A story about LSV ordinances in Southern Illinois communities reveals a common pattern of how these laws are passed. It often starts with a municipality that sets the precedent and can be the test case for other municipalities in the area. Once other communities see that the ordinance can have a positive impact for residents, it can provide a catalyst and an easier sell in other nearby cities. Initially, there was a fair amount of pushback against these ordinances because of safety concerns, particularly the mixing of higher speed traffic with low speed vehicles. In part, this stemmed from a lack of safety data related to the use of LSVs in these environments. But once the initial adopters started instituting these ordinances, other communities could make a better assessment of both the pros and cons of allowing LSVs on local streets.

This may point to how to expand the LSV market for personal transportation. If either manufacturers and/or local dealers wanted to build an LSV market, they may want to take the approach of identifying the municipality in a particular area most agreeable to passing an ordinance and use it as a test case. They could then use it as an example to lobby nearby municipalities to do the same. In many cases, the impetus also starts with local residents who want an LSV option. Bringing them into the process would help as well. While it could take some time, once momentum built in a certain area, that micro market could expand quickly.  Learn more:  Thesouthern.com