28-966. Neighborhood electric vehicles; neighborhood electric shuttles; motorized quadricycles; neighborhood occupantless electric vehicles; speed; restrictions; exception; definition

A. A neighborhood electric vehicle and a neighborhood electric shuttle shall not be operated at a speed of more than twenty-five miles per hour. A motorized quadricycle shall not be operated at a speed of more than fifteen miles per hour.

B. A neighborhood electric vehicle, a neighborhood electric shuttle and a motorized quadricycle shall not be driven on a highway that has a posted speed limit of more than thirty-five miles per hour. This subsection does not prohibit a neighborhood electric vehicle, a neighborhood electric shuttle or a motorized quadricycle from crossing a highway that has a posted speed limit of more than thirty-five miles per hour at an intersection.

C. A neighborhood electric vehicle, a neighborhood electric shuttle and a motorized quadricycle shall have a notice of the operational restrictions applying to the vehicle permanently attached to or painted on the vehicle in a location that is in clear view of the driver. This subsection does not apply to a fully autonomous vehicle that is incapable of operation by a human driver.

D. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, a neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle may be operated on a highway that has a posted speed limit of forty-five miles per hour or less. This subsection does not prohibit a neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle from crossing a highway that has a posted speed limit of more than forty-five miles per hour at an intersection.

E. When operating on a highway with a posted speed limit of more than thirty-five miles per hour but not exceeding forty-five miles per hour, a neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle is subject to the following restrictions:

1. The neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle must be operated in the right-hand travel lane or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway, except when preparing for a left turn.

2. On a highway with two travel lanes, the neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle must turn off the roadway to a controlled stop as soon as practicable and when it is safe to do so to allow faster moving vehicles to pass when passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions and there are five or more vehicles immediately behind the neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle.

3. The neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle must display a slow-moving vehicle sign that:

(a) Has a reflective surface that is designed to be clearly visible in daylight and at night from the light of standard automobile headlamps at a distance of at least five hundred feet.

(b) Is mounted base down on the rear of the vehicle at a height that does not impair the visibility of the sign.

(c) Is maintained in a clean and reflective condition.

4. The neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle may not be operated on a highway in which the director or local authorities within their respective jurisdictions have determined and declared, pursuant to section 28-704, subsection B, a minimum speed limit of more than twenty-five miles per hour. This paragraph does not prohibit a neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle from crossing such a highway at an intersection.

5. The neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle may not be operated on a roadway within the boundaries of a public airport terminal and may not be operated at a public airport without express permission of the public airport owner.

6. The neighborhood occupantless electric vehicle may not transport hazardous materials that are regulated under the hazardous materials transportation authorization act of 1994 (P.L. 103-311; 108 Stat. 1673; 49 United States Code sections 5101 through 5128) and that must be placarded under 49 Code of Federal Regulations sections 172.500 through 172.560.

F. Neighborhood occupantless electric vehicles are subject to the requirements of chapter 32 of this title.

G. For the purposes of this section, "highway" means a street or roadway.