Northern News Services

Yellowknife ( Jun 02/00) - After three years of driving around town in a white low rider truck, Ray Falloon claims he is being picked on by Yellowknife municipal officers.

Falloon and his girlfriend were driving his show truck on Tuesday when they were stopped by an officer.

"He didn't like my tail lights and he went as far to tell me that he didn't like the exhaust pipes," says Falloon.

The motorist claims the officer did not give him a ticket or warning, but simply wanted something to complain about.

"He didn't have anything firm, he threatened to take my truck and impound it.

"This (truck) has been up here for three years, why (complain) now?" Falloon wonders. "It's crap."

He says he has no plans to alter the truck's tail lights or exhaust since he has not committed any infractions as outlined in the Motor Vehicle Act.

"It says nothing about the exhaust except it's got to be behind the passenger, and that's what it is, it's right at the very end of the truck.

"I've never had any complaints with my tail lights either. They are minimal but I still have a (brake) light in the back window ... it's not like I'm driving around unsafe," he says.

"I've seen enough vehicles driving around town with the side tinted windows. Why me? Why not them," he asks.

Doug Gillard, manager of municipal enforcement for the City of Yellowknife, said Falloon is not being harassed but was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction.

"It's whether certain parts of his vehicle met Motor Vehicle Act equipment regulations, that's all it had to do with," Gillard says.

Although Falloon had not been warned about his tail lights or exhaust in the previous three years, Gillard says that's because the officers are busy with more important matters and sometimes don't bother with the more trivial infractions.

"Everything we do has priorities ... it's basically when the officer is in the situation. When he's able to deal with it, he'll deal with it.

"The fact that he's had the truck for three years doesn't mean that he hasn't been in violation of any act, it just means he hasn't been taken to task for it," said Gillard.

He said the officer who stopped Falloon was concerned his muffler was dragging on the ground and about to fall off.

"Once (the officer) realized that was the way the truck was designed, he never said anything. He was only concerned the muffler possibly wasn't hooked up right," Gillard said.

As for the truck's tail lights, Gillard said they were difficult to see.

"He's basically got them covered except for two very thin slits cut in them, so basically it makes it almost impossible to see his brake lights when he applies them ... it's a safety issue," he said.

Gillard claims routine stops like this one are conducted so motorists will address safety concerns before an accident occurs.