Is it Illegal to Tie Something to the Roof of your Car in US?

There are laws governed by nations, especially the United State of America, if you own a car and you want to know if it is illegal to tie something on the roof of your car, then this is the right information to put you out of the whole mess of been arrested by the police.

Although we are sure that the legal requirement is for the road of the country to be secure, no one could doubt this. But the main research here is to find out whether it is illegal or legal to tie things on the roof of a moving vehicle in the US.

Maybe it is legal if you know the right way to tie a roof bag on the roof of a car securely; I guess you don’t know about that. Even if it is not legal to tie things on the roof of a car in the US, I am sure you can still move the car with things tied on the roof in some places where it is unusual to see the police often.

So, this article will also discuss a lot in a secure way to tie a roof bag on the roof of your cars. Remember it has been known to you whether tying a roof bag on the car is illegal or not.

If it is illegal, you are sure the government is trying to preserve the life of the citizen by making transportation on the road a more secure place, so why don’t you learn how to tie a roof bag on a car securely even if you feel like breaking the law.

I am sure you know the consequences of breaking the law, but we all know you are putting other people who are driving on the same road at risk I should include the proper ways to safe-tie a roof bag on your car for safety reasons then.

Your fellow road will not all be on life assurance at a particular time, so learn to be your brother’s keeper by getting information on tying a roof bag securely on a car.

In 2010, it was confirmed by the government that a huge record of car accidents occur as a result of some object falling from one vehicle to another, it was recorded that about  51000 crashes, 10000 injuries, and 440 death.

To get the best information on how to tie goods safely on the roof of your car, I will love you to read this till the end.

Regardless of who you are, where you stay, you will move a large item that the boot of your car cannot contain. Some say it is legal to tie something to the roof of one’s car, while some say it is illegal.

The truth to be told, you still need to move items like mattresses, Xmas trees, and more of other large-sized items you wish to purchase in a store. Even if the store is not far from your place, you still have to move what you bought to its final destination.

Is it Illegal to Tie Something to the Roof of your Car in the US?

No, it is not illegal. However, there are laid-down instructions you must follow in other not to get arrested and penalized. This is the reason you have to know the secure way to tie a roof bag properly and safely on the roof of your car.

Not knowing the proper way to tie items on the roof of your car may result in the only reason you may get arrested. Recall that one of the major aims of the government is to ensure safety on life and property, so ensuring safety on the road is not an exemption.

The main reason people contemplate within themselves if tying of items on the roof of a car is acceptable or not is because, according to the 2010 statistics in the US, cars carrying tied items are one of the highest causes of accident participants. So, why will you contemplate when you know the right way to sort your items out?

Lest I forget, we all know the statement that says “ignorance of the law is not an excuse”, every state has its own rule, so it is better you know the law of the state you are traveling through.

Nevertheless, there are some common rules, in all 50 states in the United State of America, if anything falls from your car, you will be regarded as a lawbreaker. You are to be fined for this offense.

What is the US law saying about carrying of roof bag?

Is it Illegal to Tie Something to the Roof of your Car in US

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there are lay down a requirement for safety purpose, these requirements include:

Proper uses of tie-down

This enables the driver to tie down their items in a manner that will possibly afford the tied materials from loosening or fallen down from their various vehicles.

Cargo Placement and Restraint

This makes sure that the item placed on the car are not been placed by anyone in other to avoiding rolling from the position.

Minimum Number of Tiedowns

For safety purposes, there is a minimum number of tie-down you should use, and this depends on the weight of what you are tying to the roof of your car.

Tying a very heavy item with few ropes will definitely lead to an accident, so the higher the weight of the substance you are carrying the more the rope you should get to tiedown the item till you are sure it is not going to lose balance or fall off the cliff.

Minimum Working Load Limit for Cargo Securement Devices and Systems

The car agency has placed a minimum working load limit, this helps to reduce the number of items carried by a vehicle. If you carry beyond the load limit, then you break the law when the road officers nab you.

The penalty might go as far as paying a fine or even going to jail.

What are the ways to securely tie a roof bag on the roof of the Car?

If you just bought yourself a mattress from a store, of course, you are not going to leave it there. You need to find a way to transport it from the store to your place, while some stores do home delivery, some do not.

The real stress of transportation hit here if you don’t know what to do if you don’t have a car.

But if you have your own car, you may ask yourself some questions, like “how save can I tie this on the roof of my car”? Or “is it legal to tie something to the roof of my car”? Even if you have the right answers.

Do you mind if I teach you a secure way to tie your goods on the roof of your car provided the boot of the car cannot contain what you want to move?

Imagine you went on a holiday in your car, fortunately, you find a beautiful Xmas tree you love to buy along with you, then you have no choice but to tie it on the roof of your car.

Here are the practical safe guides on how to tie what you have gotten on the roof of your car.

Get yourself a thick long rope

This is the very first thing you should do, you will not want to drive careless by just placing what you have to on your car without a rope.

The rope will make the tree looks firm on the car without a first thought of maybe falling off the car roof. You can also your roof bag accessories if you’ve got long ropes to tie down your roof bag.

Tie properly

If I may ask, what is the best way to tie something on the car roof? I assure you, you may have the best rope ever in terms of its thickness and all sort of advantageous characteristics, but if this is not tied properly, then your trip may probably be hazardous.

So how do you tie the rope, vertically?

A lot of accident which happens with a car carrying something on its roof happens mostly as a result of tying the goods vertically alone.

It should be called to your notice that you don’t tie something on a car vertically alone if you really love to follow the safety rules. Here you need to also tie the material diagonally.

The idea of tying something on a car with both vertical and diagonal medium makes it safer. This is because the goods you tie on the car remain balance in whatever direction the car finds itself going.

The vertical and diagonal tie aligns your roof bag and keeps it balanced.

So take note of this!

Placement of the material

Placement of whatever you are carrying on a car roof matters a lot. If what you are carrying is not been placed well, this in no doubt will result in a car accident, and hereby affecting nearby vehicles.

It is more advisable to place the item at the center of the car roof. If one side has a heavier weight than the other side, this could be dangerous even if the driver drives carefully.

So, placing the item at the center of the car roof will help for balance.

Quantity and weight of the item

You don’t have to pack everything at once! If the weight of what you are carrying is unbearable, then this is a better chance to save lives by reducing the weight or quantity of what you are to carry.

You could get rid of it twice, by coming back to pick the other item you left behind if you feel the quantity of those items is unbearable.

Adjusting the way you are driving

You have to adjust the way you drive.

In what sense. I’ll explain it.

If you are the type who loves to drive at a high speed, then in the case where you have an item tied to your car, you will need to reduce the rate at which you race your car.

It is easier to control at a lower speed than when you drive at a very high speed.

There are several things you must check apart from the speed. You have to check the topography of where you are driving. It is very dangerous to drive where it is sloppy regarding the fact that you have something tied to the roof of your car.

Also, there is a need to check the population of where you are driving, so the high the population the more careful you should be. More life is at risk and you need to minimize or eliminate the risk totally.

Check the load regularly

This is very important if you want to prevent an accident. You may be driving through a sloppy area, and so, there is the need to check periodically what you have tied to the roof of your car.  If you do not check the item regularly while on the journey, then this is a risk you have taken.

You should check whatever you are carrying often before you get to your final destination. I’d advise that you check at every 5 miles till you get to your destination.

In addition to this, you have to be very sensitive. This will make you feel a necessity to check every time.

Leave a Comment