got a ticket for improper trailer brakes
 

Hey, I am just seeing if this ticket is worth disputing or of I am in the wrong. I got pulled over at a road check with a flat deck with a quad on it. The officer gave my trailer a lookover and said I was not towing it safely and I had no choice but to get it towed. The break-away device on the trailer was broken and he claimed if the trailer came disconected it would not be able to stop in a emergency. He checked if my trailer brake controler and brakes worked, all my lights worked and my load was safely secured. Safety chains where also connected.

He gave me a ticket that states: Improper break-away device $138
Tow bill... $158

So I got looking into this. The trailer is registered for 1400kg, and under 1400kg I DO NOT NEED TRAILER BRAKES... so having a inoperable break away device should not matter as trailer brakes are not mandatory. The trailer weighs 600kg, and no way should a quad put me over the 1400.


Trailer brakes
(3) A trailer shall be equipped with brakes at each end of each axle, but brakes are not required

(a) on one axle of a house trailer that is equipped with more than 2 axles,

(b) on any axle of a trailer other than a towing dolly if the licensed vehicle weight of the trailer

(i) is 1,400 kg or less

http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bcl...ml#section5.03

You missed a little bit, if the GVW of the trailer is less than 1,400 kg but more than 50% of the net weight of the tow vehicle then the trailer needs brakes. That would be the rest of (i) which you chose not to show and all of (ii).

Of course, if it is registered improperly that's another story.

Also, if the GVW is > 1400 kg then you are in the wrong division entirely and you need to look at Division 6 instead. I am guessing that you were ticketed under 6.07 MVAR. If you weren't, what section was it, and if you were, what was the total weight of the trailer and load at the time and how was that determined?

division 6.07 is for commercial vehicles is it not??. I was towing a pleasure trailer. I have the small plate, not the commercial large plate.

Ok, this is the division for my ticket of which I got.

6.07 (1) The service brakes with which a commercial trailer is equipped shall be of such manufacture and design and so installed and maintained that they will be applied automatically upon the separation of the commercial trailer from the vehicle by which it is being towed, and so that after such automatic application they will remain fully applied for not less than 15 minutes.

(6) This section does not apply to a motor vehicle which is being towed in a combination allowed under section 5.02 (6).

Stopping distances
5.02 (1) Every motor vehicle and every combination of vehicles shall be equipped with service brakes which, when applied, will not affect the direction of travel of the motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, and under all conditions of loading will be adequate, when the motor vehicle or combination of vehicles is travelling at a speed of 30 km/h on a substantially level, dry, smooth, hard surfaced road free of loose material where the grade does not exceed 1%, to stop the travel

[QUOTE=skidmark;7365455]You missed a little bit, if the GVW of the trailer is less than 1,400 kg but more than 50% of the net weight of the tow vehicle then the trailer needs brakes.[QUOTE]

I have a 1994 f150 4x4. I am insured for 5000kg according to reg. I dont know what you mean by net weight

If you had chains connected properly, then the tailer's built-in brake-away device is irrelevant. You definately DO NOT need trailer brakes if you are towing a puny 600kg pleasure-licenced trailer behind an F150.

I'd phone the detachment the officer was from, and try to get the ticket cancelled and a refund for the tow and your inconvenience.

Your pickup is a commercial vehicle. Regardless of plate, the trailer is considered a commercial trailer if it fits this definition:

"commercial trailer" means a trailer, or semitrailer, or house trailer, with a gross weight of more than 1 400 kg

Net weight of your pickup is listed on your registration document. It is commonly known as the curb weight.

You still haven't answered what the actual weight of the trailer and it's load was.

Not so. If the law requires a breakaway brake you must have both.

Skidmark, go back to post #1.

He says his trailer weighs 600kg + a quad on it. (Quads weigh 120-220kg) There's no way that comes close to 1400kg or even 1/2 the weight of an F150 (2200kgs+++)

Since it's not over 1400kg it's not commercial, and does not need a brake-away.

It's also less than half the curb weight of an F150 so it doesn't need surge or electric brakes.

My impression is that chains are required on all trailers, regardless of the above. (which he had on his trailer anyways.)

What is the registered GVW of the trailer as indicated on the registration? This may help clarify things a bit.

I don't know how much quads weigh and I'm wondering if anything was scaled....

I've owned three quads and my heaviest is about 250kg's wet

1400kg. Well... its undergoing a govt inspection so the weight can be raised.

He said he was trained to "guestimate" weight. He was going to bring scales out but didnt.

Trailer: $3,000
Quad: $10,000
Ticket and tow: $296

Using guesswork to determine if a carefully constructed law with specific definitions and weight limits has been broken: priceless.

OK, I think I have enough information for a practical answer now. Take the trailer and quad (essentially the trailer loaded the same way it was when ticketed) go to the scale and have it weighed. If it is less than 1400 kg (remember the tongue weight if it is close) dispute the ticket as division 6 does not apply.

How does that work with the tow? Do police offer refunds in cases of their wrong-doing?

I have known instances where the detachment covers the tow bill for the officer's mistake...

True accountability would be requiring the officer to cover the tow bill.

Talked to icbc today. They said for example, if a vehicle is equipped; everything must be in good working order. For example, he said if I had 100 "decorative" markers, all 100 MUST be working or I could face fines. He said even tho trailer brakes are optional, according to the act... they MUST be in good working order. I am on the phone now with the rcmp of kelowna, trying to get the ticvked withdrawled.