Wednesday 23 July 2014

Pulled over by the police!

So after driving over 2000km on the bike, it happened.  I got pulled over by the police officer who wanted know more about the bike.  Specification for ebikes are pretty clear here in Ottawa.

Thankfully, I was smart enough to print off a specifications sheet of what the bike is.  It follows all the laws.  So I thought I would share this accidental tip for other ebike riders out there.

As of today, the rules for Ottawa (city I live in) are located here. Funny part is, it specifies what the minimum size wheel is but not the max, so I am fine.  The trick is, you have to check the web site out often.  Back in 2008, City council held a meeting in December.  One of the line items were for a by-law that removed the classification of a ebike to a moped if the ebike had any kind of fairings (making the bike a slight arrow dynamic.) This simple rule, killed all the ebike "moped" styles instantly.  I'm not sure when it happened but the rule disappeared off the website.

Lessons Learned:
  • Spec sheet of the bike should be carried on you, if your an ebike rider.
  • Read the rules periodically, they change.

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