{"id":77951,"date":"2014-08-13T17:01:10","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T07:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=77951"},"modified":"2020-08-26T20:01:14","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T10:01:14","slug":"shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/08\/13\/shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire\/","title":{"rendered":"Shackle Hoax Spreads Like Wildfire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The photo which has been shared widely on social media in recent days (Photo: Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 13, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Concerned members of the public have been contacting police following the circulation of a “warning” on social media about allegedly illegal shackles commonly used on trailers.<\/p>\n

However there’s no need to rush out to buy new equipment. It’s all a hoax.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A photograph of a poster, apparently taped to a pole, has been shared widely in South Burnett Facebook groups.<\/p>\n

The photo claims “cops in Gympie have been pulling over everyone towing a boat or box trailer and issuing a $235 on-the-spot fine”.<\/p>\n

Officer-in-charge of the Gympie Road Policing Unit, Sgt Peter Webster, said today Gympie police have not issued any tickets in relation to shackles.<\/p>\n

He had also spoken to other police units and they have confirmed the same.<\/p>\n

“The police blitz is a myth. And if there is anyone who is claiming to have got a ticket, we would love to speak to them,” he said.<\/p>\n

Sgt Webster said the hoax had spread like wildfire.<\/p>\n

“I have had phone calls from all over Australia,” he said.<\/p>\n

He has also been contacted by towbar manufacturers.<\/p>\n

The latest “Safe Towing Guide” issued by the Department of Transport and Main Roads shows “recommended” shackles but there is no legal requirement for the shackle to have a load rating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“For normal use, the normal size shackle the same size as the chain is ample,” Sgt Webster said.<\/p>\n

However, he did advise people to avoid stainless steel shackles.<\/p>\n

“Boaties, in particular, like them because they are not prone to rust,” he said.<\/p>\n

“However they are more prone to sheer. The stainless steel is more brittle.”<\/p>\n

Sgt Webster said he wished he knew who had started the hoax as people had been coming into the police station requesting police inspect their trailers.<\/p>\n

“Maybe someone had a lot of shackles that they wanted to sell,” he joked.<\/p>\n

Kingaroy police confirmed today they had also had people coming to the front counter concerned about the warning.<\/p>\n

They had all been referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads website.<\/p>\n

Information about towing requirements – including towbars, couplings and safety chain connections – is available on the TMR website<\/a><\/strong> (26kb PDF)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concerned members of the public have been contacting police following the circulation of a “warning” on social media about allegedly illegal shackles commonly used on trailers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":77952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,24],"tags":[1132],"yoast_head":"\nShackle Hoax Spreads Like Wildfire - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/08\/13\/shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shackle Hoax Spreads Like Wildfire - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Concerned members of the public have been contacting police following the circulation of a "warning" on social media about allegedly illegal shackles commonly used on trailers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/08\/13\/shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-13T07:01:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-26T10:01:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/shackle.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/08\/13\/shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/08\/13\/shackle-hoax-spreads-like-wildfire\/\",\"name\":\"Shackle Hoax Spreads Like Wildfire - 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