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.
Tony Savino, 55, said he often uses the motorized skateboard he got at a Vancouver thrift shop more than two years ago and restored into working condition himself to get to the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain station from his home in the Silver Springs neighbourhood, and then to fill the transportation gap when he reaches his destination.
“It’s really convenient to get around,” he said. “Anytime you have to walk, it comes in really handy.”
But recently, Savino’s roll along East Hastings Street in Vancouver caught the attention of a police officer on a motorcycle who pulled him over after he’d turned down a side street and issued him a $598 ticket for operating the skateboard on the road without insurance.
Savino said while he’s had previous encounters with police while riding his skateboard, they’ve always just issued him a warning. He said the hefty fine he got on this occasion seems targeted and excessive.
“I just feel it’s unfair if they let the scooters ride around,” Savino said, referring to the battery-operated kick scooters that have become commonplace on the streets and sidewalks of cities like Coquitlam, which are participating in a provincial pilot project to test the viability of micro mobility devices to fill transportation gaps and reduce the number of cars on the road.
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 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 micro mobility 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.”
Meanwhile, Savino, who’s started a GoFundMe to help pay his legal expenses and help other users of powered micro mobility devices caught in a similar bind, said he’s going to be a little more vigilant riding his skateboard so he doesn’t catch the ire of a passing police officer. He said he already tries to stick to multi-user paths as much as possible and he’s careful to slow his roll when he’s forced onto a sidewalk because a road is too busy or lacks a bike lane.
“This is a valid way to get around,” Savino said of his electric skateboard commutes. “I get a lot of thumbs up.”
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