Illegal vehicles roam our streets

Mobility scooters, tiny cars, e-scooters zip around roads and sidewalks

These low-speed vehicles are part of a 10-year provincial pilot project. But illegal on our streets.

The idea for this story came the way so many do: Walking my dog, I watched people passing us by and wondered – what are they doing? Is that legal? Or safe?

In this case what I was seeing was all the folks who travel in our communities on mobility scooters, miniature plastic cars called low-speed vehicles, and electric scooters.

My puzzlement started when I saw some mobility scooters on the sidewalk, others travelling on the far-right side of the street, others on the far-left side facing traffic, and others in the middle just like a car or truck. Or sometimes, the same vehicle would use all four approaches as they rolled down the street shifting from one side to another.

I wondered where these little vehicles were supposed to be going since everyone seemed to have a different idea. The last straw for me was when I watched a scooter zoom eastward towards me across the Campbellford bridge on the sidewalk at about 20 kilometres per hour. When it reached Front Street South it didn’t slow down but managed to make the corner and went zipping off – on the roadway.

What follows is what I’ve managed to learn. One thing to make clear, the photos with this story appear to show people clearly doing illegal things. I am confident saying that since according to the Ontario Provincial Police some are travelling the streets in vehicles that aren’t allowed on the road.

But the point of this story isn’t to identify any of the drivers, it is to suggest that the municipality needs to consider the safety issues raised by all this scooting around. These vehicles have no safety features and are travelling streets filled with SUVs and pickup trucks. Once it decides what the rules are there needs to be an enforcement and education program, it seems to me.

I asked the municipality if it had any bylaws regulating these vehicles. “There is no bylaw in Trent Hills to regulate where mobility vehicles may be operated/driven,” responded Lynn Phillips, chief administrative officer.

These vehicles don’t require registration, licence plates, driver's licence or vehicle insurance. Legally, vehicles that have a maximum speed of 30 km/h must follow the same rules as pedestrians, travelling on the sidewalk or on the left side of the road facing traffic, said Yves Lacasse, Acting Sergeant, Provincial Traffic Offences & Devices Coordinator, at OPP headquarters in Orillia.

“A sidewalk should be the first choice for someone using a wheelchair or medical scooter,” Lacasse said. “When there is no wheelchair accessible curb, the person should return to the sidewalk at the first available opportunity.

“If there is no sidewalk available, people using wheelchairs or personal mobility devices should travel, like pedestrians, along the left shoulder of the roadway facing oncoming traffic.”

Low-speed vehicles, those small, enclosed plastic machines that are about the size of a Smart Fortwo car, but without any of its safety features, can use municipal roads under special circumstances.

The low-speed vehicles were developed for use in southern U.S. retirement communities. The province has been running a pilot program since 2017 that concludes in 2027 to determine whether they should be permitted in Ontario.

“Municipalities must pass a bylaw to authorize the use of low-speed vehicles in their communities,” the OPP says. “It is important to note that all low-speed vehicles must abide by Ontario Highway Traffic Act rules of the road.”

In addition, such vehicles must be covered by $1 million in insurance and have a slow-moving-vehicle sign on the back. Oh, and the driver needs a regular licence.

These vehicles have been a challenge for many municipalities that haven’t passed bylaws, but that hasn’t stopped drivers from taking to the road.

Cruising in Warkworth.

In early June, Peterborough police charged the driver of an enclosed scooter that was travelling on the streets like a car. The driver was charged with operating a vehicle without insurance and without following the regulations for low-speed vehicles.

“The Traffic Management Unit has learned in some cases these vehicles are being called “enclosed mobility devices” which is not correct,” Peterborough police said in a news release that was clearly designed to educate users. “As they are considered low-speed vehicles they can only be operated on municipal roadways if the municipality has a bylaw allowing for such activity.”

Several of the enclosed, low-speed vehicles that I’ve seen are Eclipse models. I can understand why their drivers may be confused. Eclipse sells mobility scooters as well as the low-speed vehicles, but its website doesn’t distinguish between them.

It says: “In Ontario you do not need a drivers license or insurance to drive a mobility scooter. It is recommended you become familiar with the product before taking it onto the roadways and always act with caution.”

By the way, those enclosed vehicles sell for $9,700 to $13,000 depending on options. The three-wheel scooters are $3,500 and four-wheelers are $4,200.

In recent weeks, I have seen several people on our sidewalks and roads riding electric scooters. Legally, they can’t be operated on roads, the OPP says. It’s up to municipalities whether they are permitted on sidewalks.

I find the lack of municipal action in this whole area a bit surprising since it sems to me that collisions and injuries are inevitable and the municipality could clearly be liable for not establishing laws or enforcing them. I certainly know who I am suing if I get run over by one.

I find this a puzzling contrast to council’s fear that a pedestrian might trip on merchandise a retailer has placed on a public sidewalk and sue the municipality. The town is hard at work developing a bylaw to establish a licensing system for retailers with strict rules and insurance requirements, largely to protect it from any legal action.

Scooters, low-speed vehicles and e-scooters in action.