Delaware Registers Low-Speed Vehicles, Not Golf Carts

Start with what an LSV is in Delaware, because the definition is narrower than people expect. Section 2113A(a) requires 4 wheels, excludes trucks, sets a speed band of more than 20 but no more than 25 miles per hour attainable in 1 mile on a paved level surface, and caps gross vehicle weight rating at 3,000 pounds. Section 2113A(b) then adds that all low-speed vehicles shall meet the requirements of 49 C.F.R. Section 571.500, the federal motor vehicle safety standard that requires headlamps, stop lamps, turn signals, reflex reflectors, mirrors, a parking brake, a windshield and seat belts. A golf cart as sold does not meet that standard, which is why Delaware treats the two vehicles differently rather than as points on a spectrum.

Where an LSV may go is set by road speed, not by road name. Section 2113A(b) restricts operation to roads where the posted speed limit is not more than 35 miles per hour, while allowing an LSV to cross a highway at an intersection even where that highway is posted above 35. Dual highways get their own rule. A dual highway is one DelDOT has divided into separate roadways under 17 Del. C. Section 135, and an LSV may not be operated on a dual highway located in the unincorporated portions of the State except as needed to cross it. That prohibition softens inside town limits: Section 2113A(b) allows LSVs on such dual highways within incorporated cities and towns if the respective municipal government enacts an ordinance permitting the movement, subject to the section's other limitations. That is the only municipal power in the section, it belongs to incorporated municipalities rather than to the three counties, and it unlocks dual highways only. No Delaware municipality can use it to authorise golf carts or to raise the 35 mile per hour ceiling.

The registration and title mechanics are ordinary passenger-car mechanics. Under Section 2113A(f), LSVs are titled under Chapters 23 and 25, the manufacturer's certificate of origin and the Delaware title must clearly identify the vehicle as a low-speed vehicle, normal title and document fees apply, registration fees are the same as a normal passenger vehicle as defined in Section 2151(2), registration periods follow Sections 2109 and 2110, and a regular license plate is displayed on the rear. Section 2113A(c) requires every operator to hold a valid driver's license. Section 2113A(e) requires insurance as provided by Section 2118, and adds that Delaware automobile insurers may write LSV coverage at their option and cannot be compelled to do so by regulation or law, which is a real practical obstacle rather than a formality. Section 2113A(d) exempts LSVs from Delaware's safety inspection, but DMV personnel verify the vehicle identification number on vehicles titled elsewhere and coming into Delaware for the first time, an offsite VIN verification costs $15, and at each registration and renewal the owner must certify under penalty of perjury that all lights, brakes, tires, seat belts and other vehicle equipment are in good working condition. Section 2113A(g) requires anyone in the retail LSV business to be licensed by the Division as a motor vehicle dealer under Chapter 63.

The golf cart answer follows from three provisions read together. A golf cart is self-propelled, and 21 Del. C. Section 101(44) defines a motor vehicle as every self-propelled vehicle except farm tractors, electric bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices and OHVs. Section 6821(a) states expressly that for purposes of the off-highway vehicle chapter a golf cart shall not be considered an OHV, so the OHV registration route in Chapter 68 is closed to it as well. That leaves ordinary registration: Section 2101(a) bars driving or moving on any highway a vehicle of a type required to be registered that is not registered, and Section 2115(1) makes the same conduct unlawful. Section 2113A(f)(1) then blocks the workaround by directing that the Division shall not issue vehicle identification numbers to homemade low-speed vehicles or retrofitted golf carts unless those vehicles meet all of the requirements of 49 C.F.R. Section 571.500. A cart upgraded to that standard is no longer a golf cart in Delaware's eyes; it is an LSV and takes the LSV rules with it. Section 2113A was enacted by 76 Del. Laws, c. 10 and last amended by 84 Del. Laws, c. 403.

Violating Section 2113A itself, for example running an LSV on a road posted above 35 miles per hour or on an unincorporated dual highway, carries the penalty in Section 2113A(h): a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $100 for a first offense, and for each subsequent like offense a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200, or imprisonment of not less than 10 nor more than 30 days, or both. Driving an unregistered golf cart on a Delaware highway is charged differently and more severely.

It breaches Section 2115(1), and under Section 2116(b)(1) a first offense draws a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $200 and imprisonment of not less than 30 nor more than 90 days, or both, rising for a subsequent like offense to not less than $100 and not more than $300 and imprisonment of not less than 90 days nor more than 6 months, or both. Driving without insurance is a separate matter under Section 2118. Falsely certifying LSV equipment condition at registration is made under penalty of perjury by Section 2113A(d).