The green car movement is in full swing in Canada where local governments throughout the province of British Columbia have begun to approve the use of low speed vehicles (LSVs).
The LSVs, also known as Neighbourhood Zero Emission Vehicles (NZEV), are basically electric vehicles – however, they are only permitted to travel at a maximum of 40km/h even though they can actually perform to a maximum of 60km/h. The reason for the restriction is that Transport Canada has deemed that the vehicles do not meet the safety standards required to travel at the same speed as petrol-powered vehicles.
The vehicles were banned on the streets of BC. However, changes to the Motor Vehicle Act have meant that local governments have taken another look at this mode of transportation.
The Act changed on July 1, 2008, and now includes a provision allowing vehicles on to the road that have a speed limit of 40km/h or less. The municipalities may now pass specific bylaws allowing the LSVs on all roads with speed limits of no more than 50km/h.
The district of Oak Bay was the first in BC to adopt the appropriate bylaw and now others have followed including Colwood, Esquimalt, Vancouver, Burnaby and most recently Qualicum Beach. The issue is also on the table in Whistler, Saanich, Summerland and Port Coquitlam.
LSVs are already well established in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec under various pilot projects.
