Keeping Your Kids Safe Around Golf Carts

Compared to a typical passenger car or truck, your average golf car or cart is a very small and slow-moving vehicle. However, it IS still a motorized vehicle that presents some inherent risks to riders, particularly children. In fact, over a third of recent golf cart related injuries involved children under the age of 16. Kids are likely to get excited while riding in a golf cart and they can be careless if not properly informed on the best safety measures. Whether you’re taking the kids for a round of golf or driving them around the neighborhood, it’s important to make sure that both you and your children are following good safety practices.

So how do you keep your kids safe around golf carts? This guide by your friends at Dever Golf Car Sales should help! We have locations in Lexington and Louisville to serve all our Kentucky customers.

Prepare Your Golf Cart

Your golf car generally isn’t prepared for residential use of a course, but there are some features you can add aftermarket or seek out while shopping that can improve its safety. One vital feature in this regard is seatbelts. A lack of seatbelts is the most common reason behind golf cart injuries because children can easily fall out of the seats if they’re not secured.

Headlights and brake lights are also not commonly found on golf carts, but they significantly improve safety when present. Not only do they illuminate the path ahead for you, they also serve to increase your visibility on roads and paths. Your golf car should at the very least be equipped with some reflectors to make it more visible to others.

Make sure you’re not going too fast! Some carts can be modified to go at much higher speeds than the manufacturer recommends. Most carts leave the factory rated for nothing higher than 14 miles per hour, so anything beyond that isn’t safe. High speeds can reduce stability and unbalance the cart, leaving you without as much control. Go well below the maximum speed, even if it takes longer to get where you need to be. 

Finally, remember that the rear-axle brakes on a golf cart aren’t like those in your passenger vehicle; it’s easy to fishtail your cart or even overturn it completely if you don’t know how to operate these!

Know & Teach The Rules

As the operator, you’ll need to know what the laws are in your state or city regarding the use of a golf cart off the fairway. Make sure that you’re in compliance with whatever local regulations exist on this matter. You can generally check with the DMV for this. At the very least, there will likely be a minimum age for the operator and they’ll need to have a valid driver’s license.

Read your owner’s manual to determine what the recommended number of passengers is, how much weight your golf cart can hold and how quickly you can operate it. Then teach your kids that they need to keep their arms and legs inside the cart at all times and that they should not disturb the operator or make excessive amounts of noise or create any distractions while the cart is in motion. Put younger children in a forward-facing seat so they’re less likely to fall out.

Equip Safety Gear

As a last step, it’s important to equip your kids with the appropriate safety gear for riding in an open-air vehicle. This will be similar to the type of gear worn on powersports vehicles. A well-fitting bike helmet is highly recommended. Snug clothing that won’t catch on anything is also good, as are closed-toed shoes that don’t have dangling laces.

We hope these tips help you and your kids to enjoy riding in your golf cart in a safe and responsible manner! Still in search of a golf car? Come by one of our Kentucky dealerships today to check out our available inventory of new and used golf carts for sale. We provide golf car repair and parts in addition to golf cart rentals, so you can try before you buy! Dever Golf Car Sales proudly serves the cities of Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky.