The Boundary got its first big dump of snow between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, icing winter sports into the minds of many. But, the Twitter account for BC RCMP Traffic reported Tuesday that at least one driver may be pushing their luck in a bid to hit the snow this year.
The RCMP account tweeted a picture Tuesday of what appeared to be a white Crown Victoria – the same model vehicle as many older police cruisers – carrying a snowmobile on its roof.
“@BCRCMPTraffic has some questions for the driver of this car,” the tweet said, noting that the vehicle had been seen in the Kamloops and Grand Forks areas. KamloopsNow reported on Dec. 23 that a similar vehicle donning a snowmobile was apparently spotted in the Thompson region.
@BCRCMPTraffic has some questions for the driver of this car, seen in the Kamloops & Grand Forks areas. First, how’d you get it on the roof? Seriously, this is potentially dangerous if the roof can’t support the weight & load securement is questionable. Call if you can identify! pic.twitter.com/JHZnvZxaL6
— BC RCMP Traffic (@BCRCMPTraffic) January 7, 2020
“First, how’d you get it on the roof?” the RCMP tweet asks. “Seriously, this is potentially dangerous if the roof can’t support the weight & load securement is questionable.”
Asked if the set-up was illegal, the RCMP account replied: “we can’t be sure until we have had a close look at it, and even then, it’s not so much about the tickets as it is having the conversation about transporting via more conventional/SAFE methods.
“BCRCMPTraffic doesn’t endorse this mode of load transport!” the account said.
The account added that if anyone has pictures of the vehicle, “We [RCMP] sure wouldn’t mind if they could get us the licence plate – just want to have a conversation with the driver/owner and get a look at the set-up.”
“I have never seen anything like that in my several decades on the planet,” Cpl. Mike Halskov of the RCMP’s E Division Traffic Services said.
The officer questioned whether the roof rack was secured well enough to the vehicle and whether or not the roof of the sedan can handle the weight of the machine — which can weigh as much as 500 pounds.
“It has to be very secure on there,” Halskov said, especially as the vehicle is travelling at highway speeds.
“I have my suspicions,” he said. “I would therefore suggest people do not copy this method of transporting their Ski-Doo.”
Instead, he suggested people follow more conventional methods of towing their winter vehicles — in the bed of a truck or on a trailer.
Not only is this setup hazardous to the motorist driving the sedan, believed to be from Alberta based on dash cam footage submitted to the police, but it is dangerous to other drivers, the officer explained.
“If I were following that, I would be extremely cautious and worried that under right conditions that the whole contraption could let loose from the top of the car and end up in front of me,” he said.
BC RCMP reported on Jan. 8 that colleagues in Alberta had made contact with the driver and would be inspecting the setup.
–With files from Caitlin Clow
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