Police have arrested and charged another person after conducting a traffic stop of a Low-Speed Vehicle (LSV).
On January 25 at 3:a.m., Nipissing West OPP conducted a traffic stop on William Street in Sturgeon Falls.
The driver was found to be a prohibited driver.
Alannah Commanda, 35, from Nipissing First Nation, was arrested and charged with, operation while prohibited.
Commanda was released and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice on March 6 in North Bay.
See: Cops charge 95 year old scooter operator with impaired
The pilot program for LSV was launched in 2017 and is to run for 10 years. Municipalities must pass by-laws to allow low-speed vehicles, which meet certain requirements to be used on Ontario roads up to a maximum speed of 50 kilometres an hour.
People interested in using an LSV should check with their local municipality to find out if LSVs can be used in their community.
In North Bay, enclosed mobility scooters are classified as pedestrians under the Highway Traffic Act. Because of this definition, enclosed mobility scooters can travel on a highway when sidewalks are not provided. While doing so, they must travel on the left side, facing oncoming traffic, as close to the left edge as possible. Failure to do so could result in fines of $35 to $50 for violation of section 179 of the Highway Traffic Act. If an enclosed mobility scooter interferes with the movement of vehicles on a highway or the movement of pedestrians on “a sidewalk, street corner, or shoulder of a highway,” they risk a $50 to $65 fine under the City of North Bay’s Traffic By-law 2014-38.
Ron Melnyk, North Bay's supervisor of bylaw enforcement told BayToday, "We do not have a bylaw allowing SLV's on our streets."
Key elements of the pilot program
- Low speed vehicles drive at a maximum speed between 32 - 40 km/h and may not be modified to drive faster than 40 km/h
- Low speed vehicles are only allowed on roads with a speed limit of up to 50 km/h if permitted by municipal by-law, and are allowed to be driven through an intersection where the speed limit of the cross street is not greater than 60km/h.
- Only LSVs that meet the federal motor vehicle standards for the low-speed vehicle class and have the compliance label affixed are eligible to participate in the pilot program.
- Slow moving vehicle sign must be attached to the rear of the vehicle
- LSV owners and operators must have a policy of automobile insurance that meets the requirements of the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act and that provides coverage for liability in the minimum amount of $5M and medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits in the minimum amount of $1M for non-catastrophic injuries and $2M for catastrophic injuries
For the full list of pilot requirements see Ontario Regulation 215/17:
Current Highway Traffic Act (HTA) rules apply to the driver/vehicle owner
- Drivers are required to have a full G class driver's licence or higher
- Low speed vehicles are subject to Ontario's mandatory seat belt requirements
- The vehicle must not be driven while carrying a child passenger younger than eight years old
- Low speed vehicles are prohibited from being used for an Ontario driver's licence road test
- No sidecars or trailers are permitted for use on a low-speed vehicle
Safety features:
Low speed vehicles have fewer safety features than passenger cars. While the physical design of LSVs may resemble many safety features of passenger cars (e.g. seat belts, steering wheel, pedals), LSVs will not be able to meet all requirements of a passenger car, for example, crash standards.
The standards for low-speed vehicles are set out by the federal government in its Low-Speed Vehicle Information Sheet. Anyone interested in more information on low-speed vehicles can visit the Ministry of Transportation website.
