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New stupid law in Illinois.......

22K views 76 replies 51 participants last post by  66138 
#1 ·
It's a law now in Illinois that you can't leave your trailer hitch and ball in the receiver of your vehicle it it sticks out over 4-5 inches. Not sure what the fine is.
Nothing more than another cash cow for big brother!!!
 
#4 ·
Hmmm...

I just moved from Illinois to Iowa, so I guess it doesn't affect me.
But I leave a hitch ball on, so when someone bumps me from behind
they learn a quick and expensive lesson.

And it isn't even the hitch ball I use with my trailer. I bought a different
one specifically to use as a bumper protector.

I had a neighbor who liked to squeeze into tight spots, and would sometimes
bump into my car. I started parking the truck out front, and one day noticed
a dent in her license plate and matching paint on my hitch ball.

Last year, a guy bumped me hard enough at an intersection that the
hitch ball squeezed between his bumper/grille/headlight assembly.

The force of the impace stopped him, but pushed me forward.

My truck moving forward pulled the hitch ball back out, taking half of
his grille, and his headlight, and turn signal light with it.

Had the hitch ball not been there, he would have dented my bumper.
Since the hitch ball was there, I only suffered a slight scratch on the hitch
ball. And since I don't use that one for towing anyway, no harm done.

If Iowa changed the law to match Illinois, I would seriously remove my
rear bumper, and replace it with some 6" channel iron.

Some ass rear ended me pretty good in April. It was a glancing blow,
and folded my bumper around the receiver/frame. He tore his car up
pretty good, but not enough compared to the damage to my truck.

As far as I'm concerned, if you hit me, 100% of the damage should be
done to your vehicle if I have anything to say about it. Crumple zones
shouldn't be on the rear of MY vehicle.

Illinois and their stupid laws. Doesn't the government realize there are
more farmers than politicians?

Dave
 
#5 ·
A kid I know got a ticket because the ball (not a reciever, a bumper-hitch) blocked the view of the bottom edge of his license plate :clonk:
 
#8 ·
dwebb210 said:
I'd rather be an Idiot Out Walking Around.
Wow! Illinois must be REALLY bad if you'd rather be from IOWA :eek: :D
 
#10 ·
I havnt heard of this new law yet? Guess i need to look at the laws for it. I always leave mine on for ths same reason. It sure has saved some bumpers over the years. I bet its because it covers the plate more than anything else in some trucks.

Andy
 
G
#11 ·
"Innovative economy" again at it's finest!!

All I'm gonna say is keep track of this crap AND vote the SOB's out of office and get people in office that will change these crappy laws!!!

Now, I'm ALL for this IF the Cops can't see a plate, but just b/c it stick's out, NO!!

Same way with a tailgate!! A dropped tailgate probably will allow a couple of mpg better mileage so what the hey!!

AND I look WHERE I AM DRIVING and so don't need the GOV. protecting me at the TAX cost it would be b/c I AM responsible!! (IE., I am NOT A victim!!!!)...

Oh, btw, how's Illinois's gun laws coming along?? Are they confiscating all of them yet??

pdq67

Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
 
#72 ·
"Innovative economy" again at it's finest!!

All I'm gonna say is keep track of this crap AND vote the SOB's out of office and get people in office that will change these crappy laws!!!

Now, I'm ALL for this IF the Cops can't see a plate, but just b/c it stick's out, NO!!

Same way with a tailgate!! A dropped tailgate probably will allow a couple of mpg better mileage so what the hey!!

AND I look WHERE I AM DRIVING and so don't need the GOV. protecting me at the TAX cost it would be b/c I AM responsible!! (IE., I am NOT A victim!!!!)...

Oh, btw, how's Illinois's gun laws coming along?? Are they confiscating all of them yet??

pdq67
While I understand and somewhat agree about the trailer hitch ball being protection, think about it from the other point of view: If you accidentally bump into someone, a protruding ball and hitch can cause more overall damage than if it was "bumper to bumper". Sure, it might be limited to one car, but overall its probably going to cost more to the insurance companies... I'd bet it was the insurance companies that asked for this law...

HONESTLY, I was actually involved in an accident once (years ago) where the vehicle with the hitch backed into another vehicle, causing alot of damage, alot more than bumper-to-bumper tap would have caused... Kind of like those "government mandated" 5-mph bumpers they forced on us in the '70s... But with a ball protruding and mounted rigidly to the frame, there is no "give."



The police can already ticket for almost anything they want to make up, so adding another law as a part of an "innovative economy" doesn't really make sense. Usually these fines are no where near enough to cover the costs, much less generate additional revenue.

I don't see it as a revenue generator, but I do see it as another tool the police can use as an excuse to pull someone over...



While I agree that many people are morons, and many follow too closely, etc... I too, "look where I am driving", but I have had MANY A-holes, often in in big trucks with ball & hitches, pull right in front of me and quickly slow down (basically a right-turn from the left lane). No matter how safe or responsible I am, someday one of these idiots is going to be the cause of an accident, even though "technically" they were in front... Pretty much everyday I see several idiots driving their trucks like they were small sports cars...

And thats likely why ANY law gets suggested... Its not for the few that are responsible, its for the majority that are generally irresponsible...



As for the tailgate, I recall several different studies over the years dismissing the idea that "down" tailgates improve mileage...

One well known is the Mythbusters:
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/m...atabase/driving-tailgate-fuel-consumption.htm

But from an engineering standpoint, the shape of a pickup cab/bed does create a poor aerodynamic area... Think of a tear drop, this is a great shape. Even the old cars like the 1969 Dodge Charger 500 and Daytona, the engineers realized the "recessed" rear windows (like the 66/67 Chevelles too) caused alot of drag, enough to warrant designing a flush-mounted rear window... Once the bed (with the gate up ) fills with air, the rest of the flowing air will stay above this layer, and therefore above the tailgate...

Ever drive with leaves in the bed, and notice how differently those leaves act with the tailgate up versus down?
 
#12 ·
You guys got it all wrong...

Some politician or politicians wife rear-ended someone with a hitch. Lot's of damage to the rear-ender and none to the vehicle with the hitch....Now the politician has a H'd-on because it wasn't fair to have that thing sticking out......

Hence..you have the law likely because of a "personal issue" someone had.

Never mind the "laws" that lets rapists and molesters and violent felons out with minimal time.
 
#14 ·
proform said:
Well, I for one think there should be some sort of law prohibiting them from sticking out......I mean, have you ever hit one of them with your shin..Yeeeeoooowwww!!!!!!:eek:
You're probably closer to the truth than you realize! Some police officer or meter maid probably banged a shin while writing parking tickets!
 
#15 ·
You know how many stories I've read/heard that the only thing that saved someone with a truck or SUV from being rear-ended was that reciever hitch. I guess that way BOTH people in the accident get the vehicles messed up rather than one... As Napoleon Dynamite would say... "Idiot!"
 
#17 ·
That's a beautiful law.
My shin hurts just thinkin about it.
I know I've smacked at least 3 of them over the years. But I gettin smaata in my old age !

I play a joke in the shop when we have a truck on the rack with one of those hitches sticking out. If I have an audience, I'll walk by it and smack it real hard with my hand and yell "OH MY GOD" and put my hands up to my head, like I just ran into it with my forehead.
I need to work on the ketchup part. he he he
I need to have ketchup dripping off my head right after the "hit". he he he
It sounds aweful enough, that's for sure.


Nate
 
#18 ·
I always carry my hitch inside my Tahoe when I dont need it. I forgot that it can save you when getting hit in the back. I just may have to put it on and leave it. I just hope I notice that its there when Im putting something back there or unloading it.
 
#19 ·
Chris R said:
I always carry my hitch inside my Tahoe when I dont need it. I forgot that it can save you when getting hit in the back. I just may have to put it on and leave it. I just hope I notice that its there when Im putting something back there or unloading it.
I do the same. I took the dang thing out after ruining my last 2 pairs of light colored pants WHILE banging my shin into it. I should have got a cover for icky greaseball. :)

K
 
#20 ·
The thing is if you leave the receiver with nothing in it for a while it gets so rusty inside it makes it very hard to get the hitch bar in and out. (at least here in the SALT belt anyway)

You need something rattling around in there but I guess it doesn't necessarily need to be anything that protrudes.

I forced a solid hitch bar into the receiver on my 70 Chevy pickup and never could get it back out, even hooking a chain to it and wrapping it around a tree wouldn't pull it out.
 
#21 ·
Chris R said:
I always carry my hitch inside my Tahoe when I dont need it. I forgot that it can save you when getting hit in the back. I just may have to put it on and leave it. I just hope I notice that its there when Im putting something back there or unloading it.
Leave it in the reciever, unless you have some type of compartment you can put it in. In an accident, you do NOT want that 20 pound chunk of iron laying loose inside your vehicle.

A guy I know had one in the back of his pickup, and hit a drunk driver head-on. The hitch was launched through his back window, and busted the windsheild. He had minor injuries from when it landed in the cab, but he'd be dead if it hit him in the head.
 
G
#23 ·
You know something, I bet it is a personal thing that offended somebody so they had the power AND connections to fix it THEIR WAY!!

Kinda just like that EX-GOV. in one of the Dakota's that changed the LAW b/c He got something like a handfull of speeding tickets back in the early '90's AND he didn't want to SLOW DOWN or lose his license!! He even bragged about it!!!

Justice WAS served after he ran over the poor stiff on the motorcycle tooling down the road minding his own business AND killed him while SPEEDING!!

But whatever you can't stop things once the fix is in, imho...

AND again, is Illinois confiscating guns yet??

pdq67

Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote
 
#24 ·
we've had that same law here in MN for a few years- i even know a couple of smartmouth ******* hicks that actually got tickets because they didn't take the receiver out when it wasn't in use.
but there are still millions of trucks roaming around with the hitch sticking way out, so i don't think it has deterred too many people. around here, it's used more as one of those things that a cop uses as an excuse to give someone a ticket that they really want to give a ticket to- like the timei got a ticket for my rear license plate light not working because the cop couldn't find anything else to nail me for. i smacked the trunklid right in front of him and the light popped on, and he tore the ticket up and told me in a not-so-friendly voice to have a nice day. that was fun.

speaking of stupid laws- i read in the paper yesterday that there are no more mentally retarded people in MN. that's great news- they finally enacted a law that cured them all of that malady.
now, we have a bunch of "developmentally disabled" people running around. most of them are in St Paul at the capitol building- safely out of harm's way- as far as i can tell.
oh, and it's illegal to beat a family member or hide from cops now.
 
#62 ·
we've had that same law here in MN for a few years- i even know a couple of smartmouth ******* hicks that actually got tickets because they didn't take the receiver out when it wasn't in use.
but there are still millions of trucks roaming around with the hitch sticking way out, so i don't think it has deterred too many people.

Cite a law or statute. I've read a ton of internet B.S. on this (and that's partly how I found this forum) and haven't been able to find any real laws that have been passed regarding removal of your hitch. Especially in Minnesota.

:mad:
 
#25 ·
Dean said:
The thing is if you leave the receiver with nothing in it for a while it gets so rusty inside it makes it very hard to get the hitch bar in and out.

I use a stainless class 2 hitch ball with a locking pin to keep it secure.

Because the class 4 hitch I actually have to use with my trailer is galvanized,
and would corrode into place just like you said.

The once-pretty stainless ball has a gouge on it where the pickup rearended
me, and a smear of metal from his bumper is rusting.
 
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