Tecumseh is the latest municipality to discuss electric bikes and scooters. On Tuesday, town council approved a motion requesting administration to prepare a report with an update on local and provincial by-laws and regulations pertaining to e-bikes and e-scooters. Ward 3 councillor Rick Tonial feels every municipality in the province is dealing with e-bike and e-scooter issues. He believes bylaws and laws need to be streamlined by the province and municipalities. “There’s a law if it has 30 miles an hour, there’s a law if it’s 15 miles an hour, there’s laws on different things, if it’s two wheels, is it one wheel, is it three wheels, all these things,” he says. “I think we need to streamline everything down to one kind of definition of these vehicles, these electric vehicles.” Tonial is a retired OPP officer and says insurance is a big issue for him. “There’s no insurance on those bikes,” says Tonial. “So if a resident in their vehicle hits the kid or the person on that e-bike, the insurance will go to the driver of the car because the kid doesn’t have insurance on it. So the provincial government needs to regulate that too and say they need to have insurance on these vehicles because it’s going to become a pain.” He says a lot of residents are seeing the destruction e-bikes and e-scooters are causing in the municipality. “A lot of residents are trying to drive or walk or bike with their families on trails, and they’re being accosted by these five or six of these bikes flying by them with no concern and no respect; however, I know the OPP in Tecumseh have done some educational things,” he says. “They’ve gone to sites where kids hang out with these bikes.” Tonial feels the province and municipalities need to act fast. Earlier this week, Amherstburg councillor Molly Allaire introduced a notice of motion to have the town and Windsor Police use social media to educate the public about the rules regarding e-bikes and e-scooters. Allaire also called for more education and more enforcement around the popular vehicles before the situation worsens. In Windsor, Ward 7 councillor Angelo Marignani requested administration to review the city’s policies and measures to address the rising use of the vehicles.
