As of today, October 19, the former Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act has been replaced with the new Traffic Safety Act (TSA). After being introduced nearly 100 years ago and having last had a major update in 1989, the former act was well overdue for full re-write to reflect changes in road use, and the growing number of vulnerable road users. 

Cycling Nova Scotia has been actively working on reforming the Motor Vehicle Act since 2016, so are pleased to see that many changes have been made to support safer sharing of the road. In 2017 along with Halifax Cycling Coalition, the Ecology Action Centre, the Atlantic Active Alliance, and Walk N’ Roll Halifax, we established an Active Transportation Subcommittee of the Road Safety Advisory to work on the TSA. As a group, we set out with the following objectives:

  • Increase road safety for all
  • Promote and prioritize walking and wheeling
  • Remove barriers to walking and wheeling, including legal penalties
  • Increase the responsibility of drivers
  • Expand tools available to create safe, continuous and connected active transportation networks

What followed was years of advocacy and engagement, which included regular engaging with the Province, HRM and regional police forces to draft the TSA. We re-engaged the public in 2020 to inform feedback to the province and to encourage the public to get involved as well and share their own thoughts on the proposed updates.

There are many changes that impact cyclists in the TSA in effect as of today. Some of these changes include:

  • Establishing bike lane rules (e.g., a bike must yield to traffic when exiting a bike lane, and overtaking other cyclist in a bike lane)
  • When overtaking a vehicle, a bicycle must maintain at least 1 metre distance 
  • A driver of a vehicle must follow the 1 metre rule even when bicycle is in an unprotected bike lane
  • A driver must not make a right turn after passing a bicycle if a bicycle is approaching from the rear
  • A cyclist must walk their bike across a crosswalk unless they have a physical disability that would prevent them from doing so
  • A child under 14 years old can ride their bicycle on a sidewalk
  • How a bicycle turns left at an intersection, navigates a rotary or roundabout, and overtakes another vehicle

And finally

  • The maximum speed of a power assisted bicycle has been raised from 30km/h to 32km/h bringing NS in line with most jurisdictions in Canada and with major manufacturing standards

While the TSA isn’t perfect, it offers a significant improvement over the Motor Vehicle Act and goes much further to acknowledge the risk vulnerable road users face every day in Nova Scotia. With these changes now in place and a renewed focus on cyclist safety, we hope to see increased enforcement of the Act from the province as well.

Although the changes in the TSA are heartening, we have seen other regions going even further to protect cyclists. A recent update to Spain’s General Traffic Regulations which dictate that when overtaking cyclists outside built-up areas, drivers must reduce their speed by at least 20km/h below the speed limit and keep a minimum lateral distance of 1.5 metres.

This is a step forward, however, we will continue to advocate for greater acknowledgement of the dangers faced by cyclists on the road and for those dangers to be addressed in future regulations.

You can access an overview of the changes here, and the Traffic Safety Act in its entirety here.

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