Transporting a flagpole in Canada: rules for long loads

A one-piece flagpole of 25 or 30 feet – 7.6 or 9 metres – is longer than most pickup trucks and trailers, so taking one home or to a site means carrying a load that overhangs the vehicle. Road rules in Canada are provincial, and each province sets how far a load may extend and how it is marked. This guide describes the rules in Ontario and Québec as examples; the other provinces and territories have their own.

Ontario: 1.5 metres and a red flag

Under section 111 of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, a vehicle carrying a load that overhangs the rear by 1.5 metres or more displays at the extreme rear end of the load:

• a red light from half an hour before sunset to half an hour after sunrise, and at any other time when there is insufficient light or unfavourable weather
• a red flag or a red marker at all other times

Section 111 also requires every load to be loaded, bound and secured so that it cannot fall or shift. Section 109 limits a load’s width to 2.6 metres and the height of a vehicle with its load to 4.15 metres, and sets limits on vehicle length. Loads beyond these limits need a special permit.

Québec: one metre and a red flag or reflective panel

In Québec, the reference document for drivers of the École nationale de police du Québec explains that under article 474 of the Highway Safety Code (Code de la sécurité routière), a load that extends more than one metre beyond the rear of the vehicle or trailer carries by day a red flag or a reflective panel at its end, and at night a red light. It adds that a load extending more than 30 centimetres beyond the side of the vehicle carries square red or orange flags at least 40 centimetres on a side, under the regulation on special traffic permits.

Comparing the two

Securing the pole

A flagpole is long, light and easily scratched. Common practice is to support it at several points along its length, so that it does not bend or bounce, to pad the points of contact to protect the finish, and to tie it down so that it cannot slide forward when braking. The top, with its finial and truck, is the most fragile part. Flag Outlet’s instructions describe a pole delivered wrapped in cardboard and paper and unpacked on sawhorses.

Sectional and telescoping poles

Shorter parts avoid most of these questions. Flag Outlet, a flagpole maker in Coquitlam, B.C., sells 18- and 22-foot sectional poles made in three parts and a 20-foot telescoping pole designed for events, trade shows and homes, which fit in or on an ordinary vehicle. More in the guide to types of flagpoles.

Unloading near power lines

A long pole carried upright, or swung off a truck, can reach overhead lines. The Electrical Safety Authority in Ontario and Hydro-Québec both describe keeping people, tools and equipment at least three metres from overhead power lines; the ESA describes carrying ladders sideways rather than upright for this reason. More in the guide to flagpole safety. How the pole is raised once on site is described in the guide to installing a flagpole.