A Coquitlam man is hoping his battle against a ticket he recently received while riding his motorized skateboard might spark a change in the law to make such micromobility devices legal.
But a Vancouver lawyer who specializes in cases involving the Motor Vehicle Act says it could be an uphill fight.
Kyla Lee, a criminal lawyer who’s working with Savino and has expertise in traffic ticket offences, said the ubiquity of electric scooter sharing programs has created the impression all forms of powered micromobility devices can be legally operated on public streets. But they can’t.
Lee said even the scooters are only legal in communities that have agreed to be part of the provincial pilot project.
Other devices like motorized skateboards and one-wheels remain illegal everywhere, she said, because they must be insured and, at this point at least, there’s no insurance available.
“There’s just so much confusion about what you’re allowed to do,” Lee said, adding government messaging encouraging the need for micro mobility solutions and greener modes of transportation further blur the legal lines.Lee said consumer demand has surpassed the Motor Vehicle Act.
“It doesn’t keep up with technology,” she said of the law that regulates the rules of the road.
But that could be changing.
Lee said the end of the electric scooter pilot program in the next couple of years could see “significant and sweeping changes” to the Motor Vehicle Act to recognize and regulate the use of powered micromobility devices.
“I’m hopeful we’ll see more sensible regulation,” she said, adding the government has already implemented new regulations to include autonomous vehicles into the act, so “the mechanism is there.”
