There's an idea which arises in electric vehicle discussions from time to time. Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) are designated in U.S. law to be limited to 25 miles/hr. NEV's are not subject to the stricter safety testing that regular vehicles must pass, nor are they required to have all the same safety equipment. For example some NEV's do not have seat belts or doors.
Some electric vehicle advocates, having bought an NEV, want to go faster. To be real, 25 miles/hr is pretty limiting. I understand why one would want their NEV to go faster than 25 miles/hr and that's largely why I've never bought an NEV.
I think that it's a bad idea to modify an NEV to go too much faster than their designated speed. It's probably a good idea to make them go a bit faster than 25 miles/hr to be more compatible with the other traffic on 35 miles/hr roads. But to modify them to go much faster is, as I see it, both illegal and unwise.
Unwise? Consider what the vehicle manufacturer probably built the vehicle for. Since they knew it would be limited by law to 25 miles/hr they could have chosen parts and safety equipment suitable for a 25 miles/hr vehicle but would not be safe at faster speeds. For example the vehicle frame sees greater stress in turns the faster it is traveling, the braking system must be stronger to make a stop from higher speeds, and the danger to passengers is higher at high speeds requiring a better passenger restraint system.
Illegal? The vehicle code defines an NEV to be a vehicle of certain parameters, and to exceed those parameters it would no longer meet those definitions. The government set those definitions for safety reasons.
Let's spell this out with examples from the California Vehicle Code. I am sure other U.S. states have similar regulations, as would the federal regulations.
The definition of an NEV reads as follows: Section 385.5: Low Speed Vehicle: (a) A “low-speed vehicle” is a motor vehicle ( ) that meets all of the following requirements: (1) Has four wheels. (2) Can attain a speed, in one mile, of more than 20 miles per hour and not more than 25 miles per hour, on a paved level surface. (3) Has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds. (b) (1) For the purposes of this section, a “low-speed vehicle” is not a golf cart, except when operated pursuant to Section 21115 or 21115.1. (2) A “low-speed vehicle” is also known as a “neighborhood electric vehicle.”
The reference to "Golf Cart" is another defined vehicle that cannot be operated on roads and cannot exceed 15 miles/hr.
The Operation of Low-Speed Vehicles covers all aspects of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.
Low-Speed Vehicles: Modified or Altered Vehicles: A motor vehicle that was originally designated as a low-speed vehicle and that has been modified or altered to exceed 25 miles per hour shall not qualify for the relaxed federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards established for low-speed vehicles and instead shall meet all federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for a passenger vehicle. Meaning that if you modify an NEV, then the modified NEV must meet the requirements of regular vehicles including crash testing.
Low-Speed Vehicles: A low-speed vehicle operated or parked on the roadway shall at all times meet federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards established for low-speed vehicles in Section 571.500 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In other words, the vehicle must always meet the regulations under which it was registered.
Okay, I said earlier it's probably a good idea to modify an NEV to go a bit faster. Clearly to do so would be illegal. I know from experience of owning a 30 miles/hr vehicle, my EVT 4000 electric scooter, that a 30 miles/hr vehicle is not quite compatible with the traffic on 35 miles/hr roads. Yes it's legal to operate my scooter or an NEV on 35 miles/hr roads, the vehicle code says so. However the other vehicles around you will be trying to travel faster than your vehicle is capable of moving. This makes for a continuous tension between your vehicle and the others around you, with the continual feeling that the drivers behind you are angry you're driving so slowly.
It's unlikely a police officer will be aware a vehicle is traveling slightly faster than it's definition. And to be able to move at 35 miles/hr makes for better compatibility with the traffic on 35 miles/hr roads. That's true even if the prevailing traffic on those roads are actually faster than 35 miles/hr. The speeders on those 35 miles/hr should be cited for speeding.
For example my EVT 4000 is modified to travel faster than 30 miles/hr.
