If you want to avoid getting a ticket during snow clearing operations in Montreal consider paying more for your next car.
The member of the Executive Committee responsible for snow clearing says snow plows often go around parked luxury cars and SUV's, rather than have them towed away, for fear of being sued by the owners.
Jean-François Parenteau tells the Journal de Montreal that high-end vehicles are often equipped with integrated four-wheel or all-wheel drive systems and hooking them up to a tow truck and hauling them away can often damage the vehicle.
Parenteau says the only way to remove them without causing damage is to use a specialized platform tow truck, but there are fewer of those available compared to a conventional tow truck.
As it turns out, luxury vehicle owners also end up paying less, when they are caught parked in a no-parking zone because the fine amounts to $62 plus an $87 towing charge, but their vehicles are not towed.