OLDS — A flurry of questions and concerns were raised with Town of Olds officials and RCMP recently after riders of small motorized vehicles were approached by peace officers.
They were warned that it was against the law for them to be driven on the road – or even on sidewalks in some cases.
Some recipients of these visits said they’d been fined.
However, chief administrative officer Brent Williams said a check with staff indicated that no tickets had been issued; only warnings.
Olds resident Jennifer Clarke, who has cerebral palsy and other conditions, was one such person. While parked, she was given a warning and told if she continued to drive her mobility aid, she could face a $5,000 fine. Another man, Robert Fisher, who uses the same mobility scooter, was given the same warning.
During an interview with the Albertan, Clarke said she has filed a complaint with the Town of Olds. She was asked how she'll get around now. She said she'll probably have to rely on friends.
The whole issue prompted a lengthy discussion during a June town council meeting.
“I think that there needs to be a lot of education within the residents of town of Olds as to what is a prohibited vehicle and what is what is not a prohibited vehicle and what the difference between a mobility aid is and something that's simply not,” Olds RCMP commanding officer Staff Sgt. Warren Wright said.
Wright said a mobility aid is “a device used to facilitate transport in a normal seated orientation of a person with a physical disability.”
He said a moped “includes a vehicle with a motor that's propelled by an engine and has a displacement of not more than 50 CC and has a higher top speed than a mobility device.”
“It depends on the size, it depends on what's driving it, it depends on how much CC or horsepower it has; it depends on the speed,” he said.
Wright said a mobility aid is “your standard red scooter that you see the seniors operating.”
Wright said miniature vehicles prohibited by law from being driven on roads include “electric scooters that you see some residents operating. In fact, I saw one on the way here,” as well as pocket bikes, golf carts, motorized skateboards, go karts, personal transporters.
“You can't drive them on the road because they're not deemed to be licensable or insurable, per se, for public road operation, and you can't drive them on the sidewalk or municipal pathways because they're too big,” he said.
Wright said currently the Olds RCMP detachment has taken a stance of simply educating people about the difference between the various vehicles and what is and is not allowed on public roads “because I think a lot of people just don't really know (what the rules are in this regard).”
In response to a question by Coun. Dan Daley, Wright said mobility scooters are not allowed on roads, but are allowed on sidewalks and public paths.
Coun. Heather Ryan asked if police will be conducting meetings with seniors to inform them of the rules.
“I know that we do have quite a few seniors who do ride them or do have mobility scooters or wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs that they use on the roadway.
“This does put them at risk, and I'm always worried to see them running down the road with traffic being around them.
“I would hate to have any injuries involving that kind of thing. So I’m just wondering, if we do any kind of education that way, is that your department?”
Wright said such meetings could be held. Perhaps RCMP and municipal enforcement officers could hold them together.
“Anybody can show up, and we can talk about what's allowed, what's not allowed, road safety, that kind of thing, because I think it'll just improve everybody's safety in our in our community,” Wright said.
Protective services director Justin Andrew said there seems to be some misunderstanding about where the rules regarding these vehicles come from.
“Right now, we're following provincial legislation. The municipality cannot supersede that legislation, so there is no room for us to make exemptions or change the law that's from the provincial level on which vehicles are classified as prohibited versus not,” Andrew said.
“We would be remiss if we did not inform people that operation of such a device on a roadway is contrary to the Highway Traffic Act, and that there are consequences for that.”
Andrew said the focus is not so much on fines or penalties but to prevent accidents and injuries.
“They're not safety rated, they don't have crash protection such as roll cages, seatbelts, things like that, and that’s what makes this determination,” Andrew said.
He also said they’re not insured or registered, so “that puts a lot of people in a really tough spot.”
Andrew said unfortunately, at least as of a few weeks ago, provincial government literature on the matter did not include photos of all these different vehicles and what the rules are regarding each.
“We're going to strive to get better clarification of that so that they're listed,” he said.
Andrew said another problem is that the fact that some of these devices are not actually medical aids may only be “in the fine print.”
Coun. James Cummings said as a retailer, he is required by law to follow some strict rules about what can be sold and provide warnings accompanying the sale of some products.
He wondered if that’s the case with various mobility aids, scooters etc.
Or, he said, perhaps the town could advocate to the province that rules be put in place requiring consumers to be told what the legalities are for those vehicles.
Coun. Wanda Blatz suggested that the town post on its website and social media clarification about what kind of vehicles are and are not allowed on roads, sidewalks and pathways in town.
Williams said the town could do so.
Coun. Heather Ryan said the provincial government is currently reviewing its laws regarding vehicles such as e-scooters and golf carts.
She said it’s possible that in the future there could be an opportunity for communities to pass their own bylaws regarding what vehicles can and cannot operate on roads, sidewalks or pathways in town.
She said that all stemmed from an Alberta Municipalities resolution on the matter.
“So hopefully (we) will have even more information from the province coming down the pipe at some point,” she said.
