Low-speed electric cars hit too many speed bumps in Canada
My Clean Break column in today’s Toronto Star is another example of how government can get in the way of a good thing. Two years ago a Vancouver company called Dynasty Electric Cars sells four of its low-speed electric vehicles to Ontario Parks, which is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources. They’re a perfect fit for parks staff, but then suddenly an e-mail from the Ministry of Transportation arrives early this year saying the Dynasty cars are against the law: Get them off the road!
You can read the column to get the rest of the story. Bottom line is there’s no real reason to keep these cars off low-speed roads in Ontario, yet the province refuses to move forward with new rules that permit them. As if the move toward cleaner vehicles doesn’t face enough challenges already…
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
October 10th, 2005 at 4:30 pm
Does this mean riding my bicycle on a road in Ontario makes me an outlaw?
What incompetence! Any chance you can post the email address(es) of the people involved in making this decision? I can’t be your only reader that would like to tell them to reconsider…
October 13th, 2005 at 3:20 pm
So Toronto is stopping transit growth on St. Clair, blocking low-speed vehicles and now banning Segways.
It sure feels like “the car” is setting the agenda. Maybe we should be calling it Torontoil!
Shame on TO
October 14th, 2005 at 10:36 am
Here’s the snail mail contact info for the minister of transportation.
Hon. Harinder Takhar
Minister – MINISTER’S OFFICE
Ferguson Block
3rd Flr
77 Wellesley St W
Toronto, ON M7A 1Z8
November 25th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
Hi,
I just talked to the Ministry of Transportation office,
they gave me the address of the Downsview Office (perhaps for the policy department.
Downsview
1201 Wilson Avenue
Downsview, ON M3M 1J8
So writing to them and requesting to have a new class of Vehicles ‘LSV’ Low Speed Vehicles added with the conditions like that of the ones that California has. Check
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/lsv/lsv.html
Where can i find a confirmation that BC and Quebec have that legislation passed? As i would like to post mail a request to each level of government…. but first I need to be very very specifac about the question and request.
I think the governement likes details, as the governement is not 1 person, which is why it takes forever to get anything passed, it is also a complex (partly redundent) system that is run by many people who pass on information…. so the more noise made about it, the faster paper gets passed. right?
December 7th, 2005 at 3:05 pm
In addition to getting LSVs onto the roads, I think some aditional measures need to taken to avoid vehicle-type conflicts (eg: cars-bicycles, semi-trailors-small cars). If smaller “neighbourhood” roads had their speed limits reduced it would cause the impatient-selfish-accident-causing drivers to avoid these slower roads thereby preventing congestion and conflicts.
June 6th, 2006 at 2:46 am
I am a big proponent of EV’s in Ontario, and in particular the city cores such as Toronto, Ottawa etc. where a limited range EV is just the ticket for many. If given the option I would own one vehicle. An electric. For longer hauls, a car share program would work for the 5% of the time I need the extended range.
While we are at it.. it would be nice to see sub 50cc scooters become road legal without needing registration and insurance.