Mudguards needed by law

Eric Lai

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Q: I'm bothered by the excessive wheel spray from vehicles with tires that extend beyond the fender or mud flap. Isn't this illegal?

James Knott, Mississauga

A: While subject to interpretation by the courts, Section 66(3) of the Highway Traffic Act requires that every motor vehicle and trailer be equipped with mudguards, fenders or any other device to effectively reduce wheel spray to the rear, unless adequate wheel spray protection is afforded by the body of the motor vehicle or trailer or a trailer drawn by the motor vehicle.

"Improper mudguards" are listed as a violation, suggesting that police could lay charges if they believe wheel spray protection to be inadequate.

Note that unfinished motor vehicles and trailers travelling to a works for completion are exempt from this regulation.

not always clear who

is at fault in accident

Several readers took exception that police did not lay charges against a left-turn driver involved in a collision with an oncoming through-lane bicyclist in an incident chronicled in a past column (online at wheels.ca/columns/yourview).

Due to limited space, the article focused on refuting the key issue raised by police, which was the investigating officer's contention that all bikes must be walked and not ridden through intersections.

As for the motorist, while the cyclist did have the right of way on a green light at the intersection, and as unpalatable a decision as it might be, the officer likely came to the right conclusion by not laying charges, albeit for an entirely different reason than he stated.

The incident occurred in the evening and, after considering the colour of the traffic light and the position and speeds of the car and bike involved, the next relevant issue to examine is ambient lighting (i.e. streetlights) and whether both vehicles had proper lighting activated for night time operation, as required by section 62 (1,17) of the Highway Traffic Act.

Simply put, if the cyclist wasn't clearly visible because he didn't have proper lighting equipment (white or amber headlight, red taillight or reflector, and reflective tape at least 250 mm long by 25 mm wide on both the front and rear forks) as required by law at night, then police and the courts would have a hard time faulting the motorist for not seeing him.

Email your non-mechanical questions

to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca.

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