Americans prefer big cars in part because they’re safer for occupants in many crashes. Where safety features are much the same, size and weight can make a difference.
So when low-speed vehicles (LSVs) started appearing several years ago on Jersey Shore roads, many shook their heads in dismay.
These small, ultralight electric vehicles that look like boosted golf carts provide little crash protection.
Tragic LSV crashes, though, have been few. One in South Carolina got national attention a couple of weeks ago when a bride riding from her wedding reception in an LSV was killed by an allegedly drunken driver.
At last fall’s illegal and fatal pop-up car rally in Wildwood, a driver lost control and crashed his car into an LSV, critically injuring its driver.
In 2020, the most recent year in National Center for Statistics and Analysis data, only three fatal crashes involved low-speed vehicles (which the center alternately calls “neighborhood electric vehicles”). That was nearly the low for any kind of U.S. vehicle. Cars and light trucks had more than 20,000 fatal crashes each of course, while all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes figured in 344 fatal crashes. There were even 19 golf cart crashes with fatalities.
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The top factor in limiting LSV fatalities surely was their scarcity — few vehicles traveling far fewer miles. Even if there seem to be twice as many at the shore as a few years ago, double a very tiny number is still a very tiny number.
The second factor is right in their name — low speed. By law they can’t go faster than 25 mph in New Jersey, and fatal crashes for all vehicles at or below that speed are uncommon.
The state also restricts LSVs to roadways with speed limits of 25 mph or lower. (In limited cases, a municipality, county or the N.J. Department of Transportation may permit them on roadways up to 35 mph.)
Municipalities can add to this good basic state regulation, which also requires LSVs to be titled, registered and insured.
Last fall, Cape May officials began considering new rules for LSVs to maintain safety as their popularity grows. Requiring individual owners and rental businesses to register each low-speed vehicle would show the extent of their use in the city. This comes just four years after Cape May began promoting the use of LSVs as part of its master plan.
Towns also can prohibit them, as Somers Point has done. The state highways and county roads crisscrossing the city make it less suitable for LSVs, Mayor Jack Glasser told NJ Advance Media last summer. But if enough people wanted them and there was a way for them to operate safely, the city would consider it, he said.
LSVs are most prevalent in the barrier island communities, especially in Cape May County. Some provide parking specifically for them and even charging stations. Renters of LSVs get fully booked quickly, with rates of $1,100 a week or more. South Jersey Electric Vehicles, of Egg Harbor Township and Rio Grande, said it was selling LSVs seating four or six for $11,000 to $33,000.
Low-speed vehicles typically provide a quiet, open-air sightseeing sort of ride. No surprise that vacationers love them. They’re also efficient, very low emission transportation, depending on the source of electricity for charging. That’s all good, and we suspect they might have a bit of a calming effect on traffic as well.
Shore resorts will see many more of them in the years ahead, and we hope municipal officials and LSV operators maintain what looks like a good safety record.
