- Rhode Island wants Kei-car, truck and minivan owners to return their registrations to the DMV.
- The department claims that these vehicles aren’t safe for the road.
- At the same time, the state is about to make it legal for golf carts to drive on public roads.
Rhode Island is reportedly asking kei-vehicle owners, which include cars, trucks and minivans, to relinquish their registrations. This move is a direct challenge to federal laws that grant 25-year-old vehicles the freedom to remain in the country. It’s also puzzling, as the state claims its reasoning is safety-based, but at the same time, it wants to enable golf carts to wander the streets.
The DMV, which defines Kei Vehicles as “Primarily mini-trucks manufactured for the Japanese market designated as ‘kejidosha’ lightweight vehicles,” evidently canceled kei truck and car registrations over a year ago, according to a report from The Drive.
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Now, a new report suggests that the state is taking further steps. It’s asking owners to return their registrations, which were once legally issued. In fact, it might be denying registrations for normal vehicles to those who own kei cars and trucks. Almost any vehicle over 25 years old is legal to import to the USA under federal law, and this includes kei cars, like the ones that Rhode Island is targeting.
According to WPRI, “the DMV has made efforts over the last several years to prevent any additional registration of these vehicles… there are, however, a handful that still remain registered, and the proposed bill would restrain the DMV’s ability to further eliminate unsafe vehicles from the public roadways of the state.”
What it’s referring to is a bill proposed by State Senator Lou DiPalma who is fighting to keep the kei-vehicles legal. “What the bill seeks to do is grandfather everybody who has [a Kei vehicle (car or truck)] and has it registered. It would allow you to re-register if you had it prior to 2021,” DiPalma explained. The Providence Journal reports that the bill would “Apply only to kei cars, trucks, and microvans that were registered in Rhode Island as of August 1, 2021.” (At the time, there were at least 30 in the state, DiPalma said).”
It’s also worth noting that the state seems to be completely hypocritical when it comes to laws regarding vehicles on public roads. In July, it’ll become legal to drive “Low-Speed Vehicles” like golf carts on streets. Specifically, these vehicles must have a top speed above 20 mph (32 km/h) but no higher than 25 mph (40 km/h) and can only go on streets with speed limits up to 35 mph (56 km/h).
Notably, the street-legal golf carts in question aren’t just any old course-covering vehicle. They have to be all-electric, must have wipers, a license plate, be insured, and meet some other qualifications.
The point remains, though. To claim that they’re safe while Kei cars and trucks aren’t appears to be a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Oh, and all of this appears to be over approximately 30 kei vehicles in total.
