Regulations will keep low-speed electric vehicles off Ontario roads
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 8:24 AM ET
CBC News
It looks as if low-speed electric vehicles will not make it onto Ontario's roads.
The Ministry of Transportation has finalized its safety rules for a pilot project that would have allowed electric cars on the road, but the companies that make the cars say those regulations are too strict.
Torontonian Aaron Binder was looking forward to the arrival of the electric car. He's a big believer in electric vehicles — and gets around the city on a Segway. He was encouraged when he heard the province had unveiled a pilot project to allow low-speed electric vehicles on the public streets, "so we could be like B.C., or even Alberta."
But then came the fine print.
The ministry's regulations for low-speed electric cars means adding safety features that are not demanded by Ottawa.
The rules in Ontario are even stricter than U.S. and European standards for the same class of vehicle.
Catherine Scrimgeor of Toronto-based ZENN Motors, the maker of an electric vehicle, says for her company it's the final straw.
"The ZENN [electric car] as it exists right now — the ZENN car that we sell in Quebec and the United States — will not be marketed in Ontario," she said.
Al Cormier is with Electric Mobility Canada, a group of electric vehicle manufacturers consulted by the province. He says the new rules reflect concerns about the safety when slow electric cars are added to the traffic mix.
"Ontario was trying to address that concern by having additional requirements. But these additions don't make the project viable for [existing electric cars]," he said.
Cormier says he'll be surprised if any electric car manufacturer will ever qualify for the province's low-speed vehicle pilot project.
Electric car fans like Binder say they will have to wait until the full-speed models hit the streets.
