Issue #251 Snow Job For Quebec Riders
Written by Nancy Irwin   
Thursday, 07 May 2009
For the second time in less than six months there’s been shocking news about new or proposed laws in Canada. The first involved the proposed Bill 117 that would prohibit motorcyclists in the province of Ontario from carrying passengers under age 14. But now we hear that Quebec’s public insurer, SAAQ, has effectively banned motorcycles from provincial roads between Dec. 15 and Mar. 15, by evoking the same law that made snow tires mandatory in Quebec and subsequently created a run on the winter rubber that, in turn, caused a shortfall of those items in the rest of Canada.

At the core of the problem, SAAQ lumps motorcycles into the passenger vehicle category. Funny, but my insurance company here in Toronto doesn’t consider motorcycles to be passenger vehicles. So I guess the term “passenger vehicle” varies from province to province or from government to insurance company. Can the dictionary help with these definitions?

But, maddeningly, there’s a Catch-22. While Quebec defines motorcycles as passenger vehicles, and as such must be fitted with winter tires for the season, there are in reality no such things as DOT- or Transport Canada-approved snow tires for motorcycles. (Ice racing tires don’t count.) Quebec should have recognized the circular reasoning of the situation and exempted motorcycles from the new law but, to be fair, the need to do so seemed neither obvious nor pressing. Let’s face it: very few people ride motorcycles in blizzards, though it has been done, I can assure you. But the government’s response was overly simplistic: No motorcycle riding at all on the bracketed dates.

This does not apply to bicycles, which are not considered passenger vehicles and so may travel the streets of Quebec unimpeded. Also exempt are emergency motorcycles, which would mean police. In English we call this a double standard.

I heard about the snow tire law at a party one Saturday night. A bunch of us bikers get together every winter at Holly’s Brick Party. A Brick Party? 

“It originated as a party for the people who did timing and scoring with me at Shannonville’s and Mosport’s RACE events,” says organizer Holly Ralph. “You are so busy writing down numbers, you don’t actually see the race. So in the off-season I would have the party for them, and show the taped versions of the races that had been televised. “Believe it or not, there are some people who aren’t always nice to the people who help put their races on. So we always had a good supply of foam bricks to toss at the TV when they came into view.”

Joining us was Montreal resident Marc St-Pierre, who visits for bike shows and events a few times a year. He heard about our Bill 117 over dinner last December, when it was hot news across the country, and rushed to speak to me about this new Quebec legislation. What he had to say about the new highway safety code in Quebec astounded me, and for confirmation I called the Quebec Ministry of Transportation where I spoke with Director of Communications, Paul-Jean Charest.

Charest said the rationale behind the law lies in a 2005 study, according to which 38 per cent of accidents in winter involved at least one vehicle with only all-season tires, while 90 per cent of vehicles on Quebec roads have snow tires. This, according to Charest, implies all-season tires were over-represented in accidents.

When I asked about motorcycles, Charest said that while they are considered passenger vehicles under Quebec law, they were not part of the study. No surprises there. The government put the law into effect Dec. 15 because some groups complained about the original dates: Nov. 15 to Apr. 1. Those would have been car drivers because it seems most motorcycle operators don’t yet even realize the law applies to them. Like last year, this winter brought so much snow that by Nov. 15 no one normal could ride much anyway. The consequence was that this law slid undetected past the radar of most motorcycle riders. But there are years when mild conditions allow for year-round motorcycling. Unfortunately, the enactment of legislation is seldom weather dependent.

What surprised me was Charest’s claim that there were no formal complaints from motorcycle riders. He admitted there had been some calls from riders unhappy with the regulations, but was unsure how many, and ultimately, it didn’t matter. Charest says that a “formal complaint” is recognized only when it comes in writing from an association. Again, where’s my dictionary?

The new law comes with consequences: fines range between $200 and $300, with no loss of points. There are also provisos. Should you leave the province of Quebec before Dec. 15, you can apply for a seven-day exemption to return home. You can also apply for an exemption to leave the province in winter to travel to Florida, for example. Seven days. Passenger vehicles visiting Quebec from out-of-province are exempt too.

Marc, an aerospace industry technician, is one of those people who tends to ride all year, or as long as he can, as does his partner Susan, a secretary at McGill’s Faculty of Dentistry. The Pierrefonds, Quebec couple choose not to own a car, preferring to spend money on other things—such as motorcycle trips.
But now Marc, the owner of a 2006 BMW R1200ST and 1968 BMW R69S, is fuming. He says that because he does not own an automobile, nor has he for the past 25 years, he has to rely on his motorcycles to get around Montreal, especially near his home on West Island where public transportation is sparse.

“I demand the right to ride when conditions are favourable and not according to a government-imposed curfew,” he says. “I paid for insurance coverage and I want to be able to use it whenever I want!”
Though regulators may cite the danger factor of piloting a motorcycle in winter driving conditions, Marc and wife Susan, who rides a 2005 Suzuki Boulevard C50, very likely represent the demographic willing to ride beyond the fall months. And for them, false bravado is just not on.
“Motorcyclists as a rule don’t ride when conditions are slippery,” says Marc. “I don’t want to ride in snow and sleet.” But under the new ruling that allows only a few slim exemptions, the decision to do so has been removed from his discretion.

His situation, and that of all Quebec motorcyclists brings to mind that old expression, “Let Those Who Ride Decide.” And on that note, it’s worth mentioning that Ontario’s Bill 117 passed second reading, Dec. 4, in spite of strong opposition. It was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy where it sits and will hopefully “die.”
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