Tampa St. Petersburg Injury Lawyer Blog

Golf cart travel is becoming an increasingly popular means of transportation, particularly for short trips in subdivisions, in retirement communities and among those who are not yet of legal driving age. While carts are commonly viewed as little more than toys, a recent study, performed by the University of Alabama and published in the Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, reveals a much different take on golf carts.

The research, triggered by doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham after treating several serious golf cart related accidents, studied emergency room databases from 2002 to 2005. Results suggest that during that time span, about 48,000 golf cart accidents took place nationwide, injuring roughly 1,000 Americans a month. Research also revealed that an estimated 50% of the accidents happened on the golf course, while the other half generally occurred at homes, on streets and other public property. Young males between the ages of 10 and 19, as well as men 80 and up, were found to have the highest injury rates in these accidents. For those accidents on the golf course, it is speculated that alcohol often plays a primary factor in the cause of collisions.

Some credit the lack of a requirement for safety equipment, such as windshields, signaling lights and mirrors, as the cause of many of these accidents, especially when traveling on public streets. Although they can be modified to exceed regular speeds, most golf carts are only designed with top speeds of 15 mph, solely with golf course travel in mind. Complaints have been made that the very little federal regulation and minimal requirements by states has also fed into the climbing injury rates. Most states do not have an age requirement to drive a golf cart, nor do they mandate the necessity of a license or safety equipment in order to operate a cart.

The regulations vary greatly by state. Operating any unlicensed vehicle, including golf carts, is illegal in Alabama, for instance. Florida law states that carts can be used on streets, but only after they are modified to operate at a top speed of 20 to 25 mph. While they can still be banned, many communities and subdivisions are creating specified areas for golf cart travel, some of which do come with limitations and regulations.

In general, who is driving and where they are driving seem to be the top culprits in golf cart injuries. The researchers suggest careful monitoring of any children or minors operating the carts, as well as mandatory safety regulations.

 
As a golf cart injury attorney, I have seen the adverse effects of these accidents upon clients. In communities like The Villages, Florida, where our new office is located, golf cart travel is becoming both extremely popular and extremely dangerous. The experience of The Law Offices of John T. Grove can advise you and help you achieve recovery for your golf cart accident injuries.

At the June 11th Pinellas Park City Council meeting, the decision was unanimous to pass an ordinance permitting golf cart travel on certain designated roadways in Pinellas Park, FL.

Golf cart travel is now a go in the Mainlands subdivisions off of U.S. 19, along with the entrance road to Freedom Lake Park from 102nd Avenue and parts of 102nd Ave, as well as on Mainlands Blvd and 40th Street. Many of these roads are connected to golf-cart friendly paths.

Locals should be aware that the allowance of golf carts on these roads also came with limitations and regulations. Travel on golf carts is only permitted in daylight hours, on the designated streets (which will have posted signs to indicate permission). Carts are not allowed on sidewalks or on the trails of Freedom Lake Park. They have to abide by rules and not interfere with the normal traffic flow, as well as maintain working brakes, steering and tires, a rear-view mirror and reflectors. Although it is not yet necessary to obtain a license to operate a golf cart, officials have mandated that drivers must be at least 16 years of age.

The council decision sprang from the requests of several residents, who were aware that in many communities golf cart travel is a convenient and popular means of transportation.

Attorney John T. Grove with an office just north of the Mainland on US 19, handles injury claims from automobile accidents and golf cart accidents. If you have been involved in an accident, call our office for a free consultation to learn your rights.

In The Villages, FL, golf carts are not an uncommon means of transportation among the community's residents. What many people are unaware of however, is that they could be liable if their golf cart, though convenient, isn't properly insured.

While many people take comfort in thinking that their golf cart is covered by their homeowners policy, manager of The Villages Homeowners Association, Jodi Harner, explained why that is a dangerous assumption. She explained to The Villages Daily Sun that companies usually only cover golf carts when driving from the home to the golf course and vice versa. This may provide comfort to the avid golfers, but for the large number of residents who use their carts as a primary mode of transportation within the community roads, there is a large risk involved.

Harner and local insurance agents are urging residents to take the necessary extra steps to obtain insurance specifically for their golf carts. Depending on the value of the cart, insurance is usually relatively inexpensive compared to the possibility of paying thousands in medical bills resulting from golf cart accident injuries. Harner further explained that even if one's homeowners insurance will not insure their cart, buying a separate policy from another company that covers collision, bodily injury liability, and property liability usually runs to be around $100 and is well worth it.

Although this kind of insurance is highly recommended, it is actually not mandatory for "true" golf carts. Lt. Nehemiah Wolfe of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office explained to The Villages Daily Sun that "by Florida statute, a golf cart is defined as a vehicle going to and from the golf course, and statute specifies that golf carts not be capable of exceeding 20 mph. If you modify it to go faster than that, it's considered a motor vehicle." (The Daily Sun). In other words, if driving a modified cart, residents can be issued a citation for operating a motor vehicle without registration, which can equate in a court appointment. Further, if there is an accident in an illegal cart, it is possible that one's insurance company may deny the claim.

The Law Offices of John T. Grove, located at 8630 County Road 466, The Villages, Florida 32161 handles injury claims including automobile accidents, golf cart accidents and slip and fall injuries. Insuring one's golf cart under its own policy is recommended to protect yourself against the unfortunate possibility of an accident with the cart.

A February 21, 2008 edition of The Villages community newspaper, The Villages Daily Sun, reported that one of its female residents had died as a result of an accident. Likewise, The Villages Daily Sun December 18, 2007 edition reported that two separate crashes resulted in injuries of two of their residents. The surprisingly link connecting all of these isolated incidents is that those who were injured were driving golf carts.

One of the reasons so many people enjoy living at The Villages is having the convenience to a system of multi-modal transportation paths that span the community. These paths are intended to be used by pedestrians, bicyclists, and golf cart drivers. The early developers of these paths may have not taken golf cart travel into consideration and the paths were therefore not constructed with golf cart drivers' safety in mind. The new path developers do seem to have taken more into consideration however, as the new paths are better designed, wider and paved with asphalt.

However, some are still arguing that the paths were simply created to be visually appealing, involving many blind curves and shrubs that can be dangerous to those traveling the path. The shrubbery growing right to the edge of the path and the sharp curves indeed provide a challenge and a great risk of collision, leaving little room for pedestrians or fellow golf cart drivers to avoid a potentially life-threatening crash.

While these multi-modal paths are an important part in aiding with the high amount of traffic in The Villages, they would prove to be much more beneficial if they were developed with the safety of their travelers as first priority. For the time being, it has been suggested that these paths be widened, the blind curves be eliminated and the shrubbery be cut back from the paths.

As a Florida golf cart injury attorney when I review a golf cart accident, I look at the vehicles involved, the roadway conditions and construction, the speed involved and generally the lack of seat belts in the golf carts. Certainly the golf cart occupant is at a disadvantage in a cart vs. automobile accident. Our office will handle golf cart accidents throughout the state of Florida.