I’m sorry, why the fuck aren’t these street legal in more than half of the states? The article says something about safety, but these are street legal all over Europe where we have stronger safety regulations.

Also there’s something I can’t put my finger on about the journalist choosing a hero image of the van losing its cargo.

Speed restrictions.

Kei trucks were designed for use in dense Japanese cities, which is why they also work in European cities. They are nimble but have a low top speed. You’re not going 70 mph around a street corner for instance.

It would work in places like NYC for the same reasons, but remember that most of the USA is suburban or rural. You need vehicles that are capable of going fast if you’re going to get on a highway.

A possible workaround is to have a separate class for these, like mopeds or scooters, which are road legal but are not highway legal.

That work around is what most states that legalized it have done, they can’t enter roads over 55mph. It’s a reasonable concession, you probably don’t want to take one over 50mph anyway.

Most places in the US are connected by 55 mph roads. I’d be hard-pressed to get anywhere but the city center in most places I’ve lived if I couldn’t use those roads.

Farm equipment uses those roads all the time, and they go even slower, so I don’t think being able to keep up with traffic is a valid concern.