Rules for motorcycles and scooters

The same traffic rules that apply to all drivers of road vehicles also apply to motorcycle and moped or scooter drivers. However, you must also comply with certain rules specific to the use of this type of vehicle.

A moped, also known as a scooter, is a passenger vehicle that meets all the following characteristics:

• It has two or three wheels.
• It has a maximum speed of 70 km/h.
• It has an electric motor or a motor equipped with a piston displacement of not more than 50 cc.
• It has an automatic transmission.

A motorcycle is a passenger vehicle, other than a power-assisted bicycle, having two or three wheels that has at least one characteristic different from the characteristics of a moped or scooter.

To operate on public roads, your motorcycle or your moped or scooter must comply with Canadian motor vehicle safety standards.

This means it must have a factory-affixed compliance label containing several items of information, including the vehicle identification number (VIN), date of manufacture and vehicle type.

Attention: Access to public roads is prohibited for various two- or three-wheel motorized vehicles that resemble motorcycles or mopeds (or scooters) and do not bear a national safety mark or compliance label. These vehicles can pose a safety risk to road users, including cyclists, because of their considerable weight and the speeds they can reach.

When driving a motorcycle or a moped or scooter, you must:

• Remain seated on the seat.

• Keep hold of the handlebars.

• Drive in zigzag (staggered) formation when travelling in a group in the same lane.

When riding a motorcycle, a moped or scooter, or in a sidecar, you must wear a helmet that is correctly adjusted and firmly attached. Also, if you are driving on roads where the maximum authorized speed limit is over 50 km/h, your helmet must be fitted with a visor; otherwise, you must wear eye protection.

When driving a motorcycle or a moped or scooter on a public road, you are not allowed to pass between:

• two rows of vehicles moving in adjacent lanes
• the shoulder of the road and another vehicle travelling in the same lane
• a parked vehicle and a vehicle travelling in the same lane

You cannot drive on a limited access highway, such as a freeway, with:

• a motorcycle equipped with a motor having a piston displacement of 125 cc or less
• a motorcycle with an electric motor having a power rating of 11 kW or less
• a moped or scooter

You may not drive your motorcycle or your moped or scooter, or let anyone else drive it, if the sound level of the exhaust system exceeds the limit value allowed (in decibels).

When the vehicle’s engine is running at a constant or variable speed, the sound level must not exceed:

• 100 dB for motorcycles
• 90 dB for mopeds or scooters

You may carry another person on a motorcycle or a moped or scooter if you are 16 years of age or older and your vehicle is equipped with:

• a permanently fixed seat designed for that purpose
• footrests mounted on each side

In addition, the passenger must wear a helmet while on your motorcycle or your moped or scooter.

All passengers must also be seated facing the handlebars and with both feet on the footrests.

You may not drive a motorcycle or a moped or scooter if the passenger does not follow these requirements.

You have to park your motorcycle or your moped or scooter in the same direction as the flow of traffic and no more than 30 cm from the edge of the nearest curb, unless otherwise indicated.

On a slope, you have to park your motorcycle or your moped or scooter so that if it moves ahead of its own momentum, it will do so toward the edge of the nearest curb rather than the middle. 

However, your motorcycle or your moped or scooter may be parked diagonally to the edge of the nearest curb in the same direction as the flow of traffic, so that if it moves of its own momentum, it will do so toward the edge of the nearest curb.