Police offers just told me it's 500$+ fine to ride EUC?

[Tawpie]

so, what's going to happen to people that wear these?

https://gizmodo.com/moonwalkers-shoes-increase-walking-speed-kickstarter-1849704064

[Glock43x]

around my area, cops don't even care. I ride it slow on the side walks and cops simply think it's a toy like a hover board. if cops saw me doing 30mph, they might stop me though. i save the 30mph rides on paved bike paths. Even then, i rarely go over 25mph. bicyclists think they own everything and will trip if you go fast, but plenty of them go faster than 30 mph and it's cool.. bicyclists are assholes and that's why i never yield for them (when i am driving) if there isnt a sign telling me to. i blow through all intersections.. they better yield to me or they will become bugs on the road..

Edited October 29, 2022 by Glock43x

[zer0dayexploit]

Just got pulled over by a VPD officer. Was doing literally 15kph in a bicycle lane and had to hand information over for a warning. I never ride obnoxiously, was using hand signals and everything and obviously was fully cooperative. I explained that I obey all the e-bike laws and that the pilot program in Vancouver has been understanding of the wheels.

I even explained that I’ve ridden past hundreds of police cars before and they never batted an eye, even had some remarks from police officers before telling me that is really practical and looks cool.

 

I’m quite concerned for this because I wasn’t even doing anything illegal. It’s late at night, there is no traffic and I was still staying slow because it’s just common courtesy.

 

Any opinions on this?

[Hellkitten]

Sounds like the officer want you to ride obnoxiously. 

[Cerbera]

28 minutes ago, zer0dayexploit said:

Any opinions on this?

Sounds like a bored officer having a bad night to me.

[zer0dayexploit]

36 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

Sounds like a bored officer having a bad night to me.

Yeah. Don’t want this to affect my commuting though. I literally cannot afford/use any other option or I would need to leave my job/commute for an hour and a half both ways

 

Are there any advocacy groups/rides in the Vancouver area? 

[techyiam]

2 hours ago, zer0dayexploit said:

Just got pulled over by a VPD officer.

Sorry to hear.

Where were you riding at the time? Was it in downtown Vancouver? 

Edited June 13, 2023 by techyiam

[Forwardnbak]

sounds like you showed great behaviour and manners. Maybe a few more encounters with nice mannered EUCists will help swing his attitude. 

Maybe avoid that road for a while go the back way home 

goodluck, that sux keep fighting the good fight. 

[techyiam]

4 hours ago, Forwardnbak said:

Maybe a few more encounters with nice mannered EUCists will help swing his attitude. 

 

8 hours ago, zer0dayexploit said:

I’ve ridden past hundreds of police cars before and they never batted an eye,

I also rode by police in vehicles, ones on foot, and waiting at a lights. I have never been stopped. However, I have heard about riders, each receiving a few tickets from the same officer in downtown Vancouver. On the few occasions that I have ridden in downtown, I have never been stopped.

8 hours ago, zer0dayexploit said:

It’s late at night, there is no traffic and I was still staying slow because it’s just common courtesy.

I wonder if the officer was profiling. I also have ridden late at night, but I rarely encounter police presence. There was one time when we were stopped waiting at a light. Nothing happened.

In general, VPD officers don't stopped electric wheel riders. However, I keep hearing about this one officer who keeps giving out tickets.

Better news is perhaps from outside of Vancouver. I have not heard of people riding electric wheels being stopped by the RCMP.

Edited June 13, 2023 by techyiam

[sbb]

17 hours ago, zer0dayexploit said:

It’s late at night, there is no traffic and I was still staying slow because

I'd dress all in black, no reflectors, no lighting, and go fast.

[Funky]

11 minutes ago, sbb said:

I'd dress all in black, no reflectors, no lighting, and go fast.

I'm already doing all that, aside of going fast.

And i would simply hop on sidewalk and drive away from some coppers.. Good Luck catching me.  I'm minding my own business, not doing anything wrong.. So they should also.

Like what will they do?? Come after me with their car on sidewalk?

Spoiler

If someone didn't get it before....... It was a joke. (Mostly.)

As someone who don't see police at all - It's wonderful.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Funky

[Clem604]

I haven't had any issues with VPD or RCMP (I live in North Van) in the year and a half I've been riding EUC's. I don't ride like an asshole and I mostly follow the rules and so far so good but I am half expecting that one time I will be pulled over by the police, it seems inevitable. Hopefully I won't get anything more than a warning but we'll see. What I find that throws people off even more is when I'm riding seated. When they see that they don't really know what to make of it and I usually tell people that it's my half e-bike (thanks Chooch).

Edited June 14, 2023 by Clem604

[zer0dayexploit]

16 hours ago, Forwardnbak said:

sounds like you showed great behaviour and manners. Maybe a few more encounters with nice mannered EUCists will help swing his attitude. 

Maybe avoid that road for a while go the back way home 

goodluck, that sux keep fighting the good fight. 

Yeah we gotta represent positively out here. No way will we convince a cops good or bad that these are sustainable, practical, and positive for the public by having a bad attitude or being deceptive. 

11 hours ago, techyiam said:

 

I also rode by police in vehicles, ones on foot, and waiting at a lights. I have never been stopped. However, I have heard about riders, each receiving a few tickets from the same officer in downtown Vancouver. On the few occasions that I have ridden in downtown, I have never been stopped.

I wonder if the officer was profiling. I also have ridden late at night, but I rarely encounter police presence. There was one time when we were stopped waiting at a light. Nothing happened.

In general, VPD officers don't stopped electric wheel riders. However, I keep hearing about this one officer who keeps giving out tickets.

Better news is perhaps from outside of Vancouver. I have not heard of people riding electric wheels being stopped by the RCMP.

I ride near the UBC area often and often ride past RCMP on sidewalks and even in their cars.  Zero problems. VPD seems different.

if this is the same officer everyone is talking about, the badge number should be the same. 

[alcatraz]

21 hours ago, zer0dayexploit said:

Just got pulled over by a VPD officer. Was doing literally 15kph in a bicycle lane and had to hand information over for a warning. I never ride obnoxiously, was using hand signals and everything and obviously was fully cooperative. I explained that I obey all the e-bike laws and that the pilot program in Vancouver has been understanding of the wheels.

I even explained that I’ve ridden past hundreds of police cars before and they never batted an eye, even had some remarks from police officers before telling me that is really practical and looks cool.

 

I’m quite concerned for this because I wasn’t even doing anything illegal. It’s late at night, there is no traffic and I was still staying slow because it’s just common courtesy.

 

Any opinions on this?

Is it possible your police force run on quotas? Every officer needs a minimum number of issued fines etc.

If that's the case what a BS way to achieve it. 

[alcatraz]

16 hours ago, Forwardnbak said:

sounds like you showed great behaviour and manners. Maybe a few more encounters with nice mannered EUCists will help swing his attitude. 

This is our best defence I think. But what if he does get fined? Then what? Refuse to pay or, pay and keep riding? 

[Saboteur_ZA]

Since EUCs aren't legal here in Canada, and many other places, makes me wonder why EUC stores don't do more/anything to advocate for legal status. They know they are selling these wheels which cannot legally be used. Why not try to create a better environment where customers can ride without worrying about fines/confiscation. Maybe it would make things worse to bring it to such attention in the public eye though, I suppose it could backfire. But I'm sure some people who might consider this for commuting are put off by this aspect. I've had people ask me lots of questions about EUCs, price, how difficult to learn etc, but also whether legal!

[Hellkitten]

17 minutes ago, alcatraz said:

Is it possible your police force run on quotas? Every officer needs a minimum number of issued fines etc.

If that's the case what a BS way to achieve it. 

Considering it was a warning and not a fine that seems unlikely. 

[alcatraz]

16 minutes ago, Hellkitten said:

Considering it was a warning and not a fine that seems unlikely. 

True but there's still the chance that the officer had a warning policy before "scoring a fine". I could of course be wrong but it makes you think.

Another reason could be that there are some reckless euc riders spotted in the area so they're cracking down on everyone.

[GothamMike]

Your best hope is to identify as an e-bike. NYC has specifically banned them, but NYState laws consider them E-Bikes. 

Learn your National, State/Provincial, and Locality laws about EUCs, work with the EBike community as a team. You may need to keep a copy of the Laws in your wallet. 

Being polite is 90% of the battle. 

[zer0dayexploit]

eBike laws in BC are very specific, so unfortunately that won't work.

Fantastic advice for others though. 

[techyiam]

On 6/13/2023 at 7:04 PM, alcatraz said:

Another reason could be that there are some reckless euc riders spotted in the area so they're cracking down on everyone.

This is a possibility. But also it may be one or more officers targeting individuals fitting a particular profile. Hard to say.

The other day I rode in the downtown area, a so to speak hotspot for crack downs. In that small window of time, I saw two other electric wheel riders. I also saw police presence. Mind you not at the same place at the same time.

Both of the riders were in bike lanes, not in car lanes. It doesn't make sense to continue see people riding electric wheels if they were getting $500 tickets. I am suspecting that if riders of electric wheels riding in bike lanes, paths, routes etc, and ride sensibly, the likelihood of getting a ticket is not high. 

[zer0dayexploit]

4 minutes ago, techyiam said:

This is a possibility. But also it may be one or more officers targeting individuals fitting a particular profile. Hard to say.

The other day I rode in the downtown area, a so to speak hotspot for crack downs. In that small window of time, I saw two other electric wheel riders. I also saw police presence. Mind you not at the same place at the same time.

Both of the riders were in bike lanes, not in car lanes. It doesn't make sense to continue see people riding electric wheels if they were getting $500 tickets. I am suspecting that if riders of electric wheels riding in bike lanes, paths, routes etc, and ride sensibly, the likelihood of getting a ticket is not high. 

Yeah either way I've avoided the area and have continued to ride sensibly on the new route to not spark any upset/curiosity/heat to the area. I suspect because of summer the amount of riders seen is much higher, the amount of cops out is way more, and the odds are just greater. The heat will die down at some stage, or a quota will at least be met. 

[techyiam]

40 minutes ago, zer0dayexploit said:

Yeah either way I've avoided the area and have continued to ride sensibly on the new route to not spark any upset/curiosity/heat to the area. I suspect because of summer the amount of riders seen is much higher, the amount of cops out is way more, and the odds are just greater. The heat will die down at some stage, or a quota will at least be met. 

I think you may be onto something here. Although, electric wheels are already a rare sight, but with even fewer riders when the weather gets more wet and less warm, there may be fewer riders who will catch attention due to their riding behavior, and the heat may die down.

If you don't mind my asking, which area are you avoiding?

[VikB]

On 6/12/2023 at 9:23 PM, zer0dayexploit said:

I’m quite concerned for this because I wasn’t even doing anything illegal. It’s late at night, there is no traffic and I was still staying slow because it’s just common courtesy.

 

Any opinions on this?

Riding an EUC is not legal so you were doing something illegal. You probably just got unlucky as enforcement on that issue seems pretty lax in BC. If you are okay with getting a ticket just keep riding and you likely won't run into another problem in the short term. That said there is no way to 100% guarantee you won't up at least paying some $$ for riding an EUC. I'm not sure if they can give you any grief with your driver's license.

[zer0dayexploit]

19 hours ago, techyiam said:

I think you may be onto something here. Although, electric wheels are already a rare sight, but with even fewer riders when the weather gets more wet and less warm, there may be fewer riders who will catch attention due to their riding behavior, and the heat may die down.

If you don't mind my asking, which area are you avoiding?

Near the Science World/Main Street area