Golf Cart and Electric Vehicle Laws Differ From Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles
According to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, golf carts must be registered with the DMV and owners must obtain golf cart permits, which "allow licensed drivers to operate a golf cart during daylight hours, on a secondary highway or street, within four miles of his residence or place of business." Golf carts are prohibited from driving on a major road or highway, unless a golf cart driver is crossing a major thoroughfare from a smaller, secondary road. Regarding insurance coverage, just as the DMV requires all Low-Speed Vehicles to be insured, golf cart insurance must be maintained as well.
Golf cart owners and drivers are not always aware of the laws, however, which may be due to the original use of golf carts as a recreational vehicle on golf course links and paths. If you or a loved one suffered a golf cart ejection head injury or any golf cart crash injury, call us today toll-free at (803) 799-1700. We can help your golf cart case by pursuing the insurance company for the compensation you deserve. Car, truck and motorcycle drivers may think they own the road but they don't-you have the right to drive your golf cart and moped on South Carolina roads and we can defend that right!
South Carolina Golf Cart Attorneys Who Know Golf Cart Law Inside and Out
Most golf carts are designed specifically for use off public roads-on golf cart paths, golf club parking lots and between holes on golf course greens. And though many golf carts don't easily go over 15-20 mph, they can be easily modified to go faster and, when going downhill, golf carts can speed out of control. But when it's on the asphalt of public roads rather than the soft grass of golf links, or a big rig crashes into a golf cart, the difference in severity of golf cart accidents versus car crashes is drastic. Golf carts lack many of the safety features required for vehicles traveling primary public streets and highways, and because golf cart passengers do not typically wear helmets or other protective gear, they are more vulnerable to injury than motorcyclists.
Golf Cart Injury Cases Can Become Complicated Lawsuits-and We Can Help
Several years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation acknowledged "the growing public interest in using golf cars and other similar-sized, 4-wheeled vehicles to make short trips for shopping, social and recreational purposes primarily within retirement or other planned communities with golf courses," noting "on-road use of golf cars has already resulted in some deaths and serious injuries." Until stricter golf cart safety laws are passed, golf cart manufacturers start adding more safety features, and golf cart insurance coverage better protects passengers, anyone riding in a golf cart risks grave injury and could easily be killed in a golf cart mishap.
We at Benjamin R. Matthews and Associates, LLC are golfers and understand the appeal of golf carts, whether you're in a retirement community, on a college campus or just enjoying a golfing lifestyle in the Florence, South Carolina area. Call us today toll-free at (803) 799-1700 or contact us online for a free initial consultation. Every discussion is confidential and we help South Carolina golf cart injury victims in the Midlands, which includes the Columbia area, and the Pee Dee region, including Darlington, as well as the Florence area.