Did you know that a bike rack on the back of your car could get you a ticket? Or that you could get thousands of dollars back at tax time because you bought an your electric vehicle?
Until readers asked us this year, we sure didn’t know the answers.
You asked us a lot of smart questions in 2023 – here are the answers that surprised us most.
Cars don’t have to get out of your way when you flash your high beams
Slow traffic should keep to the right, but there’s no button on your car that will make that happen.
There’s no law anywhere in Canada that says cars in front of you must get out of your way if you flash your high beams – and doing it probably won’t work, a safety expert said,
“If you feel the need to flash high beams, I would take one or two deep breaths and look for the next coffee shop,” said Angelo DiCicco, general manager of the Ontario Safety League.
Buying an EV could you save thousands at tax time
If you’re self-employed or have to use your car for your job, you could write off thousands of dollars on the purchase price of a new EV – as long as you turned down the $5,000 federal incentive when you bought the car.
“You could save a lot more than the rebate,” said Daniel Breton, chief executive officer at Electric Mobility Canada, a Montreal-based national non-profit that promotes EV ownership. “It’s a great program and nobody seems to know about it.”
You can get a ticket if your bike rack blocks your licence plate
Police don’t like it when you have too much on your plate – including a rear-mounted bike rack.
In every province it’s against the law to have anything covering your licence plates, whether you realize it or not.
“Police vehicles are all equipped with automatic licence-plate readers, so they need to be able to scan the licence plates to look for [expired and suspended licences] and warrants,” said Kyla Lee, a Vancouver criminal lawyer.
But you can’t get an extra plate to put on your bike rack
No province allows you to buy an extra licence plate that you can mount on a bike rack to avoid getting a ticket. You also can’t display a photocopy or sticker of your plate on your rack instead.
If you use a rear-mounted bike rack and don’t want to worry about getting a ticket, your best bet is to find a rack that won’t obscure your plate when properly installed.
Ontario will let you opt out of coverage for your car if you’re not at fault in a collision
Starting in January, Ontario will be the only province to let you decline coverage for damage to your vehicle when you’re not at fault. It might save you a few bucks a month, but it could cost you tens of thousands if somebody hits you.
“It’s something you have to [willingly agree to] sign and I would fully recommend speaking to your broker or agent about it, just so you know what will happen if you get into an accident,” said Morgan Roberts, director of RH Insurance, a Toronto-based online insurance brokerage. “It’s a lot to decline if you don’t know what you’re declining.”
In Toronto, there are no limits on how many cars from one house can park on the street
In areas of Toronto with permit parking, there are no limits on the number of permits per household.
“That’s done by design,” said Michael Cude, a supervisor of permit parking for the City of Toronto. “You can have one property that has multiple dwellings – you might have a duplex.”
Some other Canadian cities, including Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver do have limits.
“It’s meant to have residents pause and say: ‘Do I need two vehicles or more?’” said Victoria Horne, the director of parking services with the City of Halifax.
Airless tires are being tested on roads – but they’re still not close to hitting the market
Airless tires are, well, tires that don’t need air. They have rubber treads, like normal tires, but the treads are mounted on a ring and supported by plastic or rubber spokes – which are exposed.
While several tire makers are working on airless tires, most companies wouldn’t say how close they are to hitting the roads beyond the testing phase.
If you get an EV, you probably need a home charger
While you could once get away with just a standard outlet, the current advice for most EV owners is to get a home charger.
That’s because most modern EVs have bigger batteries and could take days to recharge without one.
“If you plug a Ford F-150 Lightning into a 120-volt outlet, it will take you a week to fill the battery,” Breton said.
Most provinces can’t take a tint on front windows
Most provinces take a dark view of aftermarket tints on front windows.
That’s because drivers may not be able to see out clearly – and police, other drivers and pedestrians may not be able to see in.
Several provinces – including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia – ban any aftermarket tint on front side windows. Other provinces allow some tinting. For example, in Quebec and New Brunswick, front side windows have to let through at least 70 per cent of light. In Manitoba, it is 50 per cent.
Have a driving question? Send it to globedrive@globeandmail.com and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.