Rhode Island's Authoritarian Government Has Banned All 30 Kei Trucks In The State (golf carts are OK to drive on the street though)
Rhode Island's Authoritarian Government Has Banned All 30 Kei Trucks In The State (golf carts are OK to drive on the street though)
The state is cracking down hard on a few dozen residents
Golf carts suck. They are rarely fast enough to not be a hazard on non-residential roads and they dont' have any of the required safety features cars must have. They don't require helmets like motorcycles do, either. It's just a loop hole, or unenforced law to cater to rich(er) people who would complain to high heavens if they couldn't drive their little carts around suburbia.
I wonder if the state is also demanding that owners turn in registrations for ‘65 Mustangs, or ’30s and ’40s hot rods. Given that those cars were also never built to meet FMVSS, it’s only fair that they also be removed from Rhode Island’s roads posthaste. Maybe DiPalma would sponsor that bill too.
Good point, my guess is no. This ban is probably due to some fragile white males feeling threatened by the utility of these actually useful vehicles.
F250 pedestrian killer are fine however.
Wow, I read the article, that law is some b*******. Those trucks are definitely safer than half of US vehicles on the road, and obviously much more practical
While this policy is bullshit, I'd firmly disagree that kei cars are safer than half of vehicles in the US.
- They're all right hand drive, which makes it harder to see other traffic and pedestrians. Their headlights are also aimed to illuminate the left shoulder in Japan. In the US, those headlights will blind oncoming drivers.
- In order to be imported into the US, these kei cars are all 25 years old at least. Crash safety has improved a lot in that time. The slab fronts of these cars provide no crumple zone for occupants. Like many modern pickup trucks, a pedestrian will be crushed, rather than scooped onto the hood and windshield of a shorter car like a sedan.
- Because of their age, many of these vehicles might not have ABS or airbags. Additionally, their age also will make them more likely to have a technical problem, which will be harder to solve since they're JDM only vehicles.
I drive a kei car and I just want to point out that their size makes it less of a burden to see incoming traffic than full size rhd vehicule.
As for the security concerns this would be valid if we were applying the same restrictions on other 25+ years old cars as well as motorcycles.
In Quebec we had the same type of witch hunt against JDM back in 2009 and what came out of it is that we're the only Canadian province where rhd cars must be 25 years old minimum. So because they said they were not secure enough, they stopped allowing more secure/recent versions of the cars people wanted.
So yeah, I doubt it's really just a security thing in the end.
I understand where you're coming from, but
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American vehicles are so tall and poorly designed they are traffic hazards just by existing. The danger of a less "robust" chassis on American roads comes from the outside threat of poor manufacturing and disproportionate inefficiencies of American auto manufacturing.
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The build, visibility and reduced weight of kei trucks makes them safer than American vehicles.
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American headlights are obscenely bright and kei truck headlights are not going to outshine bubbas ford firebeams any time soon.
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25 year old cars are generally easier and cheaper to work on because they were made to swap accessible, standard parts out easily. Not that these trucks quit easily in the first place. The American auto model looking down its nose at Japanese auto reliability is absurd.
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So what're ya gonna do, ban my 25-year-old US-market car next? 'Cause aside from the RHD headlight thing (which is a non-issue you can fix in 5 minutes with a screwdriver), they have all the same alleged problems.
But motorcycles are safe
The article is defending Kei Trucks.
Ah, I see your confusion.
I added a couple words to make it more clear that I am also damning the new law and defending kei trucks.
I love me some b-stars
Have you actually been in one of those Kei trucks? It's basically a tin can on skateboard wheels. It is extremely power limited due to engine size and handles poorly due to the wheel size. I'm not saying that they should or should not be banned, but they certainly are not safer than any US vehicle made in the last 35 years.
Driven them. I disagree, but understand how driving a kei truck would feel startling to someone used to the heavy handling of something like a buck.
Have you actually been in one of those Kei trucks
Yes.
It's basically a tin can on skateboard wheels
Incredibly exaggerated. Also, I've ridden in worse vehicles that were perfectly legal here.
It is extremely power limited due to engine size
That's why they're not allowed on freeways / highways in places they're allowed, thus it's not a problem.
handles poorly due to the wheel size
Better than a lot of what's steeet-legal, still.
they certainly are not safer than any US vehicle made in the last 35 years.
They certainly are, you're just pretending that their use-case is identical to say a sedan when that's not the case. When used for their purpose (Shirt-Medium distances on Slow-Medium speed roads) they are fantastic vehicles. There's a reason they're still made and sell like hotcakes elsewhere in the world.
Had to google Kei Trucks but that's exactly what I want in a vehicle. Small, efficient, utilitarian wheels with the bare minimum in bells and whistles.
rhode island duped into guerilla marketing for Kei Trucks.
They banned Delicas too, god knows why. In the old days you could just take someone around back and give em a shiner and they'd straighten themselves out. Something's rotten in RI.
Right hand drive vehicles aren't meant to be driven on the right side of the road, it's that simple.
This article is even less informative than the same conversation last week.
To sum up, even a small car can have a dangerous design prohibited in the USA.
Plus, and this is sort of a big one not mentioned in this article, these folks were exploiting a loophole for antique vehicles to get around regulations.
We've had enough time now jalopnik.com should have discovered new information such as why they don't meet federal safety standards.
Then is not than