(CENTRAL HURON, ON) – Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on August 12, 2013 Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers were dispatched to Orchard Line near Black’s Point Road for a single motor vehicle collision involving an Electric Bicycle (E-Bike). Witnesses reported the driver of the E-Bike was travelling southbound on Orchard Line when he lost control and drove into the south side ditch. Officers arrived on scene and determined the driver had been drinking alcohol. He was displaying signs of impairment and was arrested for Impaired Driving. He was transported to the Huron OPP Detachment for breath tests. He provided two samples of his breath; both of his samples were above the legal limit. The driver was uninjured from the collision.
Dennis KELLY, 64, from Central Huron has been charged with Impaired Driving and Drive Motor Vehicle – Over 80 Milligrams of Alcohol. He remains in custody with a court date scheduled for the Ontario Court of Justice – Goderich on August 14, 2013. He received an automatic 90 day driver’s licence suspension and the motor vehicle has been impounded for seven days.
Driving an e-Bike while impaired: You do not need a driver’s licence to operate an e-bike. However, an e-bike is considered a motor vehicle under the Criminal Code of Canada. Anyone operating an e-bike while impaired by drug or alcohol can be charged with impaired driving under the Criminal Code. If convicted, the offender would be subject to the Criminal Code penalties, including a fine or jail time, and a driving prohibition.