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272 Build Your Own Electric Vehiclefully compliant with federal FMVSS and NHTSA safety standards, you need to checkout what your state’s motor vehicle code says. If you’re doing a from-the-ground-upEV, you’d be well-advised to check out these rules and regulations in advance.In general, few states have specific EV regulations. You’ll find that states with largervehicle populations, such as California, New York, and Florida, are on the leading edgein terms of establishing guidelines for EVs. Check with your own state’s motor vehicledepartment to be sure.As for the licensing process, most of the people that work for the Department ofMotor Vehicles and/or the Department of Environmental Protection for each state arefar more involved with the smog-certification or DEQ (Department of EnvironmentalQuality). It is very important that you check the vehicle compliance rules and regulationsin your respective state to see what the process is for allowing a converted electricvehicle to receive license plates. However, in most states, owning an EV conversionshort-circuits this process. In fact, you can offer to buy the whole local DEQ inspectionteam lunch if their meters find any emissions coming out of your EV at all (hybrid EVowners, please don’t make this offer!).In most states you can receive a tax credit for an electric vehicle and there is also afederal tax credit for electric vehicles. In some areas, you can be entitled to a reductionin your electric power rate. Check with your local utility and city and state governmentsto see if you and your EV are entitled to something similar in your area.Getting InsuredInsurance is roughly the same as licensing. You’re not likely to have any trouble withyour EV if it’s been converted from an internal combustion engine chassis. While it is aprocess to explain that the vehicle has been converted to electric with your carrier,having a vehicle identification number (VIN) and approval from the State Departmentof Motor Vehicles will give most large national insurance companies ease in underwritingan EV for insurance coverage. Verify that your design meets insurance requirements inadvance.Safety FootnoteMy basic assumption in this section is that you would put safety high on your list ofdesirable characteristics for your converted EV. This line of reasoning assumes youleave intact the safety systems of the original internal combustion engine chassis: lights,horn, steering, brakes, parking brake, seat belts, windshield wipers, etc. It also assumesyou are thinking “safety first” when installing your new EV components.In particular, your electric motor control system should be failsafe and have safetyinterlocks, and your batteries should be mounted for minimal danger to people, otherobjects, or themselves—both in normal operation and in the event of an accident. Don’teven think about going to a vehicle inspection appointment if your from-the-groundupEV design or your standard EV conversion has left any of these out, or your controland/or battery systems don’t emphasize safety first.Driving and Maintenance OverviewAn EV is easier to drive and requires less maintenance than its internal combustioncounterpart. But because its driving and maintenance requirements are different, you’llneed to adjust your acquired internal combustion engine vehicle habits. The driving