So why isn't Robnett riding it from her home in South Portland to her job at the University of New England in Biddeford? Good question. Robnett first saw the Twike last fall while she and her husband were visiting relatives in Switzerland. It belonged to her cousin, who recently had taken a job with a too-long commute and generously gave the vehicle, which retails for around $20,000, to the Robnetts. The Twike arrived in Boston last October. But customs officials held it on the dock because it was a) an imported vehicle and b) lacked an NHTSA sticker. What's worse, when the Robnetts called NHTSA officials in Washington D.C., they were told that a) the feds had never heard of the Twike and b) there was "no way" its rubber would ever meet a U.S. road. This surprised the Robnetts, who already had spoken to a man in Vermont who imported a Twike via Montreal and is happily traversing the Green Mountain State with no federal interference whatsoever. "We have the names and e-mail addresses of other owners, too," Regi said. "Apparently it's easy to get them through other places." But not here. For four months, the Robnett's have tried - and failed - to free their Twike. They hired a firm that helps people clear customs hurdles, but the best it could do was have the crate sent from the dock in Boston to the warehouse in Westbrook. They contacted Maine's congressional delegation, but the political wheels have yet to gain any traction. They even reached a tentative compromise with NHTSA whereby the Twike would become a "demonstration project" for environmental classes at the UNE, where Regi teaches occupational therapy. But when NHTSA loaded on the conditions - the Twike must stay within 25 miles of campus, must be in the "sole possession" of UNE, and after six months must be exported or destroyed - that deal fell through. Jacques Carter, dean of UNE's College of Arts and Sciences, is mystified. "They build things like that down at MIT all the time," he said. But NHTSA's not budging - and thus, neither is the Twike. "Our purpose is not to be difficult," said spokesman Tim Hurd. Rather, he said, NHTSA is simply enforcing a rule prohibiting motor-vehicle imports without its seal of approval. the Twike, Hurd said, stays in the crate until someone proves it meets federal safety standards (which, of course, would require taking it out of the crate.) In other words, negotiations have stalled. The Robnetts, already out $5,000 for new batteries and $1,500 in shipping costs, now face impoundment fees of $10 per day for the privilege of owning - but not riding - their Twike. "Sending the Twike back is not an option and destroying it would be a national travesty," Regi said. "And its not like we'll be running down old ladies with it!" Of course they won't. Now if only the bureaucrats would get out of the way.

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last modified 12-13-02