Driver of Flintstonemobile Charged, Gets Day in Court
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.23.07
Toronto's finest pulled over Dean Baldwin in his 1986 Buick Regal and charged him with “operating an unsafe vehicle,” noting that the car had no floorboards, engine, transmission or licence plates, although the votive candle headlights, steering, brakes and quadracycle drive were working perfectly.
They were driving to display the car at Mercer Union, an artist run centre in Toronto, where there was to be a solo show of the work of Artist Michel de Broin, designer of the car. He says "I believe there is nothing in the law against this car. The problem is only the perception. Police can't accept a car to be modified and to be moving without gas."
A squad of bicycle cops is seen here pedalling to the scene to provide backup.
Mercer Union tells the story:
The vehicle is part of a solo exhibition by the acclaimed artist, on display at Mercer Union, an artist-run centre in downtown Toronto, from October 24th to December 8th. The car left for it’s maiden Toronto voyage on October 25th, the afternoon after the opening reception. Dean Baldwin, brand-new license in hand, took the steering wheel, assisted by Dan Young and gallery Co-Directors Dave Dyment and Elaine Gaito. The public responded with enthusiasm, sympathy and solidarity.
The vehicle was driven nine blocks (from 37 Lisgar Street, to Strachan Ave), before being pulled over by the police. The driver and passengers were left to wait for 30 minutes in the car, presumably while the officers determined which law had, in fact, been broken. They settled on “operating an unsafe vehicle” and a tow-truck was called.
Today Baldwin appeared before a judge and entered a plea of not guilty. A trial has been set for the third of April, at 3pm. The court will have to argue that the Shared Propulsion Car is more dangerous than other vehicles on the road (bicycles, unicycles, roller-skates, rickshaws, skateboards and other “muscle-powered vehicles”, in addition to automobiles). In the last 50 years 200,000 Canadians have died in car accidents. No pedal-car deaths have been reported.
Mercer Union and artist Michel de Broin would like to invite you to join us on April 3rd, in courtroom R at 60 Queen Street West, at 3pm. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. With the expectation of winning the right to operate the vehicle on the streets of Toronto, the artwork will be towed to Old City Hall on the morning of April 3rd. We hope to leave the courthouse in victory, and slowly pedal home."
de Broin told the National Post that he plans to be in court and see the case through and hopes it will set a precedent.
"The car is not efficient as a transport vehicle, and it is too ambivalent to serve any cause except one: The right to go slow. The problem for the court will be to argue that the Shared Propulsion Car can be dangerous when we all know the danger remains in the use of petrol cars."
Photos by Benny Zenga. via ::Spacing
I've been meaning to say this for a while now. Every time I scan the RSS headlines and an interesting topic catches my eye, 9 time outs of 10 it's a posting by Lloyd Alter. I enjoy the issues you present; they're always relevant of course, but often they present an issue from an unexpected angle. Keep up the good work!
I'm all for these guys winning the right to keep using the car. But, I must point out, it has no license plate (rear) no rear window. The candles surely do not meet lighting requirements of >2 minimim candlepower. Do the brakelights work? Does it have a front window?
This vehicle is actually pretty counter-intuitive. They would be better raising awareness for their cause by simply slapping a "I drive the speed limit" bumper sticker on the back and then adhering to that statement. Not only is it going to frustrate other people on the road but it will force their vehicles to run slowly and thus not at their peak efficiency, thus creating more pollution. I admire their idea and intent, but think the execution could have used more thought.
I'm no lawyer but the car has no motor, so presumably it does not fall into the "motorized vehicle" category and would not require a license plate. We don't need plates for our bikes either.
I totally love that shot of the bike squad coming in for "backup", or is that for a good laugh?
So? Police operate bodies without brains.
I can't wait to hear the end of this one... LLoyd - keep us posted!!!
Anytime you do anything against the status quo, Big Brother will get you.
Anytime you do anything against the status quo, Big Brother will get you.
In the states I'm pretty sure you can get away with this as long as you have a slow moving vehicle sign (orange triangle) attached to the back. Putting a goat in the back seat to claim it's a vehicle of husbandry will earn you bonus points.
Hmm, I think I'm going to have to take the stand on this one of they must have known they stood a good chance at drawings the attention of the police. I think this story is a good illustration of how things work (we can argue good or bad later), the artists were doing their job at making a valid point that made people think, by getting pulled over they also did it in a way as to attract attention to there case and get more people involved, that is good and we need more of that. Likewise the police officers were doing their job by attempting to get a handle on a potentially dangerous and questionably legal activity. Now the court will do it's job of figuring out who has what rights in this situation. I'm excited to hear how it goes and I wish Mr. Baldwin all the best in his case.
well its a good idea but they didn't have plates and it wasn't safe at all they should have got it towed or at least got a permit or something to make it legal.
jimmymak, I'm curious as to what kind of permit you think exists for a car-shaped bicycle.
That video was a hoot! I most enjoyed the part where the artist-groupy blatantly hit on the lady-officer.
I just assume ride my bike with 3 of my friends, but I like the social nature of the pedal-car that was mentioned in the video.
This is a neat idea but I think it's concepts like this that give environmentalists a bad name. The car is clearly violating the law by not having a license plate and by moving dangerously slow (I'm sure there are other violations as well but I'm not familiar with the law regarding car requirements as I don't own one). It's not that the police cannot accept a modified car, it's just that a car that is dangerous to the public and the driver is not acceptable.
It's frustrating to see creative people further the divide between the perceived "establishment" and those trying to make change in this world. I think that a better action would have been to create a car that followed all of the safety laws in order to prove that one can be environmentally sound AND safe.
I think that this car should have been towed over to the showing area instead of driven and therefore causing a step back for environmentalists.
An interesting thing, but keep in mind a lot of people in the United States LIVE in these things too.
Since the pedal car was being operated in Toronto, classification for this vehicle falls under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act (HTA). According to the HTA's definitions, the pedal car is a bicycle.
Bicycles are allowed to be used on roadways in Ontario. The only restriction is that bikes which cannot keep up with traffic be ridden as far to the right as possible. According to the artist that created it (Michel de Broin), the Buick pedal car has a max speed of 15 km/hr.
By the way, I heard that Michel's car was also driven and pulled over in Montreal; however, no ticket was issued there.
Ultimately, with oil prices rising and no relief in sight, this comical video may be very prophetic in terms of transportation within the next decade. Mad Max, here we come.
I suppose a pile of bricks on some wheels is also not classified as a car as well. A normal auto will smash into it easy enough as it piddles down the road. Some poor family in a fuel efficient mini car will crash into it as well as it encounters it around a corner. Guys, get a bike.