Imagine you import a mini truck from Japan after calling the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles and receiving assurances that you can register it here.
A few years later, you receive a notice from the vehicle registration office: the registration of the Japanese mini-truck has been revoked and the license plates must be returned.
That’s exactly what happened to one of Senator Louis DiPalma’s constituents, the Middletown Democrat told the Providence Journal. And other Rhode Islanders who have owned so-called “kei cars” and “kei trucks” for years have faced the same confusing scenario.
Law would ban new mini-trucks from Rhode Island roads
A bill introduced by DiPalma and Rep. Michelle McGaw (D-Portsmouth) that would grant them a reprieve cleared its first hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday.
But some mini truck fans might be disappointed: The bill would ensure that around several dozen people who already have registered Kei vehicles can continue to drive them, but it would not legalize new vehicles.
What are Kei trucks and who uses them?
Kei trucks – a term that refers to trucks made in Japan that are small enough to be Keijidosha Class of light vehicles – enjoy cult status in the USA. They are ideal for transporting bulky loads, but also fit into tight parking spaces and are relatively fuel-efficient.
Plus, they’re cute.
“Many of the trucks registered in my community are registered to farmers,” McGaw said at an April State Government and Elections Committee meeting. The truck used on the 37-acre fields of Ragged Island Brewery in Portsmouth even inspired a Tiny Truck IPA, she noted.
The problem: The DMV doesn’t want them on the streets.
More: Would you like a personalized license plate for your vehicle? See what is already taken in RI
Kei trucks can be imported into the US, but each state decides whether they can be driven on the road
Federal law allows kei trucks and cars to be imported into the United States if they are over 25 years old. And while each state can decide for itself whether to allow them on the roads, there is nothing in Rhode Island’s laws and regulations that explicitly state that they are prohibited.
Why are mini trucks not allowed on the streets in Rhode Island?
As the auto news site The Drive first reported, people who had legally registered the small cars here suddenly received threatening letters from the DMV in August 2021 and were asked to surrender their license plates.
From the DMV’s point of view, the problem is that Kei trucks and cars “were never manufactured in accordance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards” – that is, the American standards.
In a written statement to lawmakers, DMV Administrator Walter “Bud” Craddock pointed out that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators does not recommend allowing Kei vehicles on public roads.
“Because of these warnings, the DMV has made efforts in recent years to prevent further registrations of these vehicles and to revoke all existing registrations,” he wrote. “However, there are still a handful that are still registered, and the bill would limit the DMV’s ability to remove additional unsafe vehicles from the state’s public roads.”
While DiPalma is not in favor of legalizing all kei cars, he pointed out that Ford Model Ts also do not meet federal safety standards – and yet can still be registered as vintage cars and driven on public roads.
How the legislator wants to push forward the grandfathering regulation for existing mini-trucks
DiPalma said he contacted the DMV as soon as he learned of the mini-truck problem, and for a while “they didn’t follow up with these people or send them anything else.”
But one of his constituents subsequently tried to register a regular car and was informed that there was a “block” because he also owned a Kei truck, DiPalma said.
It is clear that “we have to do something about it,” he said. As a solution, he suggests “passing” existing mini or kei cars and trucks that do not fall under the new law allowing the use of slow electric vehicles.
This is what the mini-truck legislation would achieve
S 2693 and H 8013 would:
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Applies only to kei cars, trucks and microvans registered in Rhode Island on August 1, 2021(There were at least 30 in the state at the time, DiPalma said.)
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Owners of Kei-Cars and Mini-Trucks are not allowed to drive them on motorways or roads with a speed limit exceeding 35 miles per hour.
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You also could not sell or transfer them.
The aim is to ensure that people who have already invested in the vehicles can use them “until they can no longer function”. do not allow new registrationsDiPalma said. If federal standards don’t change, the coveted mini-trucks will likely “eventually die out.”
The bill passed the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs on Tuesday. No citizens testified for or against the bills during hearings in the House or Senate.
This article originally appeared in the Providence Journal: Are mini-kei trucks legal in Rhode Island? Law would keep new models off the road
