2nd Traffic Stop
I was stopped again, for the 2nd time. I was in the bike lane going North on Spadina, just past Dundas. With all that construction you fly by the cars 
This time around, I was ready. Before the officer was out of the car I had my binder out of the trunk with my laminated MTO, HTA and DOT info. I handed the officer my driver’s license and asked, kindly, if he had any questions.
I was away in 3 minutes.
A wag of my finger to those dealers telling riders that you can E-ride without peddles installed, or without the appropriate DOT stickers, shame.
May 26, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Matthew,
I gotta agree on the pedals thing – I tell everyone that if you get into the habit of kicking the pedals to the position where they are both paralell to the floor of the bike, you’ll never nick them when making hard turns – and yet, when they come back for service or a friendly visit, pedals are frequently absent (and occasionally find thier way back onto the bike once I have my way!) The law says they should be there, and thus for YOUR convenience, keep it that way!
What DOT info do you keep on hand? I’ve taken to handing out info to cops – this morning was my first time doing it – I felt bad for interrupting thier 7am paperwork session in the Tim Hortons parking lot, but I figured it was still a good idea, regardless. Secretly, I really enjoyed it.
May 27, 2007 at 1:12 pm
John
I’ll show you my binder when I drop by your store next. Everything in it can be found here on the site.
I do carry one other thing; a series of letters between the MTO and my Ebike manufacturer that state that my machine was “made for two“.
May 30, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Hi,
I have a Mayhem e-bike, which looks a lot like a scooter. I really like my scooter, but unfortunately, like many others, I have been pulled over by the police.
I was actually on a bike path in Taylor Creek Park, near Main and Danforth (I know all about the controversy now, but didn’t then). The officers and I “chatted” for about 30 minutes. They told me that I definitely couldn’t ride it in the park (which is okay with me), but they also told me that I couldn’t ride my e-bike on ANYWHERE in the city.
I told them all about the pilot project and they then called the traffic division to check. The traffic division told them that I was NOT allowed to ride it anywhere in the city without license, insurance, and registration. Nothing that I could say could convince them otherwise, and I had to push it home (they told me that I was lucky to not be getting a $5000 ticket for no insurance).
Firstly, does anyone have any advice about how to handle this? I have done extensive research and reading, but I have to admit that it was upsetting and I am a bit wary when I ride it now.
Also, could you let me know exactly what documents you keep with you? I have the MTO info, and I now carry this with me, but I don’t have much else.
Thanks!
Amber
May 31, 2007 at 7:16 am
Hey Aaustin,
First – don’t be in a park.
Second – carry a binder. All the documentation you need is in the LINKS section of this website. I carry the MTO guide and faq as well as a copy of the Canada Gazette article.
Its all attitude. I pull over smiling and have my binder ready before the officer has even left his/her vehicle. I encourage them to call their traffic liaison, all the while, acting totally confident that what I’m doing is right.
I point out the pedals, the required sticker, I tell them about the speed restrictions and so forth.
So far the longest I’ve be stopped is about 10 minutes, but that was the first time – before I had my binder laminated.
May 31, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Hi folks. How do I know what’s “in a park” and what’s not?
I bought a blue Challenger RSX from Segway of Ontario (Hi John) on Monday afternoon and I’m loving it. I rode it home from there and then to work and back yesterday and from home to downtown again today. I’m enjoying the feedback from the folks on the road as I’m trying to find the best route from Runneymede and Annette to Trinity Square (Bay and Dundas)
I’m not sure if I broke the law today or not? Today a can south to the lake before turning east. Through High Park on the roads not the trails and then on to the bike paths in the western beaches up to Queens Quay.
From what I’m reading here, it looks like one or both of these section of my ride may have been against the law.
What do you gents think?
I haven’t yet been pulled over by the police but I’ve had the opportunity to chat with a couple of pedestrians, a couple of cyclists, a city worker and another EBike rider. These were all great interaction except the very angry cyclist who’d not heard of an EBike and yelled for me to get that F’ing thing out of the bike lane.
Mark.
June 3, 2007 at 12:44 pm
According to my TomTom GPS – set to 50Km/hr max
Bloor Street West to Dundas Street West. Continue along Dundas the whole way.
June 12, 2007 at 12:59 pm
http://www.icbc.com/registration/reg_rules_low_pwr_mtr_asstd_cycles.asp
As you will see on this site…a government owned and operated insurance company of BC recognizes the scooter stlye e-bike as a power assisted bike.
Dewdad
another example “If you dress a duck like Cinderella…It is still a duck!”
June 14, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Hi,
I have been reading these posts for a while and I thought I would throw my two cents in on this topic. Great site BTW. I purchased an ebike “toy” for my wife in December 2005 not knowing it was not street legal.
When they changed the laws last year I got excited and put it together this spring, however, the bike was in fact, not a bike because it did not have pedals. I was in contact with local police and after many phone calls and emails about the exact definition of an ebike with the MTO I was told the followng.
————————
Hi,
I recently purchased an e-bike and it fits the definition except for having pedals(just footrests). It does not fit the definition of a moped. I called the MTO contact line and they asked me to send an email with a description of the bike for a judgement. I don’t want to get a ticket, so here is the description.
300 watt electric bike
- 4 to 5 hour charge time
- range:20 km, max speed:20 km/h
- weight capacity:100 kgs
- rubber pneumatic tires
- 300 watt, 12 amp
- front and rear suspension
- 12 inch aluminum rims
- rear hand brake with power off system
- non slip, high impact plastic base
- steel kickstand
- signals, lights, and horn
- bike weight 50 lbs
Please let me know what to do with the bike as I have not taken it out of it’s box yet!
—————————
Dear Bill:
Thank you for your e-mail.
The vehicle is not street legal and can be used on private property only.
If you require further assistance on this issue, please contact the ministry’s Vehicle Standards Office.
—————————————————
The bottom line is that if your bike does not have pedals, it is not a bike, and if you take them off prepare yourself for a ticket!
On another note, I bought an izip at Canadian Tire for myself about a month ago and have been commuting to work almost exclusively through trails in Mississauga. I drive 18k each way and have not even had a second look from the police or City workers.
Bill
July 13, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Hi
It seems we out in the eastern GTA our Durham boys have not been informed about the status of E-Bikes.
I have been riding mine for 3 weeks and this is the first time pulled over. They were insistent that being a motorized bicycle it had to have license , registration and insurance..
I did not have my copies of the regs with me and said they had never heard of the pilot program and could not believe it existed. They let me go but insisted I walk my bike home, luckily was only a few blocks from home. I now have copies in my bike. It just amazes me that for those out there to enforce the laws are not better informed when major changes like this are made to the law.
July 15, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Oshawaebiker:
Some other experience in the eastern GTA.
I have been driving my e-bike (Cougar XR7) in Whitby a slightly more than a month now. In the first week I was on my way past some construction when the officer who was directing traffic spoke to me and told me that he had been instructed by his supervisor that they were to issue tickets to anyone driving a vehicle like mine because they were not legal without a license, and were he not directing traffic he would have issued a ticke to me right then. I told him that my bike was classified as a power assisted bicycle and showed him the sticker but he said that it wouldn’t make any difference and suggested that I talk to the traffic sargent. [Note to self: always get the officer's name for later reference. Doh!]
I immediately went to the police station (riding my bike) and requested some assistance in determining whether my bike was legal, and queried as to whether an instruction to ticket bikes had been given. To make a longer story shorter, the officer at the police station pulled out his copy of the MTO web site [I also carry a copy], looked the bike over, saw the sticker and said what I was doing was perfectly within the law. In the ensuing discussion, he pointed out that it was difficult for the police to keep up with all legislation and that I may be faced with a few “educational” stops and that the best strategy is to keep a copy of the legislation with me [and to fight any tickets, of course.]
The only other encounter with the police that I have had was the next day when a female police officer in a cruiser that pulled up beside me at a traffic light said “Do you know that you are required to have a license for that thing?”. To which I replied “Actually, I don’t as it a power assisted bicycle as indicated by the sticker.” Then she said “Thank you” and drove off.
Since then I have although I have seen many officers, none have indicated any interest at all. My impression in observing car, truck and ‘legitimate’ cyclist traffic is that there are much bigger areas of vehicular concern than the modest underpowed e-bike.
P.S. to Billf. If I am stopped for driving without my pedals attached, but have them with me, what will the ticket read and how likely is it to stick?
Wally
July 17, 2007 at 2:00 am
Bill,
“On another note, I bought an izip at Canadian Tire for myself about a month ago and have been commuting to work almost exclusively through trails in Mississauga. I drive 18k each way and have not even had a second look from the police or City workers.”
Do you have to charge it at work? I didn’t think the iZip could go 36k without a charge. The battery is a 24V SLA is it not? I did notice they raised the price at our local Canadian Tire. It seems to be $700 now. It was $600 before ($500 on sale). Maybe they have a stronger battery.
philip
July 17, 2007 at 10:07 am
Hi Phillipmcd,
I put it on charge at work, and it charges for about 4-5 hours befor the ride home! They let me park the bike inside one of our truck bays which is pretty nice, no worries about rain etc…
July 17, 2007 at 10:12 am
Hi Wally,
The bulletin is pretty specific about pedals, and as I have said in previous posts, I have been in touch with the MTO and they have said if it does not have functional pedals it is not an ebike. I would assume if you got a ticket it would be driving an unlicensed/unregistered motorized viehicle on a public road. I would put the pedals back on!! Good Luck.
July 31, 2007 at 8:07 am
I was stopped the other day as well. The officer asked if the vehicle was legal. I explained the situation to him and he seemed OK with it and drove off. I have been in plain view of police on a number of other occasions and haven’t had any other issues.
August 15, 2007 at 4:44 pm
oshawaebiker:
You may be interested to know that someone is trying to set up “The Durham E-bike Association.” You can get in touch at durhamebikeassociation@yahoo.ca or join the Facebook group “Durham E-bike Association”.
I have joined this group.
Wally (a.k.a Warren)
May 27, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Ebikerider “my binder out of the trunk with my laminated MTO, HTA and DOT info”
i have the MTO info can you direct me to the HTA and DOT info