Question: Would fill me in on the rules of the road regarding jacked up or raised pickup trucks? I'm often blinded by headlights from those trucks and I would not want to get in a head on with one of them as their bumper is about head high for me.
Also, are there regulations concerning bumper height? I'm thinking there are and if so it doesn't seem to me to be enforced.
Rules for Jacked Up Pickup Trucks
Yes, there are rules for jacked up or raised (and lowered) vehicles.
They start with our Federal Government's Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations. These rules specify how manufacturers are supposed to build their vehicles.
The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) is a group "that coordinates matters dealing with the administration, regulation and control of motor vehicle transportation and highway safety. Membership includes representation from provincial and territorial governments as well as the federal government of Canada."
They have published a Best Practices Guide for Regulating Excessively Raised Vehicles.
The B.C. Government is part of the CCTMA and is responsible for the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations which the police use to enforce these standards.
Requirement for Inspection
The Motor Vehicle Act Regulations require vehicles that have had their suspension height changed by more than 10 cm. (up or down) to be taken to a Designated Inspection Facility. The facility must issue a pass for a jacked up pickup before it can be legally driven on our roads.
Application
25.20 This Part applies to a vehicle that was
(b) altered by changes to its suspension height by more than 10 cm from the original basic specification of the vehicle manufacturer,
Limitation on operation
25.21 A person must not drive, operate or park a vehicle on a highway until it has been presented to a designated inspection facility and an approved certificate of mechanical condition in a form set by the director has been issued in respect of the vehicle by an authorized person.
The Superintendent's Standards
In order to pass inspection, the vehicle must pass criteria set out in the Vehicle Inspection Manual. This would include things like headlamp height, bumper height, steering and other components commonly modified during the raising/lowering of the vehicle.
The manual is not published on line but you may be able to find a copy to read at your local library.
Failure to Present for Inspection
Not all modified vehicles are presented for inspection by their owners as required by law. It is then up to police to enforce the inspection. Sometimes this can be quite interesting as the owner knows that the vehicle will not pass inspection and resists the inspection order.
Occasionally it comes down to seizing the vehicle licence and number plates and calling a tow truck. ICBC will not re-issue plates until the vehicle passes inspection.
Maximum Bumper Height
FYI, the inspection manual calls for rejection on pickup trucks under 4,500 kg GVW if lowest part of the truck bumper is higher than 750 mm (29.5 in.) from the ground as measured to OEM bumper location.
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... is that up until 1984 or thereabouts, everybody in BC had to put their vehicle through a mandatory Government Inspection every year (twice as often for commercial vehicles). If your vehicle didn't pass, you couldn't insure it.
Cost was stupendous, like $25 or something (that was irony, there). It ensured that vehicles were mechanically sound, despite how little maintenance they might receive from their owners, and it kept qualified mechanics employed in a provincially run system that paid for itself.
Although vehicles have improved in every aspect since then, so far as mechanical reliability is concerned, the number of them that you see on the road with headlights out, other faulty lighting, misalignment causing premature tire wear, or wiped out wipers seems to be greater than ever.
But hey, thanks to some repurposing of the old inspection facilities, at least we don't have to put up with exhaust pollution here in the lower mainland - now we have to go the Gulf Islands or the Interior to remember the smell of unburnt hydrocarbons ...
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Enforcement very seldom! In Victoria I would say about 25% of pickup trucks are jacked up. Generally they are driven by contractors during the week and go off roading on weekends. I doubt that many of these very expensive trucks ever see dirt! Many of these jacked up trucks have untethered dogs in the bed. Tethering is only safe when the tether is short enough to keep the dog from falling out and hanging itself!
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