Originally Posted by
Robert Schoenberger
Lawmakers today could make three-wheeled electric vehicles legal to drive in Ohio.
Federal standards classify most three-wheeled electric vehicles as motorcycles, but, as The Plain Dealer reported last month, the vehicles could not be registered in Ohio.
Ohio's definition of a motorcycle says it must have saddles, not seats, for drivers. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles pulled the title and registration of the first person in the state to register a Zap! Xebra three-wheeler.
The motorcycle definition outlawed both the Xebra and Myers Motors' NmG (no more gas) electric vehicles. Myers is a Tallmadge company that sells a single-passenger electric three-wheeler capable of hitting 76 mph.
"I just want to thank the governor's office and the department of development for making these electric vehicle options available," said Dana Myers, president of Myers Motors.
The governor's office last month pledged to find a way to fix the BMV's ruling; so that electric vehicles would be allowed.
Keeping the motorcycle definition is key to producers of small electric vehicles because it allows them to avoid federal safety standards that would mandate airbags and other features.
Over the past month, lawmakers inserted language changing Ohio's motorcycle definition into House Bill 562, a massive capital spending bill. The change would allow saddles or seats on vehicles classified as motorcycles.
The House and Senate both passed versions of the bill that included the change, and a conference committee was scheduled to meet late Monday to discuss differences in other portions of the bill.
If lawmakers agree to changes, the bill could clear committee and be back in front of the House and Senate as early as today.
The bill still would need Gov. Ted Strickland's approval. But even if he signed it, quirks of the existing law would remain.
Owners would need motorcycle endorsements on their licenses to drive the electric vehicles. And even though the three-wheelers are enclosed vehicles, motorcycle law says new drivers most wear helmets for their first year on the road.
Officials with the BMV said last month that they wanted the legislature to come up with a more encompassing bill that would have solved problems like that.
While the state deals with how it registers the vehicles, the country's largest insurer of motorcycles said it has new policies to insure them.
Progressive Insurance of Mayfield Heights has launched electric vehicle rates in Illinois and Mississippi and plans to offer them in Ohio by next year, said Rick Stern, motorcycle product manager for the insurer.
"With energy becoming more of a concern to people, there are more and more professionally assembled" alternative vehicles on the road, Stern said.
The policies are similar to Progressive's motorcycle policies, but Stern said the rates would be slightly lower because the company believes ecologically minded drivers are safe drivers.
"We had to make our own assumptions because there are so few of these vehicles out there," Stern said.
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