Online game promotes rules of the road for scooters, e-wheels and other PMDs
The use of motorized personal mobility devices (PMDs) – including electric scooters and e-wheels – is growing in Laval.
And so, to educate the public and to promote safe practices, the Laval Police are launching an online interactive game called “Let’s Go Raoul!”
Designed as a road safety prevention tool, the game is aimed at both new PMD users as well as all other users of the road.
Learning while doing
Through interactive play inspired by video games, participants choose their character, their equipment and their route, while learning about current regulations and safe practices to reduce the risk of accidents.
“Because this mode of transportation is relatively new, the public remains largely unaware of the requirements of the Highway Safety Code and the conditions surrounding its use,” said Karine Ménard, director of the Laval Police.
As the risks associated with riding personal mobility devices (PMDs) in urban areas are still poorly understood, and the development of this type of mobility has already raised significant road safety issues in several cities around the world, “it was therefore essential to offer a fun tool, all within a simple and engaging approach,” Ménard added.
Funding from Quebec
It’s worth noting that the project is made possible thanks to the financial participation of the Government of Quebec through the Road Safety Fund’s Financial Assistance Program.
“The efforts undertaken by the Laval Police Service to create this interactive game aim to raise awareness among road users,” said Benoit Charette, Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
“Thanks to the financial support of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, this initiative will contribute to improving pedestrian safety and the quality of travel,” he continued. “This type of project is essential to promoting safe and sustainable active transportation.”
Chance to win an e-scooter
Available online, “Ça roule Raoul!” is responsive and can be used on a mobile phone, tablet or computer. By completing the game, participants also get a chance to win an electric scooter valued at $1,000.
The contest runs from May 18 to September 7. You can play this interactive game here: carouleraoul.ca. Here are some rules for personal mobility devices (PMDs):
Traffic rules
In general, the traffic rules that must be followed by users of PMDs are similar to those for cyclists, including:
• Use the bike path, when available.
• Ride as close as possible to the curb or the right side of the roadway and in the same direction as traffic;
• Ride on the shoulder in the same direction as traffic;
• Don’t ride on the sidewalk, except in exceptional circumstances;
• Yield to pedestrians, especially at crosswalks;
• Obey traffic signals applicable to cyclists.
Users of a personal mobility device (PMD) also must:
• Be at least 14 years old and carry proof of age;
• Wear a properly fitted and securely fastened helmet.
But users of a PMD must not:
• Ride on a public road where the speed limit exceeds 50 km/h;
• Wear headphones;
• Carry passengers;
• Pull or push any other object or person;
• Use a cell phone or any other entertainment display.
Mobile phone exceptions
• When the cell phone is properly and securely mounted on the PMD and is only transmitting information necessary for the user’s movement or related to the operation of the equipment;
• When the user is stopped at the edge of the road or on the shoulder, so as not to obstruct traffic.
The Laval Police have been trying to clarify for PMD users the conditions for the safe and legal operation of e-scooters, e-wheels and similar conveyances on the city’s roads and streets since at least August 2024. That’s when they held a safety and information session in the parking lot outside the Carrefour Laval one Saturday afternoon.
Since 2023 when the city first allowed and began promoting the use of rented e-scooters on Laval’s streets, the number of scooters available at rental stations in Laval had doubled, according to an LPD spokesperson, and their number since then has no doubt increased.
Careless ATPM users can be fined
The LPD’s spokesperson said at the time that they were taking proactive action to clarify the conditions for the safe and legal operation of e-scooters, which are now defined within the Quebec highway safety code.
Those who ride them but who fail to abide by the rules risk receiving $100 tickets (plus administration fees) for moving violations. Perhaps the most important of these is failing to wear a helmet while operating an e-scooter.
E-scooters and e-wheels are two of a growing range of new mobility devices which came onto the market in recent years – often through relatively lax internet-retailing practices – leaving governments and road safety regulators scrambling to catch up and adapt road safety laws.
