Florida and Kansas were the only two states to opt out of the Recreational Trails Program (RTP).  The RTP is an $85 million program that provides funding to states for recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses.  The RTP pool of Federal funds are based on the share of fuel taxes generated from off-road vehicle use.  For Florida and Kansas those funds will now be in a general transportation fund.  Learn more:  Powersportsbusiness.com

Road Use Regulations Roundup – November, 2011

Some trends in this latest regulation roundup:

• A lot of action the past few months on ordinances allowing ATVs, UTVs, mini-trucks and modified and sometimes un-modified golf cars on public roads.  While some concerns about safety still persist, we may be looking at an expansion of the type of small, task-oriented vehicles that are allowed on public roads.
• With Nebraska passing a LSV law and Pennsylvania in the process of passing one, only Connecticut, Mississippi and Montana (no LSV but an MSV law) have not passed an LSV law.
• Higher ordinance activity areas:  Minnesota which is usually active and Ohio which is a relative newcomer
• Some more activity at the county level in the past few months

State Level Regulations

Pennsylvania – State House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that

“…authorizes travel in NEVs on roadways with a posted speed limit of no more than 25 mph and allows NEVs to cross roadways posted with a higher maximum speed. They can only be operated during daylight hours. NEVs will be required to be equipped with most basic safety equipment, such as brakes, mirrors, seatbelts, windshield and wipers, speedometer, odometer, headlamps, stop lamps, turn signals and reflectors, and a slow-moving vehicle emblem. In addition, NEV drivers must possess a valid license certificate of title, registration and insurance.”

The state is one of only a few that have not passed a LSV law yet.

Nebraska – The governor signed a law allowing NEVs/LSVs on low speed roads.  LSV owners will be required to have a valid operator’s license and liability insurance coverage. The vehicles will be subject to titling requirements, a registration fee of $15 and a new alternative fuel fee of $75 for vehicles using a source of energy not taxed under the motor fuel laws. The alternative fuel fee will replace the alternative fuel tax.

Louisiana – State legislature is debating allowing mini-trucks on public roads.

 Municipality Level Regulations

Wapello, IA – City council is discussing allowing golf cars and utility vehicles on city streets and receiving a mixed reaction from residents.

Sunman, IN – City council will allow golf cars on city streets. Vehicles need to be inspected and have safety features like turn signals, safety belts, reflectors and slow moving vehicle emblems.

Marathon, FL – City allows modified golf cars on low speed streets.  Under the auspicies of the state statue, any golf car meeting the safety and speed requirements will be able to use streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.  A city ordinance with different requirements would of required the city to do their own licensing and other onerous administrative duties regarding the vehicles.

Dundee, IL – Village Trustee is pushing the town to revisit the idea of allowing NEVs and LSVs on low speed village roads.

Lauderdale-by-the-sea, FL – The town is creating four parking spaces in their commercial area specifically for use by NEVs.

Augusta County, VA – Supervisors passed an ordinance allowing golf cars and utility vehicles on country roads with speed limits of 25 mph or less.

Bryan City, OH – Initiated ordinance that allows “neighborhood electric vehicles, urban electric vehicles and golf cars/carts” which have been modified to meet certain criteria to use roads with speed limits up to 25 mph.   Driving hours on public roads for the vehicles is limited to daylight hours.

Findlay, OH – City is considering allowing modified golf cars on low speed city streets.

Tecumseh, NE – Town council allows the use of ATVs and UTVs on city streets.  The ordinance allows ATVs and utility vehicles during daylight hours for licensed drivers with liability insurance. Vehicles must be equipped with a bicycle safety flag and not exceed 30 mph.

Riverside County, CA – The governor of California signed legislation that lets Riverside County open up more low speed roads for low speed vehicles.

Mankato, MN – City passed an ordinance that allowed UTVs and mini-trucks on city streets.  Lower speed golf cars were removed from the ordinance.

Canyon Lake, CA – LSVs/NEVs will not be allowed to use Railroad Canyon Road because of safety concerns related to the vehicles mixing with faster traffic.

Polk County, MN – County commissioners passed an ordinance that authorizes the use of four-wheel ATVs, mini trucks and golf carts on county roads.

Morris, MN – City council is considering an ordinance that allows ATVs, UTVs, mini-trucks and golf cars on city streets.

Reedsburg, WI – City council amended an ordinance to now allow gas as well as electric LSVs on public roads.

Street-Legal Golf Car Use Up In Florida

According to a recent story, the use of street-legal golf cars is on the increase in Florida.  State records indicate that  there were 6,271 golf carts registered in 2010, up 14 percent from 2009 despite a lower level of government incentives.  The trend is being driven by the desire for people to live/work/play in one area as well as increased fuel prices.  A majority of the vehicle use is centered around gated or master planned communities and golf centered developments, although public road use is increasing as well.  Learn more:  Sun-sentinel.com

Sam’s Club Feature Stealth UTV/LSV

Tom Colangelo, a local LSV dealer in Florida’s The Villages (a master planned community), has teamed up with Stealth Corporation and Sam’s Club to offer Stealth’s electric powered utility vehicles at several Florida Sam’s Clubs.  The vehicles are also part of the store’s auto buying program which can be accessed online.  The Stealths meet LSV requirements so residents of The Villages can use them within the community and venture out onto public roads.

Comment: The combination off-road UTV/LSV is a recent trend, and as the story notes, provides a more versatile alternative to golf cars in these communities.  These combination vehicles will likely start taking increasing market share from golf cars within the master planned community market segment.  While golf cars have traditionally had a cost advantage, as more municipalities open up public roads to LSVs, versatility will start trumping price differences.  Learn more:  PRLog.org

Road Use Regulations Roundup – February, 2010

Some trends in this latest regulation roundup:

• A lot of legislative of action at the state level as the new year began
• More public road access for mini-trucks and UTVs
• Legislation benefiting LSVs including increasing speed limits, lowering speed limits, removing legislative roadblocks and equipment requirements
• More public road access for golf cart

Nebraska – A recently introduced bill would permit the use of mini-trucks on all Nebraska roads except interstate highways, controlled-access highways and expressways. The bill also provides definitions for UTVs and mini-trucks. The story notes that mini-trucks would be used not only in rural areas but by lawn service providers in urban areas as well.

Indiana – The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill which would allow the use of mini-trucks on local roads and state roads if properly titled and registered by the BMV. Mini-truck dealers must also register as a dealer in Indiana. The bill effectively creates a separate classification for mini-trucks which currently fall under the off-road vehicle category which includes UTVs, ATVs and golf cars.

Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Assembly Ag Committee unanimously passed the so-called “Gator Bill” which would allow light utility vehicles to be operated on roadways for agriculture use. The bill is expected to come to a vote shortly.

Mower County, MN – In the last week of December, the Mower County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance to license and allow mini-trucks on county roads. Under the new ordinance, the mini-trucks are allowed on township and county roads, but cities in the county need to pass separate ordinances.

Santa Rosa Beach, FL – A citizen group is proposing that the speed limit for an 18.5 mile stretch of county road 30A be lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph to accommodate the use of LSVs. There is some opposition to the change.

Wisconsin – A bill working its way through the Senate would give municipalities greater ability to permit neighborhood electric vehicles (“NEV”) on roads that connect to highways or cross state highways without obtaining state DOT approval.

Alaska – The Alaska State Legislature today passed a bill that allows expanded access for LSVs on certain roads in Alaska. The bill will allow low-speed electric vehicles on roads with posted speed limits of 45 mph or less. Current Alaska law only allows these vehicles to operate on roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less.

Fresno, CA – The legislative process has been started to allow the city of Fresno to seek permission from the state to develop a neighborhood electric vehicle plan. The plan would clear the way for special lanes, signs and other upgrades required to allow the mini-cars on more city streets.

Utah – Utah lawmakers will consider a bill that would allow low-speed vehicles go without a speedometer, odometer and braking for each wheel. According to the story Utah and Louisiana are the only states that require speedometers, odometers and brakes on all four wheels.

South Carolina – A House Subcommittee agreed Wednesday to allow a driver to operate a golf cart up to 5 miles from their home or business as opposed to the current 2 mile limit. The bill moved forward despite opposition from the State Public Safety Director but still has several hurdles to overcome before becoming law.

Dunedin, FL – City officials are looking into allowing golf carts on downtown roadways, in part to pro-actively address future parking problems.

MSV and Mini Truck State Laws

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has compiled information regarding medium speed vehicle (MSV) and mini-truck laws by state. According to the institute Kentucky, Montana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Washington currently have MSV laws. Oregon’s law will go into effect at the end of September and Colorado has a law that will be triggered by the US DOT’s setting of MSV standards. The latter may not happen anytime soon:

In 2008 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied several petitions to create a new class of vehicles known as medium-speed vehicles (MSVs), which would have a top speed of 35 mph. The petitioners asked that MSVs be subject to a set of safety standards greater than those applied to low-speed vehicles (LSVs) but substantially less than those applied to conventional passenger cars. NHTSA denied the petition because unlike LSVs, which are permitted to have a top speed of 25 mph and are intended for use in controlled, low-speed communities, MSVs are traveling in higher risk traffic situations and should comply with all of the safety standards set for passenger cars.

Kentucky, Montana and Colorado’s laws allow for a top speed of 45 mph for MSVs while all the other states with laws allow for a top speed of 35 mph. Learn more: IIHS.org

The following states have mini-truck laws: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. There is more variance in the laws for these vehicles since states classify them differently. Some are classified as mini trucks or mini utility trucks and others as utility vehicles, off highway vehicles, or even LSVs or MSVs since some mini trucks are speed restricted although many can go 45 to 55 mph. Top speeds allowed by the vehicles vary from 25 mph to a high of 55 mph, and the types of roads they can be used on vary as well. Learn more: IIHS.org