Golf Carts Are Being Misused–and That’s Dangerous

It used to be that the only place you saw people using golf carts, was on the actual golf course. But that’s just not the case anymore. Nowadays, golf carts are being used on city streets, or in suburban areas.

Not only are they being used in places they haven’t commonly been used before, they’re also being used in ways that they haven’t been used before—and those aren’t always safe usages of those golf carts.

A Car Replacement?

Today it seems like a golf cart is an “alternative car.” Often, young people use them as a means of transportation around neighborhoods; you may need a license to drive a car, but not so with a golf cart.

Golf carts aren’t just used by young people; they are also, more and more, being used by the elderly, to get around communities or neighborhoods.

Misuse of Golf Carts

One difference between the old and the young is that the young are far more likely to misuse the golf cart. Whereas on the golf course, in most cases, people are just sitting on the golf cart, at safe speeds, and staying on the designated pathways, that’s not the case nowadays off the course, especially when young people use golf carts.

It’s common for young people to have too many people on the cart, or kids hanging off the cart, with half of their bodies on, and half off, the golf cart.

Golf Carts are Poorly Equipped

Unlike an ATV a golf cart is hardly equipped for any kind of rough or uneven terrain—but that’s exactly the terrain golf carts are encountering as they are taken off the course. Golf carts have no real shocks or dampeners, and riders don’t have any real protections to keep them inside the cart when it goes over ditches, potholes, rocks, or anything uneven.

Because of the lack of safety features, golf carts present a serious risk to riders. There may be insufficient seat belts and, as you can just tell by looking, there is hardly anything keeping riders inside the cart. There are no doors, or anything surrounding the passenger cabin. The roof is there to protect riders from the elements—not to sustain the weight of a cart that has flipped over.

Accidents do Happen

Golf cart accidents are more common than you may think. There are over 15,000 accidents every year related to the use of carts, and about 11% of them involve injuries to the head and neck, making them significantly dangerous and serious injuries.

Although golf cart statistics include the use of carts both on and off the golf course, about 60% of golf cart accidents on golf courses are by inexperienced visitors to golf courses—giving credibility to the idea that people not experienced in the use of golf carts, tend to be the ones most likely to be involved in golf cart accidents.

Injured on, or by, a golf cart? Contact the Las Vegas personal injury lawyers at Cameron Law today at 702-745-4545 to see who may be liable for the injuries you sustained by the cart.

Sources:

safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20884-study-finds-golf-cart-related-injuries-are-common

youtube.com/watch?v=V_pEtU8u4HE

gitnux.org/golf-cart-accident-statistics/#:~:text=Highlights%3A%20The%20Most%20Important%20Golf,injury%20claims%20at%20golf%20courses