Equipment

When I was posted to Fort St. John detachment, the decision was easy, our family car had four studded winter tires. Once I was transferred to Penticton, these tires went with the car when we traded it in and we used all season tires throughout the year.

Question: How far can the tread of tires stick out from the fenders on a vehicle before it is a violation? The Motor Vehicle Act Regulations just says that the tread area must be covered by the fender.

Question: I want to put smoked covers on my headlight and tail lights. Is this Illegal in BC? If it is, are aftermarket headlights and tail lights with the smoked lenses illegal too? Is there somewhere I can go on the internet to find out what is illegal and what isn't?

Take a look at other vehicles on the highway right now. How many of them have only one headlight working? Isn't that the same as driving with one eye closed? If you have normal vision, would you consider driving with one eye closed at night?

"Oh yeah, I know the trailer brakes are working, I could feel them grabbing on the hill!" To me, this was almost as reliable as "The cheque is in the mail!" when it came to testing trailers with surge brakes at the roadside.

You may have seen them, a pair of small whistles that you attach to your vehicle to scare deer away and prevent collisions with them. The intent is for the movement of your vehicle to force air through them and produce sound, or ultrasound that keeps deer off the highway and safely out of your path.

Question: I have had a tinted licence plate cover on my vehicle for over 5 years now, and just recently I have been getting pulled over for it. The first event happened last week and the officer went to explain to me how they were illegal and that I should remove it immediately.

Question: We are driving our 30 foot class C motorhome with a 5x10 cargo trailer attached from Edmonton to Vancouver at the end of November. Do we need to carry chains or have winter tires?

Sometimes you run across a vehicle in your patrols that has such serious defects that it should never have left the driveway. A Notice & Order #1 is the tool used by the police to remove the vehicle from the highway and keep it removed until it has been repaired and passed inspection.

In 2010 the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) published a best practice guide for regulating excessively raised vehicles. The guide is intended to help the provinces regulate raised vehicles with a uniform approach.