they don't care. Nor did they care about my cracked lisense, illegal mud flaps or anything of the other stupid things the peace officer warned me about.

I completely agree, cops deserve their bad reputation. Make a big deal when someone has tinted windows etc, but when someone comes to them because their vehicles was broken into, stolen, etc the cops act like your wasting their time

Cheers However, its the system that is broke - this is the way our law enforcement is trained - wont bash cops cuz they are just ordinary people that are makin a living like we are. Friggin criminals have more damn rights than we do - steel chit, get a slap on the wrists and an azz chewin from a judge - hell I can handle that - there is no consequences to their actions. Need to go back to public lashes to teach these dick smacks some humiliation and respect.

 

[Cyle]

Cheers However, its the system that is broke - this is the way our law enforcement is trained - wont bash cops cuz they are just ordinary people that are makin a living like we are. Friggin criminals have more damn rights than we do - steel chit, get a slap on the wrists and an azz chewin from a judge - hell I can handle that - there is no consequences to their actions. Need to go back to public lashes to teach these dick smacks some humiliation and respect.

Yes I agree the laws are the biggest problem. However the cops not caring about it shouldn't happen. But the cops are giving themselves bad names because of the guys out there with axes to grind hassling people. I will agree MOST do their job well, but still quite a few who don't and that is the impression most people will get from them. Out of the 3 times i've been stopped 2 were complete a$$holes with axes to grind, 1 was a good and actually conducted himself well. Much more likely to remember the 2 bad ones.

 

[crushd]

The way I look at it is that the cops wouldn't have to be "dicks" if people followed the rules - that we all know about, quit speeding, don't tint your windows, take your hitch out, stop at the stop signs. How come the cops being a dick doing his job when you are the one breaking the law. Just saying.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Unless someone chimes in before me I will try to post up some literature tomorrow. A family member works in the detachment here and she is going to find out for me exactly what the law states or doesn't state. Another family member my brotherinlaw is RCMP corp. but he is in BC so I will try to find info for Ab only for the time being.

K I talked to my sister today and she was informed by a detachment member there is NO stipulation or law on hitch length UNLESS it is protruding out 3ft+. Then it MUST be flagged or ribboned to show visibility,. examples would be hauling lumber in the back of your truck, then it would be 3ft past edge of open tailgate.

 

[medler]

K I talked to my sister today and she was informed by a detachment member there is NO stipulation or law on hitch length UNLESS it is protruding out 3ft+. Then it MUST be flagged or ribboned to show visibility,. examples would be hauling lumber in the back of your truck, then it would be 3ft past edge of open tailgate.

Allrighty then, now we know ,,Thanks

 

[overkill131313]

3 feet past the edge of a open tailgate???? is that ruffly 4 feet from the tail lights? that is what the lumber yard told me was 4 feet sticking out of the box (with tail gate closed lol) I was 4 foot 1 inch and I said I will take the risk lol. what cop would pull out his tape measure lol. well the one cop that hates me in town is on extended leave. lol so he wont be writing a ticket lol. I had a drop hitch of 3 feet on my suzuki Sammy to pull the sled trailer. I never took it out because that was the stairs to get in the back seat for the kids lol. well it came out to go 4x4ng and rock crawlin lol....never say never lol

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Just checked with my BIL in BC and he says he never heard of any such law there either, and he has been RCMP for over 20yrs.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

3 feet past the edge of a open tailgate???? is that ruffly 4 feet from the tail lights? that is what the lumber yard told me was 4 feet sticking out of the box (with tail gate closed lol) I was 4 foot 1 inch and I said I will take the risk lol. what cop would pull out his tape measure lol. well the one cop that hates me in town is on extended leave. lol so he wont be writing a ticket lol. I had a drop hitch of 3 feet on my suzuki Sammy to pull the sled trailer. I never took it out because that was the stairs to get in the back seat for the kids lol. well it came out to go 4x4ng and rock crawlin lol....never say never lol

OR roughly 3ft past the end of a closed tailgate.

 

[goodngrubby]

I have my doubts as well. When I got all my tickets, the cop was throwing everything he could at me. If it was such a cut-and-dry ticket for a receiver sticking out, I'm sure he would have nailed me with that too.

 

[imdoo'n]

Yes I agree the laws are the biggest problem. However the cops not caring about it shouldn't happen. But the cops are giving themselves bad names because of the guys out there with axes to grind hassling people. I will agree MOST do their job well, but still quite a few who don't and that is the impression most people will get from them. Out of the 3 times i've been stopped 2 were complete a$$holes with axes to grind, 1 was a good and actually conducted himself well. Much more likely to remember the 2 bad ones.

kind of sounds like you bring on most of your own problems there cyle.

 

[Thunderr]

The way I look at it is that the cops wouldn't have to be "dicks" if people followed the rules - that we all know about, quit speeding, don't tint your windows, take your hitch out, stop at the stop signs. How come the cops being a dick doing his job when you are the one breaking the law. Just saying.

Thats fine and dandy but...''no man is above the law'' I see the enforcers running stop signs and traffic regs broken on a regular basis. Do you think they get tickets? Just saying

 

[ram4tow]

Far as i'm concerned you rear end someone tough luck. The reason I keep mine is if someone rear ends you wrong your truck is written off, it doesn't take that much if they hit you wrong. My hitch has already saved me once, and saved someone from buying me a new bumper, they were happy about it....I think you'd have a VERY hard time passing the blame. But it is the world we live in, do something wrong hire a lawyer to try and pass the blame to someone else

I am willing to bet the law came into effect because some idiot high up in gov't caught their leg on a reciever on a truck and got pissed because they are stupid enough to do it.

I won't take mine out ever, if a cop wants to give me a ticket there is lots of things to pick from anyways

hmmm check this out .. got rear ended by ford escape and they never wrote it off..




and there was front end damage too when i got pushed into the guy infront of me.

 

[ram4tow]

Traffic safety act
Overhanging load
16(1) During nighttime, a load that overhangs the rear of the vehicle carrying it by 1.5 metres or more must have a lit red lamp on the back of the load.
(2) During daytime, a load that overhangs the rear of the vehicle carrying it by 1.5 metres or more must have a red or orange flag that is not less than 300 millimetres square on the back of the load.

vehicle equipment regs
Overhanging load
105 Despite section 16, a commercial vehicle carrying a load of logs that overhangs the rear of the vehicle by 1.5 metres or more must have
(a) a set of two‑way headache rack lamps mounted on the power unit of the vehicle at approximately cab height,
(b) during nighttime, 2 lit red lamps attached to the back of the load, with one lamp being as close to the right edge and the other as close to the left edge of the load as is practicable, and
(c) during daytime, at least 2 streamer markers at the rear of the load, with at least one streamer as close to the right edge and another as close to the left edge of the load as is practicable.

no where does it say anything about a trailer hitch being illegal in Alberta while a trailer is not in tow. Unless this is a law that has been passed recently and not added to the vehicle equipment regulations. but the above is from Alberta gov site so if i was charged with that i would be mighty upset and point out that it was not posted in the regulations so how were you supposed to know it was illegal. maybe its another one of those "justifying their job" things. who knows just pays sometimes to do you homework !