# Lumber protruding from car boot?



## transatlantic (28 Jan 2016)

What are the car/road rules for driving with your boot open and something protuding out? (in this case wood planks)

I can't seem to find anything online about this and was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of any documented rules from a reliable source?

Ideally, I'd be using roof racks or something similar, but that won't work for me. So I'm left with getting as much as I can fit inside the car and potentially having some poke out the boot with it tied down.


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## Water-Mark (28 Jan 2016)

As far as I can tell the problems arise when you obscure lights or number plate.
If you can secure the load properly and you mark the rear of the planks you should be fine.
Bear in mind I'm not a police officer.


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## custard (28 Jan 2016)

Whenever I've tried this the exhaust fumes seem to get pulled into the car, to the extent that you seriously risk gassing yourself!


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## n0legs (28 Jan 2016)

Vehicle construction and use might come into play. 
Some goods and commercial vehicles can carry forward and rearward protruding loads but I wouldn't be sure about a car.


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## Rhossydd (28 Jan 2016)

Be really, really careful if you try this.
Make sure that any material protruding from the back can't possibly contact the back of an occupied seat. The consequences of even a small rear end accident* pushing planks into an occupied seat are horrible to imagine. As all the normal safety/crumble zones will be totally bypassed.

* More likely than usual as drivers may not see anything low sticking out. Similarly cars may pull out behind you not knowing there's an obstruction.

Just get it delivered. No risk to self or licence.


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## MIGNAL (28 Jan 2016)

"You must secure your load and it must not stick out dangerously", according to the highway code. I suspect that objects protruding from the rear of a boot would be considered dangerous, especially in a court of law. 
Of course that sort of thing is done often, frequently seen at the car parks of DIY chains. Doesn't make it a sensible option though.


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## ardenwoodcraft (28 Jan 2016)

As far as I'm aware, if your load protrudes from the rear of your vehicle by 1 metre or more it must be marked with a warning flag or triangular warning plate. Common sense would tell you that any load sticking out of the boot of your vehicle should be visibly marked and should not obscure your rear lights. If your rear lights will be obscured then a lighting board will be required like for bike racks etc.

In any event I would try to keep your journey as short as possible using the least busy route. Would it be economical to hire a van for a day?


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## blackrodd (28 Jan 2016)

The load must be secure and not likely to move around in transit, or Mr policeman can charge you with an insecure load, 
How do I know that? :shock: here's a link for projections permitted,-
A member used his wife's bra for a load marker when using his trailer a while ago, he may have finished with it! 
And the mention of exhaust gasses coming through you're hatchback could make you quite ill.
I have a Boxer van and roof rack, luckily.
Regards Rodders

http://www.sussex.police.uk/help-centre ... my-vehicle


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## transatlantic (28 Jan 2016)

Thank you for the replies.

I'm hoping I won't have to actually do this (will always try to get it delievered), but it's good to know the rules.


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## dickm (28 Jan 2016)

Not entirely relevant, but 20 or so years ago, I bought a fruit cage from a guy near Banbury. The bits of the cage was hung on and around my old Volvo estate (to my mind, securely) for the trip back to MK, but had to stop in briefly Banbury. Arrived back at car, to find Mr Plod parked alongside. "Oh sh**", thinks I. But it turned out that they were there because the lady in the next car along had managed to lock her baby and car keys in her vehicle, and called them to help.
I quietly got in the Volvo and drove away.................


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## Trigs (28 Jan 2016)

drive home as fast a possible i what i usually do


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## Graham Orm (28 Jan 2016)

Regardless of the legalities, what about the insurance? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get paid out should it cause an accident.


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## Bedrock (28 Jan 2016)

I think if you drop your front windows slightly, you won't suck the fumes in.


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## paulm (28 Jan 2016)

What's lumber ? :wink: :lol: 

As mentioned, make sure you have the front windows open as the exhaust fumes, carbon monoxide, will get sucked into the car otherwise and could get pretty serious !

Cheers, Paul


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## dickm (28 Jan 2016)

Possibly better to turn the heater fan to full speed. Opening front windows could just reduce air pressure inside and make things worse, whereas the heater fan *should *push clean air from the front through the car. The other trick in the days when there were front quarterlights was to swing them right out to act as air intakes.
But in theory, the cat should remove any MONoxide from the exhaust.


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## mindthatwhatouch (28 Jan 2016)

What a coincidence,
Held up briefly in traffic this morning cos some numpty in a pick up had deposited a chipboard flooring sheet on the road, whilst going round a roundabout!
Obviously it had slid out the tailgate upper door, so he picked it up, slid it back in on top of the other half a dozen sheets and drove away with the tailgate open and the sheets still not secure.

I think as long as its secure, bear in mind its all going to want to move forwards if you stop suddenly, slide side to side when you corner as well as the risk of losing it out the back, not obscuring vision or lights and not a ridiculous amount sticking out the back then plod are usually busy with other things.


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## hammer n nails (29 Jan 2016)

A man with a van would do this if you load and unload they can be very cheap if the job does not take long a chap moved some wood for me for £20 . 30 waney edge planks 3 metres long


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## Claymore (29 Jan 2016)

..........


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## Lons (29 Jan 2016)

What Graham said about the insurance is absolutely spot on. Have an accident whether your fault or not and you'll have major difficulty persuading your insurance company to pay up. They have every right, modern cars are not designed to have loads sticking out the back with the hatch open, potentially dangerous to the occupants and other road users / pedestrians, that's why manufacturers are forced to fit "pedestrian friendly" bumpers. Worse still they could void your insurance and if someone is seriously injured you could be prosecuted for driving an unsafe vehicle.
Fraudsters are already deliberately running into the back of cars, they're going to have a field day if you're unlucky enough that they spot your load hanging out the back - whiplash here we come. :roll: 

Just because many people do it and get away with it because the police are too busy fine gathering from other motorists doesn't mean it's ok to do it just to save a few quid

I have done it myself in the distant past btw but wouldn't dream of it now.  

Bob


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## Chrispy (29 Jan 2016)

Quite a few years ago now whilst driving along the A34 around Oxford I remember passing a brand new flush door still in its plastic wrapping at the edge of the carriage way, well 1/2 a mile further on was another and then another, then I caught up with an estate car with the back open two or three doors proped up at an angle and still driving along, the driver presumably unaware his load was sliding out one by one.


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## Lons (29 Jan 2016)

Chrispy":2vac08aw said:


> Quite a few years ago now whilst driving along the A34 around Oxford I remember passing a brand new flush door still in its plastic wrapping at the edge of the carriage way, well 1/2 a mile further on was another and then another, then I caught up with an estate car with the back open two or three doors proped up at an angle and still driving along, the driver presumably unaware his load was sliding out one by one.



Got to laugh but not funny really!

Donkeys years ago after a sales meeting and driving north on the M6 I followed one of my colleagues who had a roof rack on which he'd stuck a couple of empty pallets begged from the factory.
He hadn't tied them on properly, one came off and missed me but wedged under the front of the car following and caused a 3 car pile up and some bad injuries.

He didn't even know and kept driving but someone had clocked him and he later lost his licence and his job! - Lucky for him no one lost their life! :roll:


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## JSW (30 Jan 2016)

A Painter and Decorator friend of mine recounted the tale many years ago of being paused at traffic lights in Leeds City Centre (the lights exiting town by The Duncan for those interested) He was driving a Ford Escort van with a set of ladders roped to the roof rack, overhang of about 2-3 foot at the rear which were dutifully flagged to warn traffic. All of a sudden there's a bang and the van rocks, he gets out to investigate and notices the car behind is a good distance back, so he proceeds to the back of the van to discover a guy pole-axed on the ground, with a white stick laid at the side of him.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how cautious you are, fate will take over ...


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