As far as i know, in Alberta, if you want to take your rig off road you are required to have mud flaps. I remember reading in the paper an article about a local off road area. They were talking about how many tickets were handed out over the long weekend and they mentioned a number of them were for no mud flaps. So lets see what you guys have installed. I would like to figure out a removable system.

 

I will never put flaps on my rig that law sucks

 

Yeah i'm sure the law is to keep the rooster tails of mud down once you get back on the road. I should look into it a bit more. I just don't want to pay any fines.

 

The law actually states ...

64 The body of a motor vehicle or trailer or a fender, mudguard or similar structure must cover the width of the tire and extend to the mid‑point of the axle when viewed from behind the vehicle.

http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?pag...cln=0779719557

...which I'm afraid really has nothing to do with strictly off road use, they are required at all times on the road

 

So it sounds like the cops were just being pricks out at Mclean Creek after the Canada day weekend. Maybe I wont worry about it.

 

They weren't "being pricks" they were simply enforcing the law. McLean Creek on may long has historically been mobbed by swarms of absolute idiots, drinking and using every drug known to man while driving hack-job "offroad" vehicles that are unsafe even when operated responsibly. They have torn up the accessible areas of McLean, driven through streams and bogs that will take decades to recover, left trash everywhere, and have a habit of getting vehicles stuck and then abandoning them (or burning them).

Tickets for cracked windshields, no mud flaps, and otherwise unsafe vehicles were issued on public roads. People that were actually off of the road didn't get ticketed...until they get back on the road with a vehicle that didn't meet the requirements of the law.

The responsible off-road community in Alberta is frustrated to no end with these people. They are the reason that Indian Graves is now closed to us, and why Waiparous now has only 5% of the Jeep-passable trails open to Jeeps.

I for one am glad to see HEAVY law enforcement presence at McLean creek on May Long. I'd be fine with seeing rigs impounded and people in the back of cruisers if their conduct merited that. I'm tired of cleaning up trash, and I'm tired of spending entire days on recovering abandoned vehicles...and I haven't even be doing this for all that long.

The "mud flap" law has nothing to do with taking your vehicle offroad...it's the same standard for every vehicle out there. It doesn't matter whether you're driving a Prius or a Peterbilt...the law applies to you. Same thing with the fender coverage law in Alberta. Vehicles need to have fenders that cover all of their tire width.

You can go ahead and ignore it if you like, but the law is the same for everyone. If you get a ticket for not having enough fender coverage or not having mud flaps, then you're SOL.

A lifted vehicle on large offroad tires is much more likely to draw a cop's attention with respect to mud flaps or fenders...but the law applies to everyone. If you've ever followed behind a vehicle with poor fender coverage during a rainstorm, you'll understand why the law exists.

 

I've lived in Alberta for 5 years now, and have NEVER seen a Jeep with mud flaps, let alone the rig workers trucks that are lifted 12" and run 40's. I'm not worried about it, and I'll take a fine before putting them on.

 

So i take back calling them pricks. I've done some research on Mclean Creek while searching for somewhere to go off road. There are a lot of youtube video's showing the disrespect of the land. I'm all for fines. The fines should be handed out on site for specific infractions, not down the road for anything the cops can nail you for. They need to be uniform in the way they enforce laws. A mudflap law is the same today as it is on May long. So they aren't pricks but... they're something.

 

I got a $184 dollar ticket for having two extra fog lights on while driving a quarter mile on a highway at 2 A.M. to the trail head, I have lost much respect for patrol, especially when I know what goes on at night. Shoot Ive probably stopped more actual crime than some officers around here

 

FLAPjacks.