Colorado becomes the 30th condition to officially authorize Kei cars

• The Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, signed HB25-1281 today, officially allowing state residents to register and drive Kei vehicles.

• Kei Cars, a class of small four-wheeled vehicles from Japan, can be brought to the United States under the 25-year import rule.

• Until now, Colorado lacked specific regulations in Kei, creating a little gray area for owners.

Mark another for little guys. Today, the governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, has signed the law HB25-1281which officially recognizes KEI vehicles as legitimate in the state and sets up the necessary framework for their intimate, registration and use.

For uninitiated, Kei is short for Kei-JidōshaA Japanese term which results in “light vehicle”. Japanese regulators limit cars, trucks and Kei vans in the size and outlet of the engine as well as the external dimensions – length, width and height – although the maximum values ​​for each have changed over the years. Given that these tiny vehicles were not sold new in the United States, they can only be brought to the country under the 25-year import rule, allowing vehicles with safety and emission equipment that is not in accordance with a pass if they have more than a quarter of a century. Popular examples include the Honda Acty pick-up and the van, the Suzuki Cappuccino and the I have a car Az-1.

The new law is delivered with some stipulations. KEI vehicles cannot be driven on the roads with speed limits greater than 55 MPH. This is reasonable because these low-power vehicles find it difficult to maintain high speeds on flat soil, and even less at the altitude increasing a note on the I-70.

The law also clarifies how the emissions will work for Kei vehicles; Instead of being subjected to a dynamometer test, the state emission agency will use an inactive test at two static speeds, which is otherwise used on Vehicles of the year model 1981 and anterior.

The law also explicitly recognizes Keis as motor vehicles for the purpose of the uniform law on motor vehicles and the law on the title certificate. The bill had a bipartite co-space in the two state houses. There are still problems that can fill the enlarged alleys of our legislatures.

From quasi-legal to officially official

Colorado recently had a booming relationship with the legality of Kei. Until now, there has been no specific regulations in Kei on books. A proposed rule By the division of engine vehicles of the State in 2024, they would have put a pure and simple ban and could have prevented the recording of other types of “non -traditional” vehicles; It was canceled, the DMV arguing that it was not necessary, because the KEI vehicles were already illegal in its opinion.

This rule was supported by lobbyists of a group called the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and would have postponed the AAMVA directives during the decision of the vehicles that the State would authorize to be registered. AAMVA is also at the origin of the Kei ban proposed in other states, including Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Aamva's argument is that KEI vehicles are intended for off -road use only. It also seems to confuse Kei vehicles with mini-camides, some of which are only intended for off-road use. But not all Keis are trucks, and even small JDM microphones are legal for road use in their homeland.

For those who tried to record Keis in the state, the main bonding point was the emission tests, which is required in Some countiesMost of them on the front front, where there are a large part of the residents of the state (and their transmitting vehicles). Unfortunately, some Kei potential drivers have learned that too late; It was possible to obtain a temporary plaque for a Kei vehicle, but without passing the emission exam, these owners could not record their mini car. Tales of recording tactics that have repercussions on palm trees abound on Reddit. In counties that do not require emission tests as part of the vehicle recording process, it was a non-problem.

Where Keis is fine

Colorado joins 29 other states which have laws authorizing KEI vehicles on public roads. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Dakota Spelling, Texas, Utahoma, Caroline Sud Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Like Colorado, some localities restrict the roads that KEI vehicles can use depending on the speed limit, with a handle kept on the roads with maximums of 25 mi / h or the sheet. Even when Keis is deemed legal, there may be additional obstacles to erase for recording or restrictions imposed on their use of the road, which may vary depending on the court, so be sure to do your homework before pressing “buy it now” during this auction. In New Hampshire, for example, a KEI vehicle can only travel within a radius of 25 miles from its owner's residence and only on the roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Several states – Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Virginia -Western – have restrictions, including many specific to Kei trucks, which can be limited to agricultural or agricultural use. New York demands compliance with all the federal security and federal applicable security requirements, which require costly modernization work and are therefore prohibitive, especially since many Keis can be purchased and imported for several thousand dollars. Rhode Island is already starting to suppress Kei's inscriptions while the legislation is pending.

The states of Alaska, Delaware and Hawaii, as well as Washington, DC, have no law concerning Kei vehicles. And then there are states where KEI inscription is explicitly prohibited: Connecticut, Georgie, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.

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