Pulled over for having no mudflaps, is this valid?

[philosoraptor]

Driving back into Calgary east bound on the #1, a cop was sitting in the median tagging cars with the laser, I passed going the speed limit but he proceeded to follow me for 5-10 km and pulled me over. He told me the reason was my completely stock vehicle (02 ford explorer) was missing mud flaps. After verifying my licenses, registration, insurance and my where about that day he allowed me to proceed and told me he was letting me off with a warning and to go get mud flaps ASAP otherwise I will get a ticket next time.

Was he in the right to do this? I've noticed since then that the vast majority of vehicles on the road do not have mud flaps and I assume he was just pulling me over to make sure everything was in order, which is fair enough but I'm not sure if blaming the lack there of mud flaps is the real reason.

Thanks!

[killramos]

Does your completely stock Ford Explorer happen to have tires on it that are wider than stock?

Do said tires extend past the fenders of said vehicle?

[pyro]

Mudguards
64(1) A motor vehicle or trailer must have a part of its body, a fender or a mudguard that covers the width of each tire.
(2) The body part, fender or mudguard referred to in subsection (1) must be above each wheel and
(a) extend downwards at the rear of each axle or axle group to at least the centre line of the axle, or
(b) be a distance away from the ground equivalent to at least 1/3 of the horizontal distance from the bottom edge of the mudguard to the centre line of the axle, but not closer to the ground than 150 millimetres when the vehicle is loaded.

[ercchry]

I'm sure fraserB will chime in... but either cars or trucks are exempt, can't remember which... but basically on the one that needs them you have to have something (body work or mud flap) that reaches to the centreline of your tire (horizontally)

[philosoraptor]

Originally posted by pyro
Mudguards
64(1) A motor vehicle or trailer must have a part of its body, a fender or a mudguard that covers the width of each tire.
(2) The body part, fender or mudguard referred to in subsection (1) must be above each wheel and
(a) extend downwards at the rear of each axle or axle group to at least the centre line of the axle, or
(b) be a distance away from the ground equivalent to at least 1/3 of the horizontal distance from the bottom edge of the mudguard to the centre line of the axle, but not closer to the ground than 150 millimetres when the vehicle is loaded.

Okay I get that, but then why wouldn't vehicles come from the factory adhering to this requirement? Cars can't come from the factory louder than deemed allowed, so why can they come from the factory without mudflaps?

[revelations]

A traffic cop could find a list of issues to ticket on even a brand new vehicle. Complain to your MP as they set the vehicle adherence guidelines.

[philosoraptor]

^ I have no reason or interest in complaining to my MP. My question of is this legal is apparently obvious and I guess CPS/RCMP ALWAYS have a valid reason to pull you over if they wish to do so. Good to know!

[revelations]

The police in Canada can pull you over for just a license check. No other reason needs to be given.

[philosoraptor]

I did not know this. I thought you had to break a law or give them a reason to pull you over. Guess I've seen too many of those "sovereign" citizen youtube videos where they demand to know why they have been pulled over and if they are being detained. lol

[Jeeper1986]

Originally posted by philosoraptor
I did not know this. I thought you had to break a law or give them a reason to pull you over. Guess I've seen too many of those "sovereign" citizen youtube videos where they demand to know why they have been pulled over and if they are being detained. lol

Your in Canada not America !!

[philosoraptor]

Originally posted by Jeeper1986


Your in Canada not America !!

Exactly! So we should learn how to use contractions! It's you're not your.

[TYMSMNY]

Originally posted by philosoraptor


Exactly! So we should learn how to use contractions! It's you're not your.

Maybe instead of contractions, you should work on your own punctuation placements.

Does your truck have aftermarket tires that are wider than the fender? Post pics.

[philosoraptor]

Originally posted by TYMSMNY


Maybe instead of contractions, you should work on your own punctuation placements.

Maybe instead of my punctuation placements, you should work on your denouement.

Nope! just regular size winter tires. Definitely nothing out of the ordinary.

[TYMSMNY]

i know when to climax.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Maybe he wanted you to get mud flaps on your face.

[FraserB]

Here is the full section from the VER.

Mudguards
64
(1) A motor vehicle or trailer must have a part of its body, a
fender or a mudguard that co
vers the width of each tire.
(2) The body part, fender or mudguard referred to in subsection (1) must be above each wheel and
(a) extend downwards at the rear of each axle or axle group to
at least the centre line of the axle, or
(b) be a distance away from th
e ground equivalent to at least
1/3 of the horizontal distance from the bottom edge of the
mudguard to the centre line of the axle, but not closer to
the ground than 150 millimetres when the vehicle is
loaded.
(3) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the following types of vehicle must be equipped with rear wheel splash and stone-throw protection that complies with SAE Standard J682:
(a) a commercial vehicle or combination of commercial vehicles that is registered for a gross weight of more than, or that weighs more than, 4500 kilograms and that is not a
bus;
(b) a bus;
(c) a trailer.
(4) A passenger car is not required to have a mudguard.
(5) This section does not apply to a trailer designed and constructed for drive-on and drive-off low loads.

Passenger cars are exempt from needing a mudguard. The definition of "passenger car" is found in the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and is defined as the following:

means a vehicle having a designated seating capacity of 10 or less, but does not include an all-terrain vehicle, a competition vehicle, a low-speed vehicle, a multi-purpose passenger vehicle, an antique reproduction vehicle, a motorcycle, a truck, a trailer, a vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes or a three-wheeled vehicle

In the case of an SUV like the Ford Explorer, you'd need to go further and determine whether or not it is considered to be a multi-purpose passenger vehicle. The two biggest points that define one of these is that it is either constructed on a truck chassis or it is constructed with special features for occasional off-road operation.

If a judge finds that the construction of the Explorer puts it into the multi-purpose passenger vehicle category, then you need a mudguard. Chances are that since it has a 4x4 switch, that could qualify as a special feature for occasional off-road operation.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[16hypen3sp]

How are motorcycles not exempt? Like my Highball wouldn't meet the requirements in 64 (2) (a) (b). Unmodified CBR1000 wouldn't either.

It's just the general construction of the bikes.

Sure some other touring type models pass like the HD Street Glide or the Vic Cross Country but many others don't.

I just don't see how their not exempt.

[killramos]

Originally posted by philosoraptor

Nope! just regular size winter tires. Definitely nothing out of the ordinary.

There is a very large gap in Alberta between what is "regular" and what is stock.

Again post pics of the tires and/or post the tire size and a pic of what it says the tire size should be from your manual or door jam.

[redblack]

About time they cracked down on this, all of my rock chips come from those asshats with no flaps on their suvs and trucks. Especially the ones with oversized tires.