Is anyone experienced with changing legislation?

[musk]

Has anyone experienced working with state/provincial government to update laws regulating self-balancing vehicles?  I live in Canada and we don't have the benefit of all that legislative progress that's been done in 43 states.  Anyone have tips or connections on how to proceed?

[OliverH]

We're currently on the way in Germany. Can you show off the structure of laws regarding street usage/ vehicles?

Do you've national type approvals for vehicle? Canada us based on the Paris/ Vienna/ Geneva United Nations regulations?

Have a look here:

http://www.ewheels.org/sites/default/files/Homologation_overview_Germany_ENG_2015.pdf

[Bush]

hi musk~ good day, 

Cuz the item is newest one, so there is not enough law/standard for it.

In other words, the social responbility only make up one's mind of each productor, 

So, in my opinion, there should need 12 month - 2year for goverment to make an standard for the business.

 

At less, within China, we now working on the industrial standard for volum product with other manufacotry.

Any quiries, contact us.~

[musk]

This is in British Columbia, Canada.   Here's a short synopsis of the problem:

Anything with a motor is a "motor vehicle". (except a motor-assisted bicycle)

"motor vehicle" means a vehicle, not run on rails, that is designed to be self propelled or propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but does not include mobile equipment or a motor assisted cycle;

- All motor vehicles are required to be registered and have liability insurance

- Because wheels/segways "don't meet provincial standards for on-road use, insurance and registration cannot be purchased

- Anything classified as a motor vehicle cannot be driven on the sidewalk

[Obly]

Your best bet is to hire a lobbyist.  Heh, well, only half kidding here; you're probably not going to have much luck getting attention at the provincial level unless you hire a professional to do it for you. Assuming that's not in the cards, the best advice is probably to start small and get organized. 

By start small, I mean start in the city or town you live in. With a law like that, I'm guessing (but this is something to find out) that your town could pass a local ordinance that would supersede this definition you cited and at least let you enjoy your EUC within city limits. Learn about the process. Your town council probably has a committee or two dedicated to things like transportation and recreation. Those committees might have public meetings and/or allow local citizens to submit agenda items for discussion. Get on the agenda, make your case, and get a temperature reading from the councilors about it. Go in armed with data, if possible, about how EUCs are faring in other cities and towns, to show they can be used safely. Getting the relevant committee on your side is the first step to getting a local law passed.

You'll also want to organize like-minded folks to your cause. One voice is easy to ignore, but large numbers is much harder. Jump on the Internet/social media and find other people interested in working on this (ideally in Canada). Try to get conversations about this on council agendas at multiple towns and municipalities in your area. Success can have a snowball effect; once it can be shown in multiple places that EUCs can be operated safely, it gets harder to offer arguments against making them legal. Success at the town level then gives you a springboard to start lobbying at the provincial level.

Another reason to get organized is that there may be a process available to you by which citizens can force a measure onto the ballot for a future election cycle. It's no small task though, and at the least usually requires getting a very large number of people to sign a petition for your cause. So it takes people power to go out and get those signatures.

Just curious, does this mean Segways are completely illegal in BC? Even for off-road use? You might want to connect with the Segway community, to see what kinds of efforts they already have going on that you could tap into. 

Anyway, just some food for thought. Good luck!!

[Makoben]

Try to get the video of police using them.

Mike

[musk]

9 hours ago, Obly said:

Your best bet is to hire a lobbyist.  Heh, well, only half kidding here; you're probably not going to have much luck getting attention at the provincial level unless you hire a professional to do it for you. Assuming that's not in the cards, the best advice is probably to start small and get organized. 

By start small, I mean start in the city or town you live in. With a law like that, I'm guessing (but this is something to find out) that your town could pass a local ordinance that would supersede this definition you cited and at least let you enjoy your EUC within city limits. Learn about the process. Your town council probably has a committee or two dedicated to things like transportation and recreation. Those committees might have public meetings and/or allow local citizens to submit agenda items for discussion. Get on the agenda, make your case, and get a temperature reading from the councilors about it. Go in armed with data, if possible, about how EUCs are faring in other cities and towns, to show they can be used safely. Getting the relevant committee on your side is the first step to getting a local law passed.

You'll also want to organize like-minded folks to your cause. One voice is easy to ignore, but large numbers is much harder. Jump on the Internet/social media and find other people interested in working on this (ideally in Canada). Try to get conversations about this on council agendas at multiple towns and municipalities in your area. Success can have a snowball effect; once it can be shown in multiple places that EUCs can be operated safely, it gets harder to offer arguments against making them legal. Success at the town level then gives you a springboard to start lobbying at the provincial level.

Another reason to get organized is that there may be a process available to you by which citizens can force a measure onto the ballot for a future election cycle. It's no small task though, and at the least usually requires getting a very large number of people to sign a petition for your cause. So it takes people power to go out and get those signatures.

Just curious, does this mean Segways are completely illegal in BC? Even for off-road use? You might want to connect with the Segway community, to see what kinds of efforts they already have going on that you could tap into. 

Anyway, just some food for thought. Good luck!!

Good ideas.  There's one province (Nova Scotia) that just passed permissive legislation which will come into force in Feb.  I'm trying to tap into those people there to learn about their process and maybe get some tips on how to proceed.

Segways are only legal on private property where the general public is not invited to drive their motor vehicles (for parking).  This means even public parking lots or parking garages are counted as "highways" and are illegal.