Legality and Road-worthiness

Since one of the aims of the project is for it to be road-worthy, I decided that would be where I would start. No point in making something and finding out later you can’t drive it anywhere.


The main question for me was “How do I want to classify my Kart?” Since I live in Ontario, there were three main options presented to me: a Neighbourhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), an Off Road Vehicle (ATV), or a full-fledged Car.

Certainly the easiest to certify would have been an ATV but there are two problems. It forces design constraints – there must be handlebar steering, and the speed on roads is limited - 20km/h in a 50km/h zone, and 50 in an 80 zone. Worst of all (to me), you are forced to make the seat the type you straddle, it cannot be a bucket seat.

NEVs were a good option as they imposed fewer design constraints, though they are also limited to 40km/h on the road.

My goal is to go fast. Again, speed being secondary to acceleration but I want some kind of reasonable tradeoff here. 80km/h would make me satisfied. Therefore I decided to pursue the most difficult option – to make it a completely road-legal vehicle.


My journey started at the local licensing office (where they issue plates). The very nice gentleman at the counter was interested in my proposal, and called higher up to find out the legality of building your own vehicle from scratch. He suspected it would not be permitted; apparently Ontario is very strict about importing vehicles from other provinces, since they are concerned about the build quality.

To our surprise, the list of requirements is quite short, and not particularly onerous. To receive a VIN number and license plates in Ontario for a vehicle that you built from scratch, you need:

• A copy of every receipt for every major component of the vehicle.
• An Affidavit you write, which contains:
    o Your name
    o Statements of where all major components were purchased from (supplier + location)
    o A statement which includes “I completed this vehicle.”
• The Affidavit must be stamped at City Hall for a $10 fee.
• A regular safety inspection by a licensed mechanic.
• Insurance

So, the difficulties will lie in passing a safety inspection, and perhaps worst of all, finding an insurance company that will insure you. My brother-in-law Matt is a mechanic; I have no doubt he will be instrumental in designing my Kart to pass safety inspections. I feel I should probably have a different mechanic perform the safety, to avoid conflict of interest issues which could be bad for Matt in case of an accident.

The current insurance company for my real car is TD Meloche Monnex, and they were very adamant that they refuse to insure a vehicle that has been “customized” excessively; building your own vehicle being a flat no. The next company that I ask, I will be very clear that I only want liability insurance, I can’t imagine trying to find out the “value” of this Kart to get collision insurance.

Insurance to be continued once I try other companies…