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Kids driving golf carts?

littleitch1

littleitch1

Seminole Insider
Nov 26, 2008
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I see a lot of kids driving golf carts here in SE florida
Most can not be 16 yrs old

Way back when I got a learners permit I could drive as long as an adult is in front seat too

I couldn’t drive legally alone until I reached 16

Is this legal for underage kids to drive these things on the street? There seems to be 2-6 people on the cart most of the time

It doesn’t seem like police crack down on this type of thing so I kinda wonder if it’s legal

No seatbelts, doors or other safety features

Some day I am sure there will be an accident with the golf cart and a car or truck, and it won’t end well for the golf cart riders!
 
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No, it's not. Here in Walton County, it's a big issue along CR30A. It's our main tourist area with very limited parking and infrastructure making the golf cart rental business big. Underage kids driving golf carts on both the road and walking path is a problem. The sheriff can only do so much. Honestly, since tourism is the main revenue source here, they don't often write the tickets they should.
 
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DFSNOLE said:
No, it's not. Here in Walton County, it's a big issue along CR30A. It's our main tourist area with very limited parking and infrastructure making the golf cart rental business big. Underage kids driving golf carts on both the road and walking path is a problem. The sheriff can only do so much. Honestly, since tourism is the main revenue source here, they don't often write the tickets they should.
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We have a gated community and the Sheriff said it’s up to the HOA to enforce. Parents don’t listen either so…. He also said it’s hard enough trying to deal with the ones driving illegally on the street. Big problem with no real fix until someone gets hurt or worse.
 
That’s what I thought

One day there will be a collision and kids will die

And the parents that knowingly allow their children to drive illegally will undoubtedly blame the police for allowing this

And the politicians will condemn it while being quick to point out whether it happened in a red or blue state

When ultimately it’s the parents fault!
 
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Kids driving golf carts and having a wreck has happened here in Jax already.
And it’s a real problem in gated HOA’s because those streets are private. The Sheriff and City Commission must have a written request from the HOA’s Board of Directors to conduct patrols or even hire an off duty officer for patrolling. Golf carts being driven by drunk adult residents leaving the 19th hole at their golf club has led to fatalities. Driving on the roads instead of cart paths is definitely trouble.
Parents who let their unlicensed teens drive around are liable for any accidents or damage to property caused by their kids. It’s a real wake up call for some of these people.
 
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In pompano they're driving on city streets, busy city streets at that!

Seriously, sometimes there’s six kids hanging on these $20 k and up machines

And they're haulin ass
 
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littleitch1 said:
In pompano they're driving on city streets, busy city streets at that!

Seriously, sometimes there’s six kids hanging on these $20 k and up machines

And they're haulin ass
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Shame on the cops. Those are public streets. Shame on local government and also shame on the Legislature for caving to lobbyists for places like the Villages who don’t wanna have statewide regulations on who can operate these.
 
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In the city it’s dirt bikes and atvs. In the suburbs it’s golf carts and electric scooters.

Common denominator - Absent parents.

It’s not your mayors, city council, HOA, neighborhood watch or local law enforcement responsibility to raise your children. Raise your own damn kids.
 
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12Nole said:
In the city it’s dirt bikes and atvs. In the suburbs it’s golf carts and electric scooters.

Common denominator - Absent parents.

It’s not your mayors, city council, HOA, neighborhood watch or local law enforcement responsibility to raise your children. Raise your own damn kids.
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We agree but the rest of us end up dealing with the outcome of these kids disobeying the law.
I managed gated HOA golf communities and sometimes the parents are in the back of the house in a home office and don’t know their kids have taken the golf carts out, especially the electric ones that are silent. Or they’re asleep at 1AM and don’t hear a thing.
 
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goldmom said:
We agree but the rest of us end up dealing with the outcome of these kids disobeying the law.
I managed gated HOA golf communities and sometimes the parents are in the back of the house in a home office and don’t know their kids have taken the golf carts out, especially the electric ones that are silent. Or they’re asleep at 1AM and don’t hear a thing.
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Take and hide the keys or disconnect the battery. So many preventative steps that parents can and should take but it’s easier to ask your city officials to do something about it.

“It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?”

Make Accountability Great Again.
 
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12Nole said:
Take and hide the keys or disconnect the battery. So many preventative steps that parents can and should take but it’s easier to ask your city officials to do something about it.

“It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?”

Make Accountability Great Again.
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In your scenario, what is the role of the police?
 
12Nole said:
Take and hide the keys or disconnect the battery. So many preventative steps that parents can and should take but it’s easier to ask your city officials to do something about it.

“It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?”

Make Accountability Great Again.
Click to expand...
My parents would routinely take all the keys to all the cars when they left the house, or at least they had them hidden where I would never find them. I would often be stewing at home alone, and no keys to any of the cars.
 
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12Nole said:
Take and hide the keys or disconnect the battery. So many preventative steps that parents can and should take but it’s easier to ask your city officials to do something about it.

“It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?”

Make Accountability Great Again.
Click to expand...
Agree. I saw firsthand what could happen if parents believe “my child would never do such a thing” both when I was still teaching high school and then when I managed HOA’s and the Sheriff knocked on their door at 2 AM after the kids and their buddies got arrested for driving a golf cart and playing mailbox baseball.
Reality don’t care who’s playing.
 
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Around here they have to be licensed and street legal, i.e. lights, horn, and a current license plate.
They are not allowed on streets with a speed limit over 20mph.
 
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DFSNOLE said:
So, no answer? Got it.
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I don’t like grumpy @DFSNOLE

But to answer your question they should be enforcing the laws. With that said communities can be better served with parents being present and parents working with other parents in the community to make sure the kids are conducting themselves in a safe manner and being held accountable when not.

As a kid I’d rather have a neighbor chew me out and tell my parents vs. a police officer showing up to my house.

Do parents prefer a police officer dealing with their children improperly operating a golf cart?

I grew up on if someone is bleeding badly or potentially dying you dial 911. Anything else reasonable adults should be able to sort out.
 
12Nole said:
I don’t like grumpy @DFSNOLE

But to answer your question they should be enforcing the laws. With that said communities can be better served with parents being present and parents working with other parents in the community to make sure the kids are conducting themselves in a safe manner and being held accountable when not.

As a kid I’d rather have a neighbor chew me out and tell my parents vs. a police officer showing up to my house.

Do parents prefer a police officer dealing with their children improperly operating a golf cart?

I grew up on if someone is bleeding badly or potentially dying you dial 911. Anything else reasonable adults should be able to sort out.
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Alright. This I can agree with. But assuming all parents are going to parent in the way you choose, is not realistic in this day and time. There is a huge segment of society who rely on the police, teachers, coaches, etc., to impart societal norms on their children. That isn't the best thing but it is what is happening whether we like it or not.
 
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The small town I work in it’s legal drive golf carts working the city limits. It’s pretty strictly enforced of no kids, don’t leave city limits, don’t be an idiot

We have property on the Santa Fe river and it’s a nightmare in the neighborhood on summer holiday weekends. Golf carts and Side by Sides with 8 kids hanging out being driven by a 10 year old, lifted side by sides tearing up the roads, drunk adults going nuts (yea I know get off my lawn).
 
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HilltopperNole said:
The small town I work in it’s legal drive golf carts working the city limits. It’s pretty strictly enforced of no kids, don’t leave city limits, don’t be an idiot

We have property on the Santa Fe river and it’s a nightmare in the neighborhood on summer holiday weekends. Golf carts and Side by Sides with 8 kids hanging out being driven by a 10 year old, lifted side by sides tearing up the roads, drunk adults going nuts (yea I know get off my lawn).
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I had one take out two sprinkler heads last year. They knew they did it and kept going while I was watching. Grandfather came by later and said they were brats and the parents didn't teach them anything. He ponied up for the repairs but the mom or dad never said a word. Scumbags.
 
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goldmom said:
Kids driving golf carts and having a wreck has happened here in Jax already.
And it’s a real problem in gated HOA’s because those streets are private. The Sheriff and City Commission must have a written request from the HOA’s Board of Directors to conduct patrols or even hire an off duty officer for patrolling. Golf carts being driven by drunk adult residents leaving the 19th hole at their golf club has led to fatalities. Driving on the roads instead of cart paths is definitely trouble.
Parents who let their unlicensed teens drive around are liable for any accidents or damage to property caused by their kids. It’s a real wake up call for some of these people.
Click to expand...
Keep givin' them the binn-ness GoldMom. :cool: Same issues in my hood. Exactly what time should your readers set their wake up call? Zero Dark Thirty?
 
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littleitch1 said:
I see a lot of kids driving golf carts here in SE florida
Most can not be 16 yrs old

Way back when I got a learners permit I could drive as long as an adult is in front seat too

I couldn’t drive legally alone until I reached 16

Is this legal for underage kids to drive these things on the street? There seems to be 2-6 people on the cart most of the time

It doesn’t seem like police crack down on this type of thing so I kinda wonder if it’s legal

No seatbelts, doors or other safety features

Some day I am sure there will be an accident with the golf cart and a car or truck, and it won’t end well for the golf cart riders!
Click to expand...
Started driving a golf cart when I was 7 - on a golf course. Always quality time with Pop. That is where GOLF carts belong. 😉
 
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12Nole said:
Take and hide the keys or disconnect the battery. So many preventative steps that parents can and should take but it’s easier to ask your city officials to do something about it.

“It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?”

Make Accountability Great Again.
Click to expand...
Did anybody else grow up in a town with a curfew siren? When I was little I called it the 9 o’clock siren.
 
I agree that some kids will do dumb things in golf carts. And to the extent they are endangering others, or destroying people's property, that needs to be stopped.

But I'll provide conditional (and light) golf applause for any kid who is not tethered to his or her phone or other device, and behaving appropriately "outside." You know, being a normal kid, like some of the folks on this board likely did. I don't automatically freak out when I see a young person properly operating a golf cart, a boat, a lawn mower, or anything else.

Current circumstances teach us that we don't need another wave of dysfunctional young people -- paralyzed by "climate anxiety" or other illogical fears -- who are afraid to even get married or have children. Get out there. Scratch up your knees a little bit. You'll survive, and may learn something.
 
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DFSNOLE said:
No, it's not. Here in Walton County, it's a big issue along CR30A. It's our main tourist area with very limited parking and infrastructure making the golf cart rental business big. Underage kids driving golf carts on both the road and walking path is a problem. The sheriff can only do so much. Honestly, since tourism is the main revenue source here, they don't often write the tickets they should.
Click to expand...
I live right by 30A and its gone to crap, we wont even drive on it any more except late fall and winter. Our local NBC weatherman (you probably know who Im talking about) is renting one of my houses while hes building a home in Seacrest. I rode over there last weekend to see it and didnt I would ever get back to 98. They both have jobs and 2 young kids in school, I have no idea why they are moving there.
 
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