If a bill in the state legislature is eventually signed into law, Pennsylvania drivers will be able to commute in lower-speed vehicles without producing harmful emissions.
State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican whose district covers some of Philadelphia's northern suburbs, introduced a bill that would make these electric vehicles legal to drive on the road. These machines, known as neighborhood electric vehicles, would need to be able to reach speeds of between 20 and 25 miles per hour. They would also have to have four wheels and be equipped with seat belts. He says he introduced the bill after an auto dealership in his district expressed interest in selling the vehicles, and it has taken almost a decade to get through the Senate.
In its current form, the bill wouldn't allow neighborhood electric vehicles on roads with speed limits of more than 25 miles per hour, but local ordinances would be able to allow them on roads with speed limits of up to 25 miles per hour. Those restrictions are in line with the type of drives many people do on the average day, Greenleaf says.
“We should be taking every step we possible can to be energy-independent,” he says. “Fossil fuels aren't the way to go.”
The bill has been passed by the state Senate and referred to the transportation committee in the state House of Representatives. Greenleaf is optimistic about its chances in the House since he has not seen any opposition to it.
Source: State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen