| Written by CMG Staff on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 |
Artist's impression of SAAQ discussing motorcycles ...
Image by kachukeland
Hi,
I just had a thought and was thinking this could actually benefit all
the motorcycle riders in Quebec if this could be addressed with the
appropriate government agency towards which I don't have any access
unfortunately...
My
issue is the fact that it is now mandatory to have winter tires
installed on any passenger/tourism vehicle from December 15 until March
15.
Refer to http://www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/portal/page/portal/grand_public_en/vehicules_promenade/securite_routiere/securite_conditions_hivernales/reglement_utilisation_pneus_hiver
If
we follow that requirement on all passenger vehicles, we have to come
to the conclusion that there are no winter tires sold for motorcycles
and therefore riding with those same motorcycles would be illegal as of
the middle of December.
That same conclusion leads us to the fact that
it is impossible to ride a motorcycle all year round in Quebec and
therefore the licence plates for the winter months should be refundable
with a real break on the licences fees the same way it goes on a sports
car that is only plated for the summertime and for which the driver
receives about 100$ out of his 259$ yearly fee.
Can
you give me your opinion on this issue and send it to whomever you
think can address it with the Ministere des transports du Quebec?
Thanks
JF Filion-Pilon
JF, you're a genius ... almost!
I took a look at the info on the SAAQ website and found this unfortunate caveat:
"Vehicles for which winter tires
are not available shall be excluded, by Departmental order, from the
mandatory use of tires specifically designed for winter driving.
Because the vehicles in question will change from year to year and
because they may only become known quite late in the season, this
Departmental order shall be published annually."
Besides, I did some further digging and found this*:
"The province of Quebec hates motorcycles and motorcyclists. It is the mandate of the SAAQ to discriminate against, charge for services which cannot possibly be used, unjustly hike insurance rates, limit access on select public roads and generally do our best to make motorcyclists feel like second class citizens."
So although your thought process is fair and logical, sadly the SAAQ isn't.
Nice try though.
Cheers, Rob
* Okay, we may have made that last bit up ...
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