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

[techyiam]

16 minutes ago, zer0dayexploit said:

Near the Science World/Main Street area

Thanks.

That's bad news.

I ride by there sometimes on the bike path that goes in front of Science World, but not on the road. 

Good to know. I am surprised the police would ticket someone there.

[Asphalt]

EUCs are not legal in BC. Thanks to numerous complaints about EUC riders, police are now enforcing the law. 
Police can't change the law, they just enforce the law.
If you don't want to ride in fear then talk to your MLA about changing BC's Motor Vehicle Act.
There were recent amendments to it, to allow for electric scooters and personal mobility devices.
Unfortunately EUCs were not included because no one was advocating for them. 

Write to your provincial-level politicians if you want change.

[techyiam]

38 minutes ago, Asphalt said:

Thanks to numerous complaints about EUC riders,

Curious as to your source.

39 minutes ago, Asphalt said:

police are now enforcing the law. 

Outside the Science World area, have there been riders getting warnings or tickets?

[Asphalt]

8 hours ago, techyiam said:

Curious as to your source.

Outside the Science World area, have there been riders getting warnings or tickets?

Direct from officers.

Last year they were giving out warnings. This year it's been tickets.

Riders have been getting tickets all over Vancouver: Cambie and 37th, Hornby/Smithe/Richards, Quebec and Expo, Quebec and 1st, Burrard and Cordova

[Cerbera]

3 hours ago, Asphalt said:

Direct from officers.

Last year they were giving out warnings. This year it's been tickets.

Riders have been getting tickets all over Vancouver: Cambie and 37th, Hornby/Smithe/Richards, Quebec and Expo, Quebec and 1st, Burrard and Cordova

Well fuck a doodle do. It's one thing for them to be not yet recognised by law, or even to be illegal but largely unenforced, but quite another when they start handing out horrible punitive fines for something that so obviously shouldn't be a crime. Disgraceful nanny state overreach. It's only a matter of time before they start with that shit over here in the UK too I'm sure...

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cerbera

[techyiam]

3 hours ago, Asphalt said:

Direct from officers.

Last year they were giving out warnings. This year it's been tickets.

Riders have been getting tickets all over Vancouver: Cambie and 37th, Hornby/Smithe/Richards, Quebec and Expo, Quebec and 1st, Burrard and Cordova

Thanks.

That can explain why I don't see an increase in electric wheels sightings over the last years.

The ticket at Cambie and 37th is worrying. That is bit far away from downtown. However, that is one of the places where police often drive through.

[techyiam]

38 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

It's one thing for them to be not yet recognised by law, or even to be illegal but largely unenforced, but quite another when they start handing out horrible punitive fines for something that so obviously shouldn't be a crime.

Electric wheels are easy targets.

Among reckless riders, I would say by far are bicyclists. But I think it is difficult to prove in court. Ticketing electric wheels is a slam dunk everytime. 

[Clem604]

6 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Electric wheels are easy targets.

Among reckless riders, I would say by far are bicyclists. But I think it is difficult to prove in court. Ticketing electric wheels is a slam dunk everytime. 

I'm not going to worry about it too much. I commute to work riding through downtown Tues-Sat for the past year and haven't had an issue. If I end up getting a ticket then so be it, I'll just have to make more money at work to make up for it 💰

[GothamMike]

2 minutes ago, Clem604 said:

I'm not going to worry about it too much. I commute to work riding through downtown Tues-Sat for the past year and haven't had an issue. If I end up getting a ticket then so be it, I'll just have to make more money at work to make up for it 💰

If you don't show up for work, cuz you be in handcuffs? May I suggest reaching out to your parliamentarians? Send a video of you riding your EUC safely on the streets of BC, tell them they are green vehicles and need to be included in PEV laws. 

Letting the angry Karens of the world make decisions for you is not a winning strategy. You will lose every time.

[techyiam]

4 minutes ago, Clem604 said:

I'm not going to worry about it too much. I commute to work riding through downtown Tues-Sat for the past year and haven't had an issue. If I end up getting a ticket then so be it, I'll just have to make more money at work to make up for it 💰

Interesting. Were you riding on a bike route, bike path, etc?

[Clem604]

18 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

If you don't show up for work, cuz you be in handcuffs? 

That won't happen here, a ticket will be the furthest it goes (if that) in an encounter with the police. There are people here locally in the EUC community "fighting the good fight" (including Bradley and the good folks @eevees ) so I'll continue to lend my support to them and I hope they succeed. I'll continue to ride reasonably and do what I've been doing as it's been working, until it doesn't that is.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Clem604

[techyiam]

5 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

If you don't show up for work, cuz you be in handcuffs?

Highly unlikely. I have seen how he rides. The police may give him a medal for being a model citizen. 

8 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

Send a video of you riding your EUC safely on the streets of BC, tell them they are green vehicles and need to be included in PEV laws. 

Judging from the reactions of the public at large on electric wheels, it would make things worse. They think it is a dangerous activity to be engaged in.

[Clem604]

6 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Interesting. Were you riding on a bike route, bike path, etc?

I ride mostly bike paths/routes and I ride on the street only if I have to and never on main roads (Broadway, Granville, Georgia, etc). To be clear, I fully expect an encounter with police at some point but that just hasn't happened yet and when it does I'll be sure to let everyone know what happened.

[Cerbera]

13 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Judging from the reactions of the public at large on electric wheels, it would make things worse. They think it is a dangerous activity to be engaged in.

It is an axe that swings 2 ways. For example I secured permission to ride through the main shopping mall in town by sending a video to the Property Manager, showing it being done considerately and safely. So in that instance it worked. And I think that sort of video would be useful in convincing local councils that you are not a menace on local roads, and may get you access to local parks and recreation places that might otherwise be out of bounds to you.

But of course, you take a huge risk, in that if you specifically ask for permission and it is denied, then you have specifically been told no, which doesn't help your cause at all if you're caught subsequently doing it, as you invariably would be and would do !

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cerbera

[Cerbera]

19 minutes ago, Clem604 said:

I ride mostly bike paths/routes and I ride on the street only if I have to and never on main roads (Broadway, Granville, Georgia, etc). To be clear, I fully expect an encounter with police at some point but that just hasn't happened yet and when it does I'll be sure to let everyone know what happened.

Same here, and I honestly think that's the best strategy. Remain mostly where police are not, and avoid those big main roads.

That approach can be workable locally, or for places where you want to ride regularly, but now I have a bigger wheel I already find that is limiting where I feel safe to go riding elsewhere. There is a beachfront down on the coast near me, which is absolutely wonderful to ride, and completely safe to do so on the boardwalks there on all but the busiest of tourist days, but I am exposed to passing police every second of my ride there, which really makes me question if I want to drive the 40 miles there for a nice day out, and risk having my wheel confiscated, which is something police seem to think they should do over here on occasion...

It's a real pisser - I have largely abandoned my UAV hobby because the laws got SO ridiculously controlling and archaic they ruined every flight with fucking admin, and I'm damned if I am going to let EUCs go the same way !!!

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cerbera

[Clem604]

23 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

Same here, and I honestly think that's the best strategy. Remain mostly where police are not, and avoid those big main roads.

and risk having my wheel confiscated, which is something police seem to think they should do over here on occasion...

Yeah I totally agree about the bike paths and routes. What really sucks is that you can have your EUC seized by police in the UK whereas the worst that would happen here is a fine.

[techyiam]

2 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

For example I secured permission to ride through the main shopping mall in town by sending a video to the Property Manager, showing it being done considerately and safely. So in that instance it worked.

Are you talking about riding inside the mall where you can go into individual store. If not, why would you need permission to ride through the parking lot?

[Cerbera]

8 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Are you talking about riding inside the mall where you can go into individual store. If not, why would you need permission to ride through the parking lot?

No, it's like a semi-outside main shopping 'boulevard' I guess is the best description. This is it.

I do need their permission because it is my main route across town from where I live to the supermarket etc, and there are security guards telling people on bikes and scooters and skateboards to get down and massive 'no cycling' signs on the ground in huge letters ! I take some delight in specifically riding through the centreline of those !

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cerbera

[GothamMike]

I was able to remove a PEV ban in my town. If I followed Clem’s advice and ignored legislators, I’d either have to move or pay 100s in fines. I sent pictures of me wearing safety gear and “bundling” EUCs with eboards and E-bikes. Don’t let politicians separate us. 

[Clem604]

40 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

I was able to remove a PEV ban in my town. If I followed Clem’s advice and ignored legislators

There is already a group in the EUC community persuing this and I've donated to them to show my support. That's my contribution towards this cause but I'll defer to others when it comes to instigating changes in our laws. In the meantime, I will do what I can to represent the EUC community in a positive light in my daily interactions. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Clem604

[techyiam]

1 hour ago, Clem604 said:

I ride mostly bike paths/routes and I ride on the street only if I have to and never on main roads (Broadway, Granville, Georgia, etc).

That's is how I normally ride too. And I haven't got stopped either. There have been plenty of police officers who have seen me riding my electric wheel. Sometimes we were next to each other at a light.

Perhaps, they are not targeting riders who ride along bike paths/routes, and ride sensibly. 

[techyiam]

6 hours ago, GothamMike said:

I was able to remove a PEV ban in my town. If I followed Clem’s advice and ignored legislators, I’d either have to move or pay 100s in fines. I sent pictures of me wearing safety gear and “bundling” EUCs with eboards and E-bikes. Don’t let politicians separate us. 

Good work there.

In Canada, electric wheels are not regulated federally. The problem arises at the provincial level.

In BC, the law is written such that any kind of motorized vehicle is illegal to operate on public roads, unless that type of vehicle has been explicitly approved by the provincial government.

There is currently a pilot project  going on, but they only included electric scooters. Federally, electric scooters also not regulated. In BC they are now regulated provincially via the pilot project. If electric wheels become regulated, they would have to write up the regulations, where there has not been a precedence.

In your town, are there now regulations that govern electric wheels? 

Edited June 21, 2023 by techyiam

[GothamMike]

1 hour ago, techyiam said:

 

In your town, are there now regulations that govern electric wheels? 

No, they reverted back to the State of CT. CT and NYS treat PEVs as an Ebike, CT requires a sticker identifying the top speed and wattage of the motor.  NYC has created a "not-legal" precedent for PEVs that likely won't hold up in court. 

The city wanted to allow "lime" rental scooters, very popular in college towns.  Our commuter/Amtrak station is running out of parking, and PEVs help people commute "the first/last mile"

They had an old 1970s law banning mopeds and 125 cc or less dirt bikes.  The law was flaunted by many. I helped develop the new strategy with Town Hall.

Many apartment and office buildings now offer e-bikes with a spot to park and charge at the train station.  A new bike only parking "garage" will be built alongside the train station.

 

[zer0dayexploit]

Advocacy groups would be a good split from this.

[eevees]

We are getting news coverage on this because it turns out that riding on the sidewalk is only a $81 fine so police are essentially encouraging us to ride on the sidewalk which is much more dangerous to public safety. I've attached a copy of the segment on CKNW. Daily Hive is also picking up the story. Listen here: https://www.facebook.com/532110631/videos/3507940889418582/