Whether you're headed to the cottage for the weekend or you've just made a few large purchases at a local big box store, it's possible that you won't be able to fit everything in your trunk and still be able to close it. It's acceptable to drive with your trunk open and your items partway out of it, but you need to ensure that you do so safely. If a police officer sees you and notices that you haven't properly and safely secured your load, you could get a ticket for this infraction — and end up needing to hire a traffic attorney to fight the ticket for you. Rather than hope that you don't come across any police officers, it's better to ensure that you properly deal with any oversized load you're carrying. Here's how.

Lower The Back Seat

Unless you have passengers using the back seat of your vehicle, putting the back seat down will often allow you to push oversized objects farther into your vehicle. Lots of motorists make this mistake, and end up taking a precarious drive because of it. When you lower the back seat, you'll open up your vehicle's trunk space and in many cases, this can help.

Secure The Load

Bungee cords will be your best friend when you're dealing with an oversized load. You should get everything in position, and then begin to secure the load with bungee cords. The trunk of your vehicle has a number of heavy plastic loops and other apparatuses from which you can run bungee cords. Generally, a couple of cords running horizontally across the load and secured on each side of your trunk will help to secure it. You should also pull the trunk lid down so that it's resting on the load — using a blanket if you're worried about damaging it — and then use bungee cords to hold the trunk lid in place. Tie a bright marker, such as a colored T-shirt, to anything hanging out of the back of your vehicle to increase its visibility.

Make Frequent Stops

Vibrations can cause your load to move, even if you've secured in well. It's a good practice to pull off the road at some point and assess what you're carrying. You want to see that everything is not only still there, but that it hasn't moved much. Check the integrity of each of the bungee cords and ensure that they're all doing their job. One or more stops as you travel from one destination to another can help you to stay on top of the situation so that a police officer doesn't have a reason to pull you over and write you a ticket.

Contact a firm, like Wood & Rabil  LLP, for more help.