What is a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV)? Is It a Golf Cart?
A leading news article once boldly claimed that “the future of electric vehicles is golf carts, not Tesla.” While that might sound like a headline from The Onion, it was actually published by none other than the Harvard Business Review.
In the following years we’ve seen street legal golf carts skyrocket in popularity, and subgenres like lifted golf carts have taken off in ways nobody predicted. Except Guy Fieri.
That means Johnny Law is paying more attention to marauding caddies than ever before. It’s often illegal to drive a golf cart on public roads unless it has a license plate, and before you set about making your golf cart street legal it’s important to understand the legal definition of a golf cart and what distinguishes a golf cart from a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV).
Yes, you can make a golf cart street legal. In most cases you can even modify a golf cart to become an LSV for all intents and purposes.
What is a Low Speed Vehicle?
A Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) is legally defined as a four-wheeled vehicle whose maximum speed falls between 20 and 25 miles per hour on a paved level surface. An LSV’s GWVR (total weight of all cargo, fluids, and passengers plus the vehicle itself) is limited to 3,000 pounds.
LSVs are often found writing you a ticket even though you’ve only been parked in that loading zone for like 5 minutes sir, officer, I swear. Typical uses of LSVs include meter maids, campus security, grounds keeping, farming, hunting, golfing, and yard work. LSVs usually look like a street legal golf cart with an added dose of flavor and street legal components like blinkers and seat belts.
The low weight limit has promoted use of lightweight materials in the construction of LSVs, allowing them to carry up to six people plus luggage and still weigh under 3,000 pounds. This means Low Speed Vehicles get fantastic gas mileage that would make a small motorcycle look like a 1980’s Cadillac. Naturally, that makes them appealing for driving every day, and these days many states agree.
Where are Low Speed Vehicles Legal to Drive?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that while LSVs are universally street legal by federal law, it’s up to each state to regulate LSV activity on its roads. This handy map shows that 33 states currently limit Low Speed Vehicles to roads where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.
At the time of publication, the following are street legal LSV limitations by state. If you’re not in the following states, you’re limited to 35 MPH:
25 mph: Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia
30 mph: Ilinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland
45 mph: Alaska, Texas
Any road: Arkansas, Wyoming
LSVs may drive on any road where they can achieve the maximum speed limit and do not significantly impede traffic or restrict traffic flow.
Local laws apply: Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Wisconsin
Towns, cities, and counties determine the LSV laws, so be sure to check your local resources before driving.
How Safe are LSVs?
Not very.
We’re not here to talk you out of driving one, just make sure you’re extremely careful in doing so.
Many LSVs are safer than golf carts, but that’s not saying much. As NHTSA documentation explains, street legal LSVs aren’t required to meet the rigid safety standards that passenger cars must adhere to. If your neighbor’s Escalade hits an LSV at an intersection, it’s not hard to imagine that the outcome will most likely be in the SUV’s favor.
Always drive on heightened alert when operating a Low Speed Vehicle on public roads. While you shouldn’t be driving distracted anyway, you definitely shouldn’t be doing it with no air bags and no crash protection to speak of.
Why Drive an LSV? How Do I Get Street Legal?
Driving a street legal LSV on public roads offers the same benefits as driving a golf cart: ease, convenience, efficiency, and an undeniable cool factor. Just look at those people in the photo above, all hip and cool with their pressed pants and pastel shirts.
Clearly they are driving on a public road, something that’s pretty cool in itself. If you want to make your LSV street legal, you’re in the right place. Dirt Legal can help make your Low-Speed Vehicle street legal, saving you time and cutting out that bothersome DMV paperwork.
Are the people in that picture driving a golf cart or an LSV? Hard to tell, isn’t it?
That brings us to the second part of the topic at hand.
What is a Golf Cart?
Most states define golf carts as vehicles designed specifically for use on a golf course and capable of a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour or less. That’s 5 MPH slower than the maximum speed for an LSV. Also their price tends to be lower, and they often lack many of the fundamental safety features that make LSVs street legal in so many states.
Where are Golf Carts Legal to Drive?
Despite what your local golfing community might tell you, any street legal golf carts were most likely converted for street use by companies like us; it’s rare to find a street legal golf cart from the factory or at a dealership, and driving a stock golf cart on public roads is rarely legal.
Making a golf cart street legal is possible, but outside of controlled living communities and college campuses, it’s generally illegal to drive an unconverted golf cart on public roads. Local laws may make golf carts street legal during certain hours or on certain roads, but chances are those roads aren’t too far from a golf course.
To be considered fully street legal, golf carts must meet the same registration, insurance, and inspection requirements as the other vehicles on the road. That means a license plate is generally required.
How Safe are Golf Carts?
If you’ve seen a golf cart driving around a rural town or national park, it was most likely an LSV. Even though they will sometimes resemble a golf cart, Low-Speed Vehicles are built with street driving in mind. If you get into a traffic accident in a golf cart, the results could be far more dramatic than your usual bumper tap and even more dramatic than a similar accident in an LSV.
And then there’s insurance: motorcycle insurance often covers golf carts and LSVs as well, but requires features of regular automobile insurance like Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage Liability. Yet insurance is usually required to drive on public roads, so there’s that to figure out as well.
Why Drive a Golf Cart?
Making a golf cart street legal is easier than you might think and it comes with tons of benefits. Check out our guide on How to Make a Golf Cart Street Legal.
The Difference Between Golf Carts and LSVs
Physical Differences
Speed: Golf carts can travel up to 20 mph. LSVs can travel up to 25 mph.
Safety: LSVs have additional traffic safety features which golf carts lack.
Price: Golf carts can often be a few thousand dollars cheaper than LSVs.
The Letter of the Law
Legal Age: LSVs and golf carts often don’t require the driver to be of legal driving age or even possess a valid driver’s license. Check your local laws for more information.
Road use: Most states allow street legal LSVs on some public roads. Street legal golf carts are allowed as well, but factory stock golf carts generally are not. Local areas may have their own rules in effect.
Parts and equipment: Golf carts tend to lack the street legal parts found on LSVs (horn, windshield, lights, mirrors, and so on). You’ll need these parts to satisfy Johnny Law. As it just so happens, we stock them.
Can Golf Carts and LSVs Be Street Legal?
Yes!
Many resources exist including this helpful article outlining every state’s rules for operating LSVs on public roads. Because these rules are changing all the time, you will need to research what’s happening in your state right now.
Look up “Your State low-speed vehicle laws” on Google or contact your local Department of Transportation or DMV office to find the most recent information.
How Do I Make My Golf Cart Street Legal?
Wouldn’t you know, that’s exactly what we do at Dirt Legal. In most states, making a golf cart street legal is the same process as making a Low-Speed Vehicle legal. It involves fitting the parts required by your state and using our Street Legal LSV Service to get registered as street legal.
This often involves equipping your golf cart with all the parts your state requires to consider it an LSV, essentially converting it from a golf cart to a low-speed vehicle as far as the state is concerned.
How Do I Make My LSV Street Legal?
Street legalizing an LSV means doing three things:
Understanding the laws and regulations in your jurisdiction
Outfitting your LSV with as many street legal parts as possible
Getting a title, license plate, and insurance whenever possible
LSVs can be made legal for road use in almost all 50 states, just make sure you’re not impeding the flow of traffic wherever you go.
A golf cart on a public road | source
What Parts Make an LSV Street Legal?
Your local laws may require more, but your LSV will need at least the following parts to be considered street legal in your area.
Headlights
Tail lights
Blinkers
Lap belts
Mirrors
Reflectors
Windshield
Horn
Most of these parts are standard on today’s most popular models. If you have a factory-built LSV you probably have most of those already, but they can all be installed quicker than you can play your local back nine.
What About a Title, Plate, and Registration?
At Dirt Legal, we’re big fans of making things street legal, from military vehicles and Humvees to side-by-sides and other Off-Highway Vehicles. We believe in the freedom to drive your vehicle wherever, whenever, safely and legally.
Imagine being free to take your LSV to the grocery store, the movies, the golf course, or just out for a quiet drive around the neighborhood. Our Street Legal LSV Service can make that dream a reality by helping you register your Low-Speed Vehicle as street legal, allowing you to drive your LSV wherever your state allows.
You might need insurance as well, so check your local resources and call your insurance company to be sure.
Why bother? My local law enforcement doesn’t care about golf carts on the road.
Your local Johnny Law might be in the habit of turning a blind eye to golf carts and LSVs, but it’s always best to ensure you’re as legal as possible on public roads so you’re protected in a worst-case scenario.
If something were to happen and another person’s insurance were to get involved, you would want to have every T crossed and every loose end tied off.
Any Questions?
We hope this guide to golf carts and LSVs has helped answer your questions. If we left something out, feel free to comment below and we’ll address it in a future edit.
If you have questions about how our Street Legal LSV Service works in your state, contact us and we’ll be happy to explain it.