In the face of rising gas prices, motorists will soon be able to drive low-speed electric vehicles on some Kentucky roads.

Gov. Steve Beshear issued an executive order Tuesday, directing the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to facilitate allowing low-speed electric vehicles on the state’s roads. But the cabinet regulations allow these vehicles to travel only on Kentucky roads with speed limits at or below 45 mph; the vehicles are not even allowed to cross roads with speed limits above 45 mph.

The decision to limit the vehicles was made primarily as a safety precaution, said David Evers, spokesman for the transportation cabinet in Frankfort.

It can be dangerous for vehicles moving quickly to come across a slower vehicle, he said, similar to the danger of coming upon a horse and buggy.

“Kentuckians, like all Americans, are hard hit by record high gas prices,” Beshear said. “These tough times call for creative solutions, and I believe allowing Kentuckians the option of using an electric vehicle is one of those solutions.”

Using electric vehicles may help reduce costs and pollution, he said.

“We’re in favor of new and innovative transportation technologies,” Transportation Secretary Joe Prather said. “We will work diligently to develop and implement standards to ensure safe operation of these vehicles on Kentucky roads.”

Of course, few roads in the rural sections of the county have speed limits of 45 mph or less, with the exception of some subdivisions, said Sgt. Tim Meyer of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. The standard speed limit, if one is specified, is 55 mph.

“We’re not expecting this to have much of an impact in the rural areas of the county,” Meyer said, simply because there aren’t many places where the vehicles could be used.

However, the city potentially could see these vehicles being used in the future, Meyer said.

Sgt. Penny Bowles of the Bowling Green Police Department said she has never seen an electric vehicle on the road within the city.

There are two roads - Veterans Memorial Lane and Louisville Road - that carry 55 mph designations, and the slow-speed vehicles would not be permitted to travel on them, she said.

“This week we saw gas go down to $3.60 (per gallon),” she said. “(But) as gas prices continue to increase, it’s going to make more sense for people to have those types of vehicles.”

Throughout the area covered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in Bowling Green, there are 2,464.172 state-maintained miles of roadway. Of those, only 268.705 miles that have a 45 mph speed limit or less, said Keirsten Jaggers, spokeswoman for the transportation cabinet.

Brian Thorpe, owner of Brian’s Carts on Three Springs Road, said Kentucky’s executive order still leaves the commonwealth behind several other states that legalized slow-speed electric cars several years ago.

Thorpe’s business carries one of the vehicles that will soon become legal, he said.

“The vehicle that I carry is already street legal in 45 other states. I don’t know what took Kentucky so long to come around,” Thorpe said.

Neighboring states Ohio and Tennessee have allowed low-speed electric vehicles on the road for at least a couple of years, he said. The difference is that in other states, the vehicles can only travel on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less.

These electric vehicles couldl become popular with people who drive within the city, he said. The cost of the electric vehicle he carries is $6,495, it can travel up to 25 mph and has all the safety features that come with any other vehicle.

On a full battery it can travel about 30 miles, Thorpe said, though it takes at least a couple of hours to fully charge the vehicle.

“But you’re supposed to be charging it whenever it’s stopped,” he said.