canoe and car law

[Corey]

recently, my girlfriend and i have been doing a lot of canoeing and to transport it we just tie a long rope around each end of the canoe and wind it through the car and i bungee the front end to the front bumper pretty tightly, and i use 2 bungees on the back end. it seems pretty secure to me but i was wondering what the PA law about this is, and if any special permits are needed. the canoe is pretty long and is about as long as her ford taurus from back bumper to front bumper. Thank you!

[Corey]

also, what citations and fines could be associated with having it tied incorrectly or unsafe?

[Corey]

sorry but i think this was missed.

thanks in advance.

[Corey]

sorry i know youre not supposed to bump, but i see a new officer is posting. i called the state police and couldnt get an answer from the operator and i didnt get a call back either. thanks again

[scout]

Originally Posted by Corey

recently, my girlfriend and i have been doing a lot of canoeing and to transport it we just tie a long rope around each end of the canoe and wind it through the car and i bungee the front end to the front bumper pretty tightly, and i use 2 bungees on the back end. it seems pretty secure to me but i was wondering what the PA law about this is, and if any special permits are needed. the canoe is pretty long and is about as long as her ford taurus from back bumper to front bumper. Thank you!

Hey bud,

As far as I know there is no law persay. I mean you can go down the road and see a humungous king sized mattress on a geo metro go down the road. The way I see it is if you have it tied down securely and in a safe manner you should be ok. Also if it were to stick out past the bumpers to attatch a marker such as an orange or red rag, warning other vehicles that is exceeds past the length of your car. If you ever do get stopped it would probably be to see the integrity of the tie down. I'm sure if the officer wasn't in a good mood he could come up with something, but you should be ok

I strongly suggest investing into a rack system for your car, esp. since you said you were canoeing a lot. That way you have no worries. I don't really want to post personal opinions in "ask the law" but I deem this pretty appropriate.