In Canada, a 25-year-old Brampton driver was fined $160 by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for relying on passengers to hold down a mattress by hand
with bedsheets.
Caledon OPP issued the fine for an insecure load after pulling the driver over.
OPP tweeted: “If the sheet fits… you still might not want to use it…Please use your head when transporting your bed.”
The Brampton driver’s action was so disappointing that OPP used the hashtags “facepalm” and “epic fail” in its tweet.
Constable Ian Michel told media that the car was a small four-door black sedan and the driver had recruited his friends to help him transport his bed.
“The sheet was his fitted sheet from the one mattress. The front passenger was holding one end and the rear left passenger was holding the other end.”
Constable Michel added that one of the passengers even had put a ball into the sheet so they could hold above it, to make it easier to hang on.
“Getting some extra grip is a little engineering win in this situation but the overall final design still fails miserably.”
OPP told the driver to make proper arrangements to have the mattresses moved.
Later, a friend of the driver arrived with a van to help them transport the mattresses.
The police often remind motorists that if they are planning on moving large objects it is important to do it the right way:
- Use a van or truck with an enclosed cargo area to carry large load;
- Use proper strapping that have load rating exceeding what you are transporting; and
- Use of a net or tarp can assist in securing the load in an open trailer or truck bed.
The Brampton driver was given just a fine and no demerit points.
In Australia, it is not illegal to move your mattress on top of a car, however, in doing so a person must secure it properly as per the regulations of Load Restraint Guide for Light Vehicles that is designed to help people safely restrain loads on their light vehicle.
