sept
2019
feature article
There are certain features that are necessary for
an NEV to be street legal. These may include, but
are not limited to, such things as:
Seat Belts
Headlights
Brake Lights
Windshields
Windshield Wipers
Rear-View Mirrors
Turn Signals
Parking Brakes
If you’d like your electric car to be street legal,
but would rather own a golf cart, you can always
customize your golf cart to meet these safety
standards. But in order for your vehicle to truly
be street it must be properly insured.
To be safe, you will want to do your due diligence
and check your local street laws to find out what
they consider street legal within your jurisdiction.
Another question you may have is, “Why are golf
carts and NEVs becoming so popular these days?”
Everybody has their own reasons, but two of the
major reasons include eco-friendly consciousness
and unstable gas prices.
In case you haven’t noticed, there seems to have
been a campaign going on these past couple of
years convincing people to go green.
Whether it be scare tactics from Al Gore’s, An In-
convenient Truth, or or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
Earth-Day Special on MTV’s, Pimp My Ride, people
are finding it necessary to be more eco-friendly
these days.
As gas prices continue to reach new highs peo-
ple begin to take action. Perhaps $4 gas was the
price that crossed the line.
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WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
NEV, CitiCar
In fact, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles are not
a new idea. During the height of the mid-70’s oil
crisis a vehicle called the CitiCar made its debut
for exactly the same reason, an alternative to
outrageous gas prices.
And as you can see, this electric car is very 70’s.
The CitiCar had all the makings of a viable NEV
by today’s standards, including a top speed of
30 mph and a battery life of up to 40 miles on a
single charge.
In comparison, the GEM (Global Electric Motorcar)
featured at the top of this page has a top speed
of 25 mph and a battery life of 30 to 40 miles on
a single charge, depending on the battery. Based
on this, the CitiCar seems just as viable.
But to be fair, a max speed of 25 mph is needed
to meet Federal Low-Speed Vehicle requirements.
Also, the GEM does look safer and a lot more
comfortable.
It causes one speculate as to why the CitiCar
never lasted. Perhaps looks. Perhaps safety.
But more than likely it was because the oil-crisis
ended and there was a return to affordable gas
prices.
Either way, times keep on changing and there is
a very real chance that NEVs and street legal golf
carts will continue to grow in popularity.
Just be sure to know the law when taking one for
a spin around town.