Bike Rack on the front push bar

[Slimdog]

We were pulled over in Coquitlam in a car by the cops one day because our bikes were impeding the view of the rear license plate. Got off with just a warning.

[Kinl]

Is it legal to get extra plates made here?, in the UK you would just get another plate and stick it on the back if you're covering it up.. not as easy for covering headlights.

[Ursula]

i heard a while back that now having bull horns on the front of your truck is illegal. story went that a cyclist was impaled?
wondering if there's any truth to that and if bikerack bullhorns would qualify as illegal.

[deLOOKA]

We were pulled over in Coquitlam in a car by the cops one day because our bikes were impeding the view of the rear license plate. Got off with just a warning.

You may have been pulled over by a rookie. I have a couple of friends that have had warnings too.

The RCMP and City police are used to seeing bike racks of all sorts at the back of vehicles.
I've always beleived it's one of those gray areas where they/we know it's covering the plates but police really won't do anything about it unless they are having a really bad day or it's a rookie officer.

Spoke to an officer in Bby. and had this exact conversation. He even agreed there really is nothing that can be done practical enough to solve the problem besides issuing extra plates for every rack that is sold. Or forcing every bike owner to have a roof rack.

I did however receive a ticket in Richmond. Go figure, land of no bike racks.
I took it to court. RCMP officer showed up but chose not to contest it. And it was a rookie cop.

-Delooka

[FalcoColumbarius]

i heard a while back that now having bull horns on the front of your truck is illegal. story went that a cyclist was impaled?
wondering if there's any truth to that and if bikerack bullhorns would qualify as illegal.

As an aside: Many years ago I was a bike courier in London, UK. One day I have a drop in Swallow Street, in Mayfair. I was making my approach from Piccadilly, When all of a sudden out from Vine Street emerges this burgundy Rolls Royce with great big steer horns mounted on the grille. I took evasive action and swerved, which saved me from collision but put me off balance, which resulted in my riding the bike like a wild horse all the way to the ground.

As the dust settled I struggled to my feet, the guy was getting out of the Roller and I was going to tear a strip off him. He turned around and ~ it was Elton John, wearing a wide brim stetson. How bizarre is that?..... So I waved....

Falco.

[tonydca]

i heard a while back that now having bull horns on the front of your truck is illegal. story went that a cyclist was impaled?
wondering if there's any truth to that and if bikerack bullhorns would qualify as illegal.

My wife's an X-ray tech, and I am currently a full-blown hypocrite driving my L400 around town with those bush bar-ettes. (even though I love 'em).

Hitting a pedestrian with one of those (vs. a soft vinyl-clad bumper) concentrates the point of impact,usually to the leg bones, which often shatter. She has seem first-hand the results, and it ain't pretty.

The only thing worse on the front of a vehicle *is* steer horns, rock star or no.

Having said all that, I too am looking into a weld/clamp assembly to put a couple of bikes on the front too. A perfectly logical place in many regards.

As for lotsa bugs, I would think either a large vinyl BBQ cover with a bungee-cargo-net over top, or else cover the bike seat with a shower cap and spray the bikes with a liberal coating of PAM before setting out, then hose off at destination.

I have heard lots of RV folks swear by the latter for the front of their vehicles.

[jessef]

We were pulled over in Coquitlam in a car by the cops one day because our bikes were impeding the view of the rear license plate. Got off with just a warning.

You may have been pulled over by a rookie. I have a couple of friends that have had warnings too.

The RCMP and City police are used to seeing bike racks of all sorts at the back of vehicles.
I've always beleived it's one of those gray areas where they/we know it's covering the plates but police really won't do anything about it unless they are having a really bad day or it's a rookie officer.

Spoke to an officer in Bby. and had this exact conversation. He even agreed there really is nothing that can be done practical enough to solve the problem besides issuing extra plates for every rack that is sold. Or forcing every bike owner to have a roof rack.

I did however receive a ticket in Richmond. Go figure, land of no bike racks.
I took it to court. RCMP officer showed up but chose not to contest it. And it was a rookie cop.

-Delooka

Cops are used to seeing bike racks of all sorts at the back of vehicles.

What they do NOT see everyday are bikes on the FRONT of many vehicles. Especially at night when the bikes are blocking part of the headlights.

I called BS on him and he said walk 30 feet up the road and look back at your headlights. He was absolutely right. The headlights sucked so bad I could barely see them.

I told him you can see bikes on RV's and such on the front. He said so long as the bikes are above the standard bumper height and do not block the headlights, then it is okay. He said they are usually pretty lenient and let people go but he almost couldn't see me coming up to the roadblock aways up the road so it was really not even a question of him being a rookie or an ass.

On the back, you cannot block the license plate, tail lights and reverse lights.

On the front, you cannot block the license plate, headlights. bumper and windshield.

If you are blocking any of those things, then the police have every right to pull you over and make you change or remove the bike(s).

[thedjjack]

Wife got a warning on our escort for having the plate covered. Rack is on the back.

[tonydca]

On the front, you cannot block the license plate, headlights. bumper and windshield.

If you are blocking any of those things, then the police have every right to pull you over and make you change or remove the bike(s).

I hear what you are saying, but if that is the case, then that pretty much covers the entire front of the vehicle! (no pun intended)

I can certainly see the other three items, but if our bumpers are already "covered" by a bush bar to a lesser or greater degree, I can not see the point in prohibiting putting properly-secured bikes over top.

I'd certainly try to politely dispute that point with any officer who pulled me over, provided I could show I'd made an effort to keep the lights/plate clear, and the bikes below the field of view (windshield)

[deLOOKA]

Cops are used to seeing bike racks of all sorts at the back of vehicles.

What they do NOT see everyday are bikes on the FRONT of many vehicles. Especially at night when the bikes are blocking part of the headlights.

I called BS on him and he said walk 30 feet up the road and look back at your headlights. He was absolutely right. The headlights sucked so bad I could barely see them.

I told him you can see bikes on RV's and such on the front. He said so long as the bikes are above the standard bumper height and do not block the headlights, then it is okay. He said they are usually pretty lenient and let people go but he almost couldn't see me coming up to the roadblock aways up the road so it was really not even a question of him being a rookie or an ass.

On the back, you cannot block the license plate, tail lights and reverse lights.

On the front, you cannot block the license plate, headlights. bumper and windshield.

If you are blocking any of those things, then the police have every right to pull you over and make you change or remove the bike(s).

At least you called BS on him.

Yup! We can't block but we do (rear for me).
Of course we can dump our Deli for a Pick Up.

-Delooka

[Kinl]

Cheers for all the anecdotes, all pretty much makes sense. Particularly the "when it suits" rules that everyone breaks anyway, I don't think I've seen many rear bike racks where I can also clearly see the licence plate, but that's the way it is I supose.

I don't often see trailers with lights and plates over here either, seems like the same rules apply as in the UK but are rarely enforced and if they ever do become enforced this would be the solution...

http://www.maxxraxx.co.uk/images/tow_carry_lb_1.jpg

Kinl

[jessef]

Here's the rule of thumb.

Don't block your headlights/taillights and plates.

If you do, you're asking for a pullover by a police officer or roadblock.

It's really that simple.

I couldn't care less what 'everyone else' does and gets away with. If they all jumped off a bridge, I wouldn't follow. Same principle applies here.

Be smart when you're designing/mounting bikes up front and/or rear.

If not, you can end up in a situation like mine.

[Jensen]

I used to design vehicles for a living and if you ever have any questions about if anything is legal on your vehicle consult the CMVSS (Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards). The list of regulations is huge and it's a bit hard to find what you're looking for. But in regards to pointy things on bumpers it's all a big no.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/act ... ations.pdf

I haven't fished for info on this document for a long time but in the past mounting anything under a certain radius if it's a solid material (can't remember the magic radius either) was illegal. HOWEVER... as you've probably seen on every utility vehicle (Telus, BC Hydro, etc) there are road cone holders, wire looms, etc and nobody seems to care. To be honest, nobody actually checks 90% of this stuff, and the average cop only knows about 1% of what's legal on a vehicle. So if you're just driving around you probably don't have to worry about a ticket.

SECOND HOWEVER (and this is a big one!) if you do happen to one day drive down the road and impale a pedestrian on your front mount bike rack, you can be sure his/her lawyer will be quite thorough in looking through the CMVSS documentation and you'll find yourself in A LOT of trouble.

I'm at work right now so I don't have time to find the actual regulations on bumpers. The Canadian regulations actually just reference an American regulation (FMVSS http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/fmvss/index.html), however there is a difference in the impact standards (in the way they're tested, hence why there were issues in getting the Lancer Evo's up here at first with their FMIC). When I get home I'll do some digging and get all the info on bumpers.

[Kinl]

I wouldn't dig too deep, you'll find that most things we all do are technically illegal, and not just when it comes to the road.

Thanks for all the info though...

[hesser]

Deli's don't go fast enough to get rock chips do they?