Scooter rider dies in collision
TVA headlines this as a cyclist loses their life in a collision, but the vehicle shown is a scooter, not a bicycle. Still, grim story.
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Blork 16:59 on 2024-07-19 Permalink
It’s actually one of those new breeds of scooters that has pedals so they can be classified as an e-bike and not require a license, etc. It a weird grey area in the law. I really wish they had their own category, because people like me who use pedal-assist e-bikes are using a completely different kind of vehicle (as far as I’m concerned) and should be regulated differently. Technically, those scootery “e-bikes” are supposed to be subject to the same limitations on power and speed as my bike, but many of them can easily go 40-50 or even 60kph.
CE 17:29 on 2024-07-19 Permalink
Often those pedals are fake. Some shops put them on so they can be used in bike lanes, the police don’t know the difference so as long as they have pedals, they allow them (to the detriment of all other users of the bike lanes).
Blork 17:47 on 2024-07-19 Permalink
Yes, but more often the pedals are “real” in that they work but are essentially vestigial, as no one uses them.
I follow some e-bike groups on FB and see loads of these things being discussed there, including “e-bikes” that look like a Kawasaki Ninja racing motorcycle except a bit smaller and they putter along at 32kph or so.
It will be interesting to see how it evolves. Some of the people I see on FB live in rural areas and commute several kilometres to work every day with no public transit options. They’re happy to have a vehicle that can get them to and from work quickly and cheaply without the expense and inconvenience of a car or a gas-powered motorcycle. I applaud them! But I also see the LIBARTÉ style yahoos that just want to race around the city or suburbs at high speeds without any restrictions or accountability.
I’m also seeing posses of young dudes zipping around on the bike paths over here on the south shore. The bike paths here are fantastic except for when three 14-year-olds on hopped-up “ebikes” that look more like motocross motorcycles show up, zipping around and creating a hazard.
Nicholas 19:33 on 2024-07-19 Permalink
I agree it’s a grey area, and it’d be best to clearly categorize them. An emerging standard is the Class 1, 2, 3 system, where, essentially, 1 is pedal-assistance only with no throttle and max 32 km/h; 2 is the same but with a throttle (meaning it’ll activate without pedalling); and 3 goes up to 45 km/h, has a speedometer, and may or may not have a throttle. (Anything more is a moped.) It’s common for the Class 3 bikes to be banned from bike lanes, have age limits, helmet requirements, etc. I know Quebec did its HSC rewrite six years ago and doesn’t have an appetite for big changes, but something is needed.
The Quebec Highway Safety Code doesn’t define bicycle, but all the definitions I looked at, in both languages, include pedals that drive the wheel, so if the pedals can theoretically propel you then they should fall under power-assisted bicycle, but if not then it’s a moped. But then a moped is defined as a passenger vehicle with two or three wheels, an electric or small cc motor, max 70 km/h and an automatic transmission, so some e-bikes could be mopeds. This just further highlights the need for better definitions.
SMD 08:54 on 2024-07-20 Permalink
The trauma team at the Children’s is calling on parents to make sure their children wear helmets on e-scooters, as they are seeing more and more injuries: https://globalnews.ca/news/10629766/montreal-childrens-hospital-e-scooter-injuries/.
Kate 09:27 on 2024-07-20 Permalink
Or they could not buy their kids e-scooters…?
Chris 15:33 on 2024-07-21 Permalink
If you live life according to trauma docs though, you’d need bubble wrap to leave your house for groceries. 😉