slagjumper

Many states are now defining rules for Low Speed Vehicles.
https://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/prog...gi?afdc/5807/0

Low-speed vehicles are defined as motor vehicles having four wheels on the ground and an unladen weight of 1,800 lbs. or less, that are capable of a minimum speed of 20 miles per hour (mph) and a maximum speed of 25 mph. Low-speed vehicles are subject to all the provisions applicable to a motor vehicle, and the drivers of low-speed vehicles are subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a motor vehicle. The operator of a low-speed vehicle shall not operate the vehicle on any roadway with a speed limit in excess of 35 mph. (Reference California Vehicle Code Sections 385.5, 21250, 21251, and 21260)

A new thing for the average american driver to deal with. "I was benind a LSV all the way to work, that's why I am so late." What effects do you think that the introduction of LSVs will have on cycling? I hear that you can get one for 7K! I hink that motorists would much rather pass cyclists than hang out behind a LSV going 20 mph.

-=(8)=-

In Amish areas in PA the Yups and site see'rs would get waaaay backed up
behind Amish Buggies and when there was a spot to pass them all hell broke loose.

sggoodri

One of my concerns about the 35mph restrictions is that these state legislatures would eventually attempt to apply the same restrictions to other relatively slow vehicles including bicycles. I can't leave my neighborhood, much less ride to work, without using 45 mph roads. All of the longer group rides I participate in use 55 mph roads for some portions of the routes.

I think the main reason the state legislatures managed to obtain these road prohibitions for LSVs is that there was no existing user base to defend their road rights. The manufacturers were happy to accept prohibitions from faster roads in order to be able to sell them for use inside golf communities and campus sites with public roads.

bbonnn

What are some common examples of these LSVs? Are we talking about golf carts, small electric vehicles, or what?

genec

Same here. Only one road near my home is at or below 35MPH... every other road is 45MPH and higher. I could go to the grocery store... that would be it.

Perhaps the solution is to lower the speed limits everywhere... yeah, that's the ticket.

As a non sarcastic aside... this sounds like a law being setup to permit golf cart like vehicles into retirement communities and the immediate surrounding area.

Severian

I mislike the minimum 20 mph speed. What the hell does that mean? Are they talking that it can attain a minimum speed for a posted limit? Or that it goes from 0 to 20 mph in no time (in the Physics sense of the word) and causes instantaneous death in transition?

Hobartlemagne 

this comes to mind-

sggoodri

These are electric cars that look like golf cars on steroids. They are more commonly known as "neighborhood electric vehicles"
https://www.electric-bikes.com/nev.htm

I think agricultural and construction interests are powerful enough to prevent these laws from being applied to tractors and construction equipment.

bbonnn

Ah, got it. Geezer mobiles.

One difference between a bike and one of these is that a bike doesn't have to take up the whole lane. You can ride a bike in a wide outer lane without cars having to completely change lanes to pass you.

Not that I'm for this legislation, either. Everything has to be about making it easier for cars to go as fast as possible, doesn't it? The 35mph street restriction seems particularly low.

It sounds like me they're trying to nip a non-existent problem in the bud before it becomes widely adopted. Because otherwise, you know, people might start actually using these electric vehicles for neighborhood errands, and wouldn't it be a shame if the oil interests lost that revenue.

CommuterRun

Florida already has this covered by allowing communities to be designated as "Golf Cart Communities".

There is a place near here that, after some controversy, recently won this designation. I didn't get involved because it didn't matter to me one way or the other. After the community got the designation I had private contracting work down there and after I saw these carts on the road I starting wondering, "What was the point?".
On any of my bikes, I'm faster, have more range, and am completely street legal outside the community.

tomcryar

Since most electric companies generate mostly from oil, I don't think they're going to lose anything.

recursive

Around here it's coal.

John E

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, currently promoted by Lido "Lee" Iacocca and others, directly address the serious problem of providing mobility for aging motorists who are no longer able to drive a full-size car safely. The concept is sound; what is missing is regional planning which provides an interconnected network of 35mph and slower roads. As others have observed in this thread, many newer counties are laid out as clusers of 25-35mph roads interconnected only by 45+mph prime arterials and freeways. A system of continuous traffic-calmed frontage roads would benefit bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as the disabled and the NEV drivers.

DieselDan

Not here. Bountiful amounts of hydroelectrical power here in South Carolina.

The law in SC regulates LEVs to roads with speed limits of 25mph or less. The city of Beaufort countered that by raising the residental speed limit to 30. As with anything else, LEVs have to be insured, registered, and taxed as automobiles.