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There are about 30 kei automobiles registered in Rhode Island, in line with DMV information, and lawmakers need to take all of them off the highway. State officers have began asking kei automobile house owners to show of their registration, which might make the autos unlawful to drive on a public highway.
Rhode Island policymakers first floated the thought of banning kei automobiles in 2021, and so they launched a second offensive earlier in 2024. DMV administrator Walter Craddock argued that kei automobiles must be banned from driving on the Ocean State’s roads as a result of they “have been by no means manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Automobile Security Requirements.” Federal legislation permits any automobile that is a minimum of 25 years previous to be legally imported to the US, however every state has the ability to determine what motorists are and are not allowed to drive on its roads.
Whereas lots of the speak surrounding the ban has centered on trucks, such because the Honda Acty (pictured), lawmakers are focusing on any form of kei automobile. If you wish to register, say, a Suzuki Cappuccino or an Autozam AZ-1 in Rhode Island, you may quickly be out of luck. There is likely to be a dim, flickering mild on the finish of the tunnel, nonetheless. Rhode Island senator Lou DiPalma and District 71 consultant Michelle McGaw proposed legislation that might permit fanatics who registered a kei automobile earlier than August 1, 2021, to legally maintain their automobile on the highway.
Though the registration would stay legitimate, it would not be transferable — driving a kei automobile can be authorized; promoting one in-state would not. And, house owners would not be allowed to take a kei automobile on “limited-access highways, state highways, or via highways … or on any public freeway or roadway with a velocity restrict of greater than [35 mph].” For context, you can go faster than 35 mph on a 125cc Honda SuperCub moped.
The DMV opposes the invoice, according to native information channel WPRI.
Lovers in different states are going through a equally steep uphill battle. Maine began de-registering Mitsubishi Delica vans in 2021. It is not a kei automobile, but it surely’s a Japanese-market mannequin that wasn’t developed with American laws in thoughts. Texas began refusing to register kei automobiles in 2024, although a group of owners is actively fighting back. Georgia and New York have each banned motorists from registering a kei automobile.
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