Segways get green light to roll through Nova Scotia streets
New legislation comes into effect May 1, but it's up to municipalities to decide whether to welcome segways
Segways have been given the green light to travel on Nova Scotia sidewalks, bike lanes and roads, but there's no guarantee they'll be welcome everywhere in the province.
Starting May 1, the self-balancing, two-wheeled electric vehicles can be driven with no licence required.
Legislation related to the vehicles was passed last year after a two-year pilot project that evaluated their safety.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal said it didn't find any major incidents involving segways and pedestrians or cyclists.
Spokesman Brian Taylor said there will be strict rules users will have to follow, including the use of helmets.
Other rules include:
- A minimum age of 16 for users, except 14 with guardian permission when on a guided tour.
- No towing another person or device.
- Drivers must stand.
- Speed limits of seven km/h on sidewalks, 20 km/h on roads.
- No operating on roads with a speed limit over 60 km/h.
Taylor said despite the legislation, it will still be up to municipalities to decide whether to welcome segways on their own streets and under what circumstances.
"The legislation is flexible that allows municipalities to allow or disallow segways on all or portions of their streets," he said.
"As you can imagine, some streets have tourist attraction type streets they might not want segways on there, or they may only want segways on there."
Taylor said many cities and towns don't have rules yet regarding the vehicles.
"This legislation gives them the flexibility to decide there, but it also puts the rules in place as a baseline for them to build off of," he said.
The Halifax Regional Municipality said it will follow the rules set out in the Motor Vehicle Act until there is direction from council to study the issue and perhaps draft their own rules.