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Saturday, September 26, 2009
Ind. Law - WSJ discovers the "Invasion of the Golf Carts"
The ILB has been writing since early 2006 about the increasing interest in the use golf carts on Indiana streets and roads.
Jonathan Welsh of the Wall Street Journal reported this story on Sept. 24th, headed "Invasion of the Golf Carts: As Electric Vehicles Migrate Onto Public Streets, Should We Be Worried?" Some quotes:
Dan Karleskint, a retired software developer in Lincoln, Calif., near Sacramento, bought one of these battery-powered vehicles—which are also known as "neighborhood electric vehicle," or NEVs—to cut his fuel costs and become a greener driver. His model, a Chrysler GEM, has a top speed of 25 miles an hour, the federal limit for NEVs. Typically, state and local laws allow them on public roads with speed limits of 35 mph or lower. * * *Most NEVs cost between $8,000 and $20,000 and can travel 30 to 40 miles on a charge. Their performance varies depending on terrain, temperature, payload and other factors. They typically use lead-acid batteries that take about six to 10 hours to charge when plugged into a wall outlet. Special fast-charge systems allow charging in an hour or so. Some vehicles use other types of batteries, including lithium ion models, that offer longer ranges and charge faster. * * *
A Chrysler spokesman says its GEM vehicles meet all federal safety regulations for low-speed vehicles. Wheego spokesman Les Seagraves says buyers have to use common sense in deciding "where it is appropriate and safe" to drive the cars and which roads they should avoid. "This is your errand car or your city car. This is not a car that is going to replace your number-one vehicle," he says.
NEV users are quick to point out the overall cost of owning an electric car can be one-third the cost of operating gasoline cars. Based on the fossil-fuel energy used to charge their batteries, makers say, the typical NEV logs an equivalent fuel economy of 150 miles per gallon.
People have been using golf carts on low-speed roads within communities built around golf courses for decades. Sometimes golf-cart drivers would venture outside their enclosed neighborhoods to run short errands, though the practice was sometimes illegal. As gated communities proliferated, manufacturers began selling golf carts with creature comforts like doors to ward off the chill, and safety features like taillights and seatbelts.
Under federal safety rules, NEVs are classified as "low-speed vehicles." Such vehicles are exempt from almost all of the safety standards that apply to passenger cars. LSVs don't need to have bumpers or doors and don't have to pass tests of crashworthiness. Because they usually weigh about 1,200 pounds—roughly a third as much as many cars—safety experts say there is almost no way for vehicles to stand up to a collision with a 4,000-pound sedan or sport-utility vehicle.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 26, 2009 03:37 PM
Posted to Indiana Law