Neighborhood electric vehicle

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“NEV” redirects here. For other uses, see NEV (disambiguation).

A Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) is an American term for a speed limited battery electric vehicle (usually 25 miles per hour in the U.S.A.) restricted by law to operation on roads with speed limits not exceeding 35 MPH. These speed restrictions are required because of a lack of federally mandated safety equipment and features which NEV's can not accommodate because of their design. To satisfy requirements for operation on streets, NEVs are equipped with three-point seat belts, windshields and windshield wipers, running lights, headlights, brake lights, reflectors, rear view mirrors, and turn signals. In many cases, doors may be optional, and crash protection from other vehicles is almost non-existent. However, some makers are starting to use doors and steel impact beams.

1 Supportive community design
2 Inhibitory community design
3 Examples
4 Planned Communities with NEV Programs
5 See also

[edit] Supportive community design

Less typical but more practical, the Canadian Dynasty EV 4 door sedan is designed for all-season use, as is Feelgood Car's two-door Zenn EV

These vehicles are appropriate for communities that provide separate routes for these vehicles or generally accommodate slow speed traffic such as traditional "grid" street plans found in older urban areas. Some retirement and golf club communities are specifically designed, even including an additional "mini garage" in the house designs. Community designs built upon the concepts of new urbanism are often suitable for these vehicles.

[edit] Inhibitory community design

Most modern communities within the USA are designed to separate residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, and places of employment, secondary education sites, and even recreation areas, connecting them with relatively high speed thoroughfares exceeding that available to NEVs with the expectation that a more traditional motor vehicle will be used for transport.

[edit] Examples

[edit] Planned Communities with NEV Programs

Celebration, Florida
Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California
Discovery Bay, Hong Kong (Restricted to 500 vehicles)

Innovative transit system as well as electric Hybrid transit system is developed in India with low capital cost of vehicles and low and appropriate technology.[1]