What’s Legal On the Streets: EVs and the Law

by Jim Mikles
April 2002

People who are interested in trimming their reliance on traditional cars are turning towards electric-powered vehicles as a suitable alternative for reliable transportation. Although requirements for emissions, licensing and insurance may be less stringent with these "light vehicles," you will still want to be legal when you drive.

Different categories of light vehicles have different registration and insurance requirements, and these vary from state to state. While the following information is currently accurate, laws change so you should check with your local motor vehicle department and insurance company for the latest updates.

Electric Bikes
One of the latest categories of light vehicle is the electric bicycle, which is a bicycle that has a small electric motor to assist the rider in pedaling. An electric bike can double the average biking speed from the typical 10 mph to 15 or 20 mph for up to 10 miles. This is the average riding distance on a single battery charge, depending on terrain, wind and weight of the rider, according to Rob Means of Electro Ride Bikes and Scooters in Milpitas, Calif.

The electric bicycle is different from a "motorized bicycle" such as a moped because the motor only kicks-in to assist the rider in pedaling and does not independently power the vehicle. A moped has a gas motor that propels the vehicle at speeds up to 30 mph and a moped's pedals are only useful in the 0-5 mph range of its full 30-mph capability. An electric bike's pedals are helpful over the entire speed range of 0-20 mph. Mopeds are considered a motorized cycle in most places and their requirements are covered in that section below.

Standing Scooters
"Scooter" is a general category that really covers a wide variety of vehicles. Standing scooters, which today's youth find so popular in their foot-powered incarnations, also have gas and electric motor-powered counterparts. Gas-powered models include the popular Go-Peds, while ZAP, Inc. (Zero Air Pollution) manufactures popular electric scooters. Unfortunately for the scooter-minded light-wheeler, motor vehicle laws are somewhat inconsistent as they apply to gas and electric-powered scooters.

"Historically, electric scooters have occupied a vague stratum of the law, nestled somewhere between motorcycles and bicycles," explains product literature by Battery Bikes, another electric scooter manufacturer "Lacking the speed and safety features (turn signals, lights, horns, etc.) of motorcycles, e-scooters were not deemed street legal. Because they were motor-powered, though, they were banned from sidewalks and bike lanes. In effect, e-scooters were vehicular pariahs, trapped in legal limbo, stuck between a rock and a hard place."

In the effort to define where exactly scooters fit into the vehicular scheme of things, an apparent rub has developed regarding what other type of existing vehicle a powered-scooter most closely resembles and whether it is covered under the bicycle laws or the motorized skateboard laws. Motorized skateboard laws are much more restrictive than bicycle laws, ostensibly because motorized skateboards are more hazardous to the public than an electric bicycle (which, as previously noted, is treated as a ped-powered bicycle rather than a motorized one). A motorized skateboard steers differently and it can continue unmanned on a potentially hazardous path even if the rider falls off. The motorized scooter, like an electric bicycle, has a handle for steering and topples over if it becomes riderless due to an unexpected dismount.

Although the powered standing-scooter may reside in a legal gray-area, generally speaking, if you ride with courtesy, common sense and follow basic traffic laws, you should not be bothered. Consult your local law enforcement for the specifics. If your community has no laws regarding motorized scooters, think of yourself as an ambassador for their responsible use. You don't want to give anyone an excuse to create overly restrictive laws.

However they are viewed, like their light-powered siblings, motorized standing scooters typically will not require a driver's license or insurance. This is not the case in the UK, where a driver's license and insurance are required to ride a motorized scooter, yet no insurance company will take on the liability, therefore rendering them technically illegal.

In California, although some local communities have more restrictive, specific ordinances related to the skateboard laws, at the state level motorized scooter riders are only required to wear a helmet and be at least 16 years of age. There are indications that other states are following California's lead, since the state (probably due to traffic congestion and more seasonably warm weather year around) has by far the largest number of scooting enthusiasts There are exceptions, most notably in Washington, where motorized standing scooters are specifically prohibited on all streets and sidewalks.

Seated Scooters
So what's the difference between a seated scooter and a moped or an electric bicycle? The question basically boils down to speed. In most places, if it goes faster than 20 mph, it's a scooter in the old traditional motorized cycle sense of the word. This includes mopeds, those classic hybrid bicycle/motorscooters that were so fun in college. If it's considered a motorscooter, you will typically need a driver's license, road gear such as turn signals, headlights, brake lights, mirrors, etc., minimum insurance coverage required for motor vehicles, and compliance with any local helmet laws.

Seated three and four-wheel scooters, which are often used by physically challenged folks to get around places, go considerably slower than 20 mph and are not considered in the motorized cycle class.

Electric Vehicles
While bicycles and scooters may be fun and useful in certain settings, our lifestyle reliance on the automobile necessitates some alternative form of the car itself. When it comes to electric cars, there are a couple of different classifications.

With the federal legal push for lower emissions vehicles driving innovation in the electric vehicle arena, the federal government recently added a new vehicle category, the "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle" (NEV), to encourage the use of zero-emission vehicles for inner-city use, according to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHSTA).

Smaller than traditional cars, NEVs are still required to have automobile grade headlights, seatbelts, windshields, brakes and other safety equipment. With a top speed of 25 mph, the federal rule says the cars can only be used on streets with a posted 35-mph speed limit

"These passenger-carrying vehicles, although low-speed, offer a variety of advantages, including comparatively low-cost and energy-efficient mobility. Further, many of these vehicles are electric-powered," reads the NHTSA ruling. "The use of these vehicles, instead of larger, gasoline-powered vehicles like passenger cars, provides quieter transportation that does not pollute the air of the communities in which they are operated."

If you are looking for traditional internal-combustion speed and distance-and if you're willing and able to plunk down the cost of a real car-then a full-size, full-power EV might better fit your needs. While an EV certainly looks different than a traditional internal combustion-driven vehicle, when it comes to registration and insurance, if it looks like a car (four tires and a motor) and acts like a car (goes faster than 25 mph and travels on the public streets), then the motor vehicle department is going to treat it like a car. That means your EV has got to be street legal.

You will need to be a licensed driver to operate one, have standard automobile insurance and meet safety laws mandating seat belt usage, mirrors, lights, etc.

As for insurance on both of these categories of vehicles, the NEV and the EV, a California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) consumer report on EVs indicates, "The insurance world realizes that EVs are a reality, and that they have to develop standards and tables to insure them. Right now, it takes a bit of extra patience and effort on the part of EV owners to shop around for an informed broker. As with other aspects of EV ownership, this should standardize in the near future."

Hybrid Car
A newer category of electric-powered vehicle is making all the headlines these days--the hybrid-electric vehicle. The hybrid concept is pretty simple. It turns out it's the cold start and accelerating to full-speed where internal combustion inefficiency and smog creation is the greatest. Once at full rpm, internal combustion is really a pretty clean burning process. The hybrid concept is to use electricity to replace the inefficient parts of the internal combustion process (primarily cold acceleration) and then kick the internal combustion motor in to provide higher-speed, greater distance travel while at the same time recharging the electric battery pack.

Hybrids might be mechanically genius, but they are full-fledged cars in the eyes of the law so you need everything that comes with a car--registration, insurance, license and street gear--to drive one.

One area where you may be exempt, though, is in emissions testing. Specific models currently exempt from testing in most states include the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, and more will likely be added as hybrids grow in popularity.

Be Light, Be Smart
From the variety of different standards that exist, you can see it would be wise to check with both your local law enforcement agency and your insurance company before buying or operating any of these light vehicles. As with any type of powered vehicle, being educated on the requirements, and driving or riding safely and within the law is your best defense against potential legal problems.

Jim Mikles is a Calif.-based freelance writer.