This Torontonian could get fined up to $25K for how they're driving an e-scooter, police say. Here's why
TPS Traffic Unit says driving e-scooters in Toronto could lead to hefty fines if they are driven around without the following things. (TikTok/@trafficservices)
A Torontonian caught speeding on an electronic kick scooter could get slammed with a fine of up to $25,000, according to police.
On Sunday, Toronto police’s Traffic Unit posted a TikTok of someone riding an electronic scooter along Lake Shore Boulevard downtown, asking if viewers could spot the motorcycle in the video.
“Yeah, I’m actually talking to the guy standing on the e-kick scooter,” Const. Sean Shapiro said in the video, which has amassed nearly 190,000 views at the time of publication.
“Why is it a motorcycle? Because it goes beyond 24 kilometres an hour, which means it's not covered under the provincial pilot that allows them in some municipalities – not Toronto, by the way.”
Shapiro told CTV News Toronto via email that this rider was travelling more than 50 km/h, which doesn’t meet the definition of an e-scooter.
“So because it’s a motorcycle, it requires a motorcycle licence, it requires a registration and plate,” Shapiro said in the video.
“It also requires insurance, which means this person, on first conviction, can get fines of $5,000 to $25,000 and up to six months in jail. Not worth it.”
As of Jan. 1, 2020, Ontario launched its five-year electronic scooter pilot program, which gave municipalities the option to opt in and choose where and how they can be used.
However, Toronto’s city council unanimously voted in May 2021 against opting into the e-scooter pilot program. According to the City, these types of motorized kick-scooters cannot be "operated, left, stored or parked" on any public street or pathway in the city.
Correction
A previous version of this story said Torontonians caught driving electronic kick scooters could get fined up to $25,000 since the city opted out of the province’s pilot program. However, Const. Sean Shapiro clarified that due to the high speed this particular rider was going did not meet the definition of an e-scooter under the law. However, driving prohibited vehicles in Toronto is a by-law offence and could still be met with a fine.
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