Interpretation

44.1In this Division:

"accessible taxi"  means a taxi having a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 4 500 kg, which is designed and manufactured or converted for the purpose of transporting persons who use mobility aids;

"CSA standard D409-92"  means the Canadian Standards Association standard D409-92, Motor Vehicle for the Transportation of Persons with Physical Disabilities, as adopted and modified by section 44.3;

"CSA standard Z605-95"  means the Canadian Standards Association standard Z605-95, Mobility Aid Securement and Occupant Restraint (MASOR) Systems for Motor Vehicles, as amended from time to time by the Canadian Standards Association;

"entry ramp"  means a ramp in a service entrance doorway of a vehicle;

"mobility aid"  means a device, including a manual wheelchair, electric wheelchair and scooter, that is used to facilitate the transport, in a normally seated orientation, of a person with a physical disability.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Application

44.2(1) A person must not, after June 30, 2000, drive or operate on a highway an accessible taxi that does not meet the requirements of this division.

(2) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 26/58, s. 44.2 (3).]

(3) Subsection (2) is repealed on January 1, 2011.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

CSA standard D409-92

44.3(1) The Canadian Standards Association standard D409-92, Motor Vehicle for the Transportation of Persons with Physical Disabilities, except clauses 6.8.1.5 (b), 6.8.1.9 (b), 6.11, 6.12.1 and 7.1.1, is adopted as amended from time to time by the Canadian Standards Association.

(2) If there is a conflict between CSA standard D409-92 and this division, this division prevails.

(3) A person must not drive or operate on a highway an accessible taxi unless the vehicle and its equipment comply with CSA standard D409-92.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Door and emergency exit requirements

44.4(1) Every accessible taxi must

(a) have an entrance door opening that is not less than 0.77 metres wide by 1.32 metres high, and

(b) provide a means of egress through an opening that is not less than 0.70 metres wide by 1.0 metres high, located either at the end of the vehicle or on the side opposite the entrance door.

(2) A manual device is required for unlatching each door from the inside of an accessible taxi and the manual device must be engineered to offer protection against accidental release.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Passenger seat quick-release

44.5If an accessible taxi is equipped with a passenger seat that interferes with the emergency exit, the seat must be equipped with quick-release seat anchorages to facilitate rapid seat removal and unimpeded emergency exit from the vehicle without the need to use any tools.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Inside height

44.6(1) Every accessible taxi must have a minimum interior vertical clearance, measured from the floor to the interior surface of the roof, of

(a) 1.44 metres if the mobility aid is secured in the front passenger area, and

(b) 1.46 metres for all other mobility aid positions.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the measurements must be taken at the point where the shoulder of a mobility aid occupant is positioned when the mobility aid is securely fastened.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Clearance requirements

44.7(1) Every accessible taxi must, when operated on a highway, provide a floor space inside the vehicle for each mobility aid of not less than

(a) 0.68 metres by 1.30 metres in side entry vehicles, and

(b) 0.68 metres by 1.14 metres in rear entry vehicles,

and the longer dimension must be parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal centre line.

(2) An accessible taxi must not have any fixed vehicle structure at a secured mobility aid position, within the zones referred to in clause 7.1.2 of CSA standard D409-92, except components described in CSA standard Z605-95.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to the upper front quadrant area, as described in Figure 2 of CSA standard D409-92, for mobility aid positions located beside the driver in the front of the accessible taxi.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Mobility aid securement and occupant restraint

44.8(1) Every accessible taxi must be equipped with mobility aid securement devices that conform with CSA standard Z605-95 at the time of manufacture or conversion and before the vehicle is first put into commercial service.

(2) An operator of an accessible taxi must, before the vehicle is put in motion, secure every occupant of a mobility aid in a forward or rearward facing orientation by a securement system and procedure that meets the requirements of CSA standard Z605-95.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Entry ramp requirement and standards

44.9(1) Every accessible taxi must be equipped with all of the following:

(a) an entry ramp with the least slope practicable which must not exceed

(i) 1:4, if the height difference, between the vehicle floor from which the ramp is deployed and the ground where the bottom of the ramp is rested, is 0.23 metres or less,

(ii) 1:6, if the height difference, between the vehicle floor from which the ramp is deployed and the ground where the bottom of the ramp is rested, is greater than 0.23 metres but less than or equal to 0.30 metres,

(iii) 1:8, if the height difference, between the vehicle floor from which the ramp is deployed and the ground where the bottom of the ramp is rested, is greater than 0.30 metres but less than or equal to 0.38 metres, or

(iv) 1:10, if the height difference, between the vehicle floor from which the ramp is deployed and the ground where the bottom of the ramp is rested, is greater than 0.38 metres;

(b) an entry ramp threshold or transition from roadway, sidewalk, flat ground or vehicle floor to the top surface of the ramp, that consists of a beveled ramp edge with a slope no less than 1:2, if the height difference is more than 6 mm from the ramp surface to the ground;

(c) an entry ramp surface that is in a single plane, slip resistant, does not have protrusions from the surface greater than 6 mm in height and that is capable of accommodating both four-wheel and three-wheel mobility aids.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an accessible taxi that is equipped with a powered mobility aid lift which meets the requirements of CSA standard D409-92.

[en. B.C. Reg. 236/2000, s. 3.]

Certificate of service

45.01The following Certificate of Service is prescribed for the purposes of section 234 (4) (c) of the Act:

[en. B.C. Reg. 178/2000, s. 2.]

Fees

46.01(1) The prescribed fee for a remedial program under section 25.1 of the Act is $880.

(2) The prescribed fee for an ignition interlock program under section 25.1 of the Act is $150.

[en. B.C. Reg. 174/2005.]

Definition

47.01In this Division, "official vehicle" means

(a) a motor vehicle operated by a peace officer, constable or member of the police branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the discharge of his or her duty,

(b) an ambulance as defined in the Emergency Health Services Act,

(c) a motor vehicle operated by fire services personnel as defined in the Fire Services Act in the discharge of personnel duties,

(d) a tow car, and

(e) a motor vehicle operated by one of the following in the discharge of his or her duty:

(i) a member of the Conservation Officer Service as described in section 106 of the Environmental Management Act;

(ii) a person authorized to exercise the powers and perform the duties of a constable or peace officer for purposes set out in the Inspectors Authorization Regulation, B.C. Reg. 372/92;

(iii) a person authorized to exercise the powers conferred on, and perform the duties of, peace officers for the purposes of enforcing the Passenger Transportation Act and the Passenger Transportation Regulation;

(iv) a park ranger appointed under section 4 (2) of the Park Act;

(v) a person employed in the Ministry of Forests and Range who is appointed as a special provincial constable under section 9 of the Police Act.

[en. B.C. Reg. 148/2009, s. 2; am. B.C. Reg. 145/2013, App. 2, s. 11 (b).]

When an official vehicle is stopped

47.02(1) Subject to subsection (2), if an official vehicle with illuminated flashing red or blue lamps or lights, or both, or flashing amber lamps or lights is stopped on or on the side of a highway, a person driving a motor vehicle on the highway in either direction must drive the motor vehicle at the following rate of speed when approaching or passing the official vehicle:

(a) 70 km/h if signs on the highway limit the rate of speed to 80 km/h or more;

(b) 40 km/h if signs on the highway limit the rate of speed to less than 80 km/h.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a driver who approaches or passes an official vehicle from the opposite direction on a highway that contains a laned roadway or is divided by a median.

(3) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1), a driver travelling in a lane adjacent to the stopped official vehicle or in the same lane in which the official vehicle is stopped must, if it is safe to do so, and unless otherwise directed by a peace officer, move his or her motor vehicle into another lane of the laned roadway, if any.

[en. B.C. Reg. 148/2009, s. 2.]