Island teens say proposed cart law unfair

Island teens aren’t happy with Lee County’s proposed changes to golf cart regulations, and say it will affect their daily lives more than people understand.

The Lee County commissioners are considering an ordinance that would raise the age to operate a golf cart in unincorporated Lee County from 14 to 16. Existing state law sets the age at 14.

Parker O’Bannon, a 14-year-old who lives on the island, said that his after-school and summer jobs are on the line if the ordinance passes.

“I work at Hudson’s, and I also work on the tarpon boats in the summer,” he said. “If this passes, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Sometimes I have to haul a lot of stuff, and you can’t carry the same amount on a scooter or a bike that you can on a golf cart. I use it to help my mom and my dad, too. It just doesn’t make any sense. I think they should have a safety course you can pass and get a certificate or something that shows you can drive a golf cart. That way the kids from other places that come here and act crazy won’t be able to any more, but the kids who live out here and need them will still be able to use them. I took a hunter safety course and a safe boating course … why can’t I take a safe golf cart class?”

Kelly Locke, an island resident with several children, said the whole family’s schedule will have to change if the ordinance passes.

“It’s a real bummer,” she said. “Wesley (Locke’s 14-year-old daughter) uses the cart to run to the get the mail, to go to Hudson’s for us, even for babysitting jobs. The older kids run the younger kids to the playground all the time, now I don’t know what we’ll do. We know our kids’ capabilities with golf carts, they’ve grown up watching us use them and we know they’re perfectly capable of driving a golf cart safely. It’s always been one of the things we love about living out here, and it almost seems cruel to take that away from the kids who are 14 or just turning 14. I know a lot of parents buy their kids a golf cart when they turn 14 … what do they do now?”

Mila Wyman, who is just about to turn 16, said it’s too bad for the younger kids, and that a lot of her friends were not happy.

“It used to be they didn’t really have any law,” she said. “Now that they’re raising the age right when I’m turning 16, it hasn’t affected me. But there’s a lot of kids that it’s unfair to.”

The age of drivers isn’t the only problem that some golf cart drivers will run into. If the ordinance is passed, all golf carts operating on Lee County roadways would be required to have seat belts, and retrofitting them into a golf cart can be tricky and expensive.

Jim Hucknall of Thoroughbred Golf Carts said they have had more and more people coming in and asking about installing seat belts.

“For some it’s just personal preference,” he said. “Carts are getting a little faster than in past years, and a lot more kids are riding around in them. As far as the cost, it depends on what kind of cart it is. With some we can just bolt something on and put the seat belt on, with others it’s more complicated.”

Hucknall said that it normally costs about $60 per seat belt to be installed, which means that the cost to install seat belts on a four-seat cart would be $240.

Hucknall said that some customers have also fitted their carts with the means to secure their children.

“We have a couple people who have bought carts and we’ve had to put a full restraint system on to put a car seat on,” he said. “Of course you need a shoulder belt with that, too. Other people say that they’ve put the seats in with the regular seat belt and they’ve been fine. Not too many people seem to worry about it, though.”

Richard Cucchi, the owner of Caddy Carts said he hasn’t gotten much response from the public as far as fitting their carts for seat belts. He quoted a price of $125 to put seat belts in a four-passenger golf cart. He also had an interesting take on safety in golf carts, and how seat belts might hinder it.

“As far as the cost for putting seat belts in, it all depends on the structure of the golf cart,” he said. “This isn’t the first time an ordinance like this has been proposed.”

Cucchi said that a lot of major golf cart manufacturers don’t recommend the use of seat belts in golf carts.

“Sometimes the seat belt will trap you in the cart,” he said. “It doesn’t have any rollover protection or crush zones, so sometimes it’s better to be ejected. In the new club cars they have a 360 degree 5 mile per hour impact zone, and those manufacturers don’t recommend seat belts. Lee County is pretty unique in proposing this. Seat belts have been installed on a lot of golf carts since 1996, but no one uses them. It’s just something uncomfortable you’re sitting on.”

The term “crush zone” indicates a certain safety area around the vehicle where the rate of energy on impact is absorbed by the vehicle. When the bumpers are installed, some of the impact rate of energy absorbed by the cart is deflected.

Cucchi did say he thought it was a good idea to restrain children on golf carts.

“If you have a child in a car seat, then the seat belt is functional,” he said. “I’d much rather see that than sitting with them on their laps. Then the kids turn into airbags.”

The proposed Lee County ordinance says that all drivers of golf carts on Lee County roadways must be 16 years or older and hold a valid driver’s license. Every cart must have seat belts, functioning lights and turn signals. All children must be restrained in the golf cart just as they would in a passenger vehicle. Finally, no one that has lost their license for any reason will be able to drive a cart. Comments can be emailed to jansens j@leegov.com. The deadline for comments is March 7.