This weekends boating started out by me being pulled over by a small town cop in Tower Lakes Illinois. The officer pulled me over and stated that he was going to write me 2 tickets for "safety inspection" violations. He informed me that my trailer with a TC trailer plate requires this safety inspection. I informed him that I have never heard of this. He then informed me that since I was towing the trailer with my Tahoe, it too required a safety inspection.

After some talking with the officer, and not really knowing the statue's he still wrote me a $25.00 city ordinance fine for violation of failure to display the proper safety sticker for my trailer. He did not write me up for the truck.

I do drive through this town every weekend to go boating so I figured that I would call the Secretary of State and find out what I need to do to comply.....would you believe it.....no one new what I was talking about. Not the Secretary of State, not the Police, not the inspection facilities that inspect trucks.....no one.

Now I am am not worried about the $25.00 and sould probably pay the fine...however, I do drive through this town every weekend and I do not wish to get pulled over every time. My better half states to pay the fine and leave it at that. Everyone I talk to states that it sounds like a revenue generator for the town.....but it is still wrong. If I persue, I will probably have a bullseye on the side of my boat while driving through the town!!

Tomarrow I think I will call the chief of police and ask him how I am to fufill my obligation to comply when the State has no idea of how I am to comply??? Then I think I will ask him if I need a special drivers license to drive through their town as well!!(jk)

Has anyone else had this happen???? Or did I just cross paths with a cop that doesn't like powerboaters???

If it were me, I'd pay. You drive thru there enough and yes there will be the bullseye.
Think of it as going to the Christmas Police Ball in Dec.

Could be a county regulation.

it is a state law.... got pulled over last year.... dmv is suppose to tell you when you buy the plates but..... .... c plates and larger in illinios require a test lane... the so does the truck by default... be lucky cuz in illinios... surge brakes are not legal either...

Don

What's the reason behind that? Does that only pertain to Ill. tagged trailers, or any trailer traveling thru Ill?

The state police officer that pulled me over told me... The definition of a brake in illinois says it must be able to stop and hold the trailer... a surge brake will stop it but will not hold it in place....

Don

A surge brake will hold the trailer in place if you take a ratchet strap, and cinch your ball receiver in toward your tongue/winch stand. I have done this many time to secure the trailer on a hill, even when loaded, (with wheel chocks).

My surge braked trailers have a brake away cable that will lock and hold line pressure if the trailer takes a different path than the tow vehicle.

so do mine... but electric brakes have a lever you can push to hold them on.. surge do not..... i think its a stupid law... just relaying what he told me.

Don

Baja272,

What was the violation code on the ticket ? Maybe we can look it up that way.

Now that I see this thread and think about it, it reminds me that I have some sort of sticker on my trailer, but I'm not sure what it is for . . . maybe the previous owner had it safety inspected at one time . . . (?)

Tower Lakes IS a small-ass town . . .