They're tiny, cheap and have a cult following. Why doesn't the DMV want kei trucks on the road?
Imagine this: You import a mini-truck from Japan after calling the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles and being assured that you'll be able to register it here.
Several years later, you receive a notice from the DMV: The Japanese mini-truck's registration has been revoked, and you'll need to hand over the license plates.
That's exactly what happened to one of Sen. Louis DiPalma's constituents, the Middletown Democrat told The Providence Journal. And other Rhode Islanders who've owned so-called "kei cars" and "kei trucks" for years have faced the same confounding scenario.
Legislation would bar new mini-trucks from the road in Rhode Island
Legislation introduced by DiPalma and Rep. Michelle McGaw, D-Portsmouth, which would grant them a reprieve, cleared its first hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday.
But some mini-truck enthusiasts may be disappointed: The bill would ensure that roughly several dozen people who've already registered kei vehicles can keep driving them, but it wouldn't legalize new ones.
What are kei trucks and who uses them?
Kei trucks – a term that refers to Japanese-made trucks small enough to belong to the keijidōsha class of light vehicles – have a cult following in the United States. They're ideal for carting around bulky loads, but are also capable of squeezing into tight parking spaces, and they're relatively fuel-efficient.
Plus, they're cute.
"A lot of the trucks that are registered in my community are registered to farmers," McGaw said at an April meeting of the House Committee on State Government and Elections. The one used on Ragged Island Brewery's 37 acres of fields in Portsmouth even inspired a Tiny Truck I.P.A., she noted.
The problem: The DMV doesn't want them on the road.
More: Want a vanity plate for your vehicle? See what's already taken in RI
Kei trucks can be imported to the US, but each state decides if they can go on the road
Under federal law, kei trucks and cars can be imported into the United States if they're over 25 years old. And though it's up to each state to decide whether to allow them on the roads, nothing in Rhode Island's rules and regulations explicitly says that they're prohibited.
Why aren't mini-trucks allowed on the road in Rhode Island?
In August 2021, people who'd legally registered the compact vehicles here abruptly began receiving ominous letters from the DMV, and were told to surrender their plates, automotive news site The Drive first reported.
The issue, from the DMV's perspective, is that kei trucks and cars "were never manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards" – that is, American standards.
In written testimony submitted to lawmakers, DMV administrator Walter “Bud” Craddock noted that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators doesn't recommend allowing kei vehicles on public roads.
“Based on these warnings, the DMV has made efforts over the last several years to prevent any additional registration of these vehicles and to recall any existing registrations,” he wrote. “There are, however, a handful that still remain registered, and the proposed bill would restrain the DMV’s ability to further eliminate unsafe vehicles from the public roadways of the state.”
DiPalma isn't campaigning to legalize all kei cars, but he pointed out that Model T Fords don't meet federal safety standards either — and can still be registered as antique vehicles and driven on public roads.
How lawmakers propose to 'grandfather in' existing mini-trucks
DiPalma said that he contacted the DMV about the mini truck issue after it first surfaced, and for a little while, "they didn’t go after those folks anymore, they didn’t send them anything else."
But one of his constituents subsequently tried to register a standard car and was informed that there was a "block" because he also owned a kei truck, DiPalma said.
Clearly, "we need to do something about this," he said. As a solution, he's proposing "grandfathering in" existing mini or kei cars and trucks, which aren't covered by the new law authorizing the use of low-speed electric vehicles.
Here's what the mini truck legislation would do
Apply only to kei cars, trucks and microvans that were registered in Rhode Island as of August 1, 2021. (At the time, there were at least 30 in the state, DiPalma said).
The DMV would be barred from refusing to renew those vehicles' registrations "based solely on the vehicle type."
People with kei cars and mini-trucks wouldn't be allowed to drive them on highways or roads with a speed limit of more than 35 miles per hour.
They also wouldn't be able to sell or transfer them.
The goal is to ensure that people who have already invested in the vehicles can use them "until they can't function anymore," not allow new ones to be registered, DiPalma said. Unless the federal standards change, the coveted mini-trucks will likely "become extinct, at some point."
The legislation cleared the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs on Tuesday. No members of the public testified for or against the bills at the House or Senate hearings.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Are mini kei trucks legal in RI? Law would keep new ones off the road
