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I thought Google was building the little 25MPH self driving cars for senior communities, campuses, and such. But they're running them on El Camino Real. They apparently registered the small self driving cars as what California calls a "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle".[0] A NEV is limited to 25 MPH, and cannot be operated on a road with a speed limit above 35 MPH. It's one step above a golf cart. Local municipalities can limit their use on faster streets, if they so choose, but they don't have to. There's a related flap over high speed electric bicycles. They're supposed to be limited to 20MPH, but some can reach 40MPH, and a few can reach 50MPH.[1] They only have bicycle-grade wheels, brakes, and pothole tolerance[2], which is a problem. At what point is a driver's license, or a motorcycle license, required, what's allowed on a bike path, and do you have to have pedals?[3] There are now three classes of electric bikes in California, one of which doesn't have pedals but is still considered a "bicycle". There are also electric mopeds and electric motorcycles. Trying to fit all these vehicles on the same road and bike path system is difficult. [0] https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_...
[1] https://www.electricbike.com/stealth-bomber-review/
[2] http://www.levassociation.com/worldwide-legislation
[3] https://www.electricbike.com/california-ebike-laws/ |
I'd agree that you shouldn't be in the bike lane at those speeds (though in much of the UK they are few and far between and mostly consist of a bit of paint on the side of the road). That's what roads are for.