Lawyer talks e-scooters in Saskatchewan

E-scooters can be a fun way to zip around the city, but they also come with a lengthy list of regulations.

Gormley spoke with trial lawyer Mark Brayford in a segment called “the laws of summer,” during which they discussed legal updates from the previous year or problems people could face this summer.

One of those topics was e-scooters and e-bikes.

“Some of the regulations are really important not to violate because they can involve criminal consequences. Others involve provincial or bylaw consequences,” Brayford said.

E-scooters rolled into Regina in June, one month after they were permitted in Saskatoon. While it has been a fun mode of transportation for some, others have had issues with improperly parked scooters.

The most obvious rule is not using an e-scooter while impaired.

“It looks innocuous, and you’re likely not to hurt someone else, but you could certainly hurt yourself and in any event, it has a motor, you can’t drive it home from the bar if you’re impaired. It’s that simple,” Brayford said.

E-scooters also come with an age restriction of 16 and older, but you don’t need a drivers licence to operate one.

“That’s by virtue of a provincial law. There’s a new act provincially called the Limited Speed Motor Vehicle Regulations,” he said.

“You’ll find all sorts of things — that you can’t tow anyone, you can’t hang onto somebody else while they’re towing you, you can’t have a passenger, you’ve got to have a helmet (and) you have to have lights in certain circumstances. I can’t even read all the regulations; it would take too long.”

Municipalities also layer their own regulations on top of that.

“As to whether or not you can legally ride them within big cities, you’re going to have to go to the city’s bylaws as well as the provincial legislation to see in your jurisdiction what you can do on them,” he said.

However, e-bikes have different legislation.

“E-bikes are right in the Traffic Safety Act, in the legislation itself,” Brayford said. “You’ll find the rules oddly enough for an e-bike say you can be 14 whereas for an e-scooter you have to be 16. Neither one do you need a driver’s licence.”

A lot of people think they found a loophole with operating an e-bike while under the influence, but Brayford strongly suggests otherwise.

He said even just pedalling the bikes and not using the motorized boost is not worth the risk of being criminally charged.

“I think it’s the same as the person that foolishly sits in the driver’s seat of a car when they’re impaired with the car shut off but the keys in their possession. You’re in control of that vehicle. I think you’re in control of the e-bike even though you may not be using the motor,” he explained.

He suggests people visit the CanLII website for the full list of Saskatchewan laws on e-scooters and e-bikes.