For a few years now, I’ve been seeing those electric unicycles on roads and sidewalks. My neighbour says they’re not allowed anywhere. She said her son in Vancouver got a ticket on one last year for driving a vehicle without insurance – but he still rides it. Are they banned here, too? If they are, why are they still being sold? – Haru, Toronto
Electric unicycles – knee-high single-wheeled vehicles that the rider controls by leaning forward, backward and to the side – are banned from public roads, bike lanes and sidewalks, police say. However, that is mostly because they aren’t specifically mentioned in the law yet and, as a result, are treated as a motor vehicle. But unlike a car, they can’t be insured.
“Electric unicycles are prohibited in Ontario, except on private property,” said Constable Sean Shapiro with the traffic services division of the Toronto Police Service. “People are getting severely injured in both slip-and-fall situations and in collisions where they’re riding through a crosswalk and motorists [are] taking them out because they’re not the most visible.”
Electric unicycles, also known as EUCs, are powered by a rechargeable battery – and they can hit speeds of up to 90 kilometres an hour, depending on the size of the electric motor.
Unlike bikes and e-bikes, EUCs – which have grown in popularity over the past decade – are not mentioned yet in Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
Therefore, they are considered to be motor vehicles, Shapiro said. The law states that a motor vehicle “includes an automobile, a motorcycle, a motor-assisted bicycle … and any other vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular power.”
So, while you can legally ride an EUC on private property – in Ontario, that includes parking lots – you can’t ride them on public roads, sidewalks, bike lanes or trails.
Because there are no specific rules for EUCs, police have to get creative. So, if you ride one on public property, you could be charged with driving a vehicle without insurance – even though EUCs cannot be registered or insured.
In Ontario, fines for the first offence range from $5,000 to $25,000, Shapiro said. You could also be charged for any traffic laws you break.
“You’re eligible to be charged with absolutely everything,” Shapiro said. “If you were doing something unsafe on it, like careless driving, impaired driving or speeding, you’d be eligible for those charges as well.”
Toronto police didn’t immediately have statistics available on how many EUC riders have been charged or injured.
While laws vary across Canada, they generally do not allow EUCs on public roads.
In Vancouver, for instance, police were charging riders with driving without insurance (a $598 fine). Vancouver police said they now focus on warnings – but may lay charges if a rider is being unsafe.
“Anyone operating an electric unicycle on a city street or sidewalk could be ticketed under the Motor Vehicle Act,” Sergeant Steve Addison, a Vancouver police spokesman, said in an e-mail. “This is not an enforcement priority and we always prefer to choose education prior to enforcement.”
Addison didn’t answer a question about how many tickets had been issued.
Clearer laws needed?
A Vancouver store that sells EUCs said it tells buyers about the laws.
“The thing is, there’s not really anything in the law that says they’re strictly illegal, though the tickets that the police have been giving out, which have never stood up in court, is driving without insurance,” said Bradley Spence, director of Eevee’s, a Vancouver store that sells personal electric vehicles, including EUCs. “There are so many new products coming out and the legislation is just so slow to catch up.”
Spence said customers started getting tickets last year for riding without insurance. The store told customers to fight the tickets in court.
“We have a lawyer now who helps our customers. Every single time we’ve taken it to court, the ticket has either been dismissed or reduced to maybe riding on the sidewalk, which is a $25 ticket,” Spence said. “So officers have now been issuing warnings instead of actual tickets. It was pretty insane to give a $600 ticket to someone just trying to ride to work and not have to drive in this very expensive city.”
Even though EUCs aren’t supposed to be ridden in public spaces, Spence said he tells EUC buyers to stay off sidewalks and stick to bike lanes – or, if there aren’t bike lanes, to keep to the right side of the road and try to go with the flow of traffic. Also, they should be wearing helmets and other protective gear, he said.
With no specific laws for EUCs right now, it’s a “bit of a wild west,” Spence said. He hopes the provincial government will change the law to allow EUCs in bike lanes or on some roads – with certain limits.
“I feel like there should be speed limits for everyone, including cyclists. There should be tickets if you’re speeding or riding recklessly,” he said. “I think the laws should be there for everyone and maybe one day they’ll have different infrastructure as well – like a micro-mobility lane [for EUCs and scooters] that’s faster than a bike lane.”
Laws have been adapting to allow a different kind of micro-mobility device – electric kick scooters. Several provinces, including British Columbia and Ontario, have pilot programs for e-scooters that require them to be limited to lower speeds. Toronto still doesn’t allow e-scooters on public roads, Shapiro said.
Even on private property, Shapiro recommends riding EUCs at lower speeds.
“If you’re going 45 or 50 kilometres an hour or more, you’re effectively being propelled through the air as Superman, and when you hit something, you’re not made of steel.”
Editor’s note: Constable Sean Shapiro owns an electric scooter, not an EUC as stated in an earlier version.
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