Golf carts are becoming a more common sight on Indiana’s streets and roads, but state police say they fail to meet the safety and equipment standards for motor vehicles to be driven on public streets.
Several communities across the state allow golf carts on their streets under ordinances such as one in the Steuben County town of Hamilton, which charges a $40 annual registration fee, requires insurance and limits the number and ages of passengers.
“With the economy faltering and gas prices going through the roof, this is a way to save gas,” said Milton Otero, the town manager in the lake community about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne. “Our residents are saving tons of money and loving it.”
An Indiana State Police statement released last week said that while state law does not specifically ban golf carts from public roads, they must have license plates issued by the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The BMV, however, will not give plates to golf carts without safety equipment required under state and federal law to be on the road, such as a horn, headlights, taillights, turn signals, windshields and safety belts, agency spokesman Dennis Rosebrough said.
“The whole issue of nontraditional motorized vehicle has been heating up,” he told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. “It is a topic of discussion among the agencies. The proliferation of golf carts is pushing the limits of the definition and forcing these kinds of conversations.”
Hamilton resident Tom Walker, who owns an electric golf cart that goes 18 mph and lasts days without a new charge, said not only do the carts allow people to drive around town at a lower cost, he has met dozens of others also driving their carts.
“The community is getting tighter and friendlier,” Walker said. “Until the state police come flying into town and start setting up roadblocks, we will continue to enjoy it under our town ordinance.”
Hamilton’s ordinance requires golf cart drivers to have a valid driver’s license and insurance. It also permits no passengers younger than the age of 2 and requires those younger than 10 to sit on the front seat. Other provisions are that the cart must have an orange flag or pennant, along with rearview mirrors, headlights, taillights and turn signals.
The central Indiana city of Lebanon also has an ordinance allowing golf carts on its streets and officials in southern Indiana’s Vincennes were considering a similar ordinance, but both have run into questions about being trumped by state law.
The mayor in southern Indiana’s Mitchell had encouraged the use of golf carts in the city, only to hear from a resident who got a traffic ticket for driving his gas-powered cart on the street.
Lawrence County Sheriff Sam Craig said the use of golf carts is a public safety problem.
“Law enforcement usually tries to work with people, but this comes down to traffic issues and safety,” he said. “We don’t want people getting hurt.”
State Rep. Sandy Blanton, D-Orleans, said she was considering filing a bill for next year’s legislative session to make clear that golf carts are legal and that BMV can register them. She also is a member of the Joint Study Committee on Mass Transit and Transportation Alternatives and hopes for discussion of the topic during the coming months.
“A lot of rural areas are very interested in this,” Blanton said. “I hope we can find a balance that serves the safety of Hoosiers and local communities looking for transportation options.”
Vincennes Mayor Al Baldwin said the city did not seek to break state law.
“Our intention was only to make these things safe, but it has certainly turned into so much more,” Baldwin said. “I say we let these legislators clean this mess they’ve created up.”
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