Fun, but No Toy – Staying Safe with Golf Carts

You’ve probably heard them called big toys for grownups, but “playing” with a golf cart is a little different than playing with some matchbox cars.Sure, they’re fun and extremely handy for all kinds of applications, but that doesn’t mean the enjoyment they bring cancels out any potential hazards they pose.

Now, don’t start panicking and second-guessing your use of these vehicles, as a little safety knowledge means no worries, and here you’ll find all of the advice and tips you’ll need to know how to keep you – along with your family and friends – safe.

Just Like a Car:

The best way to stay safe while using a golf cart is to envision it in much the same way that you would your car.What you wouldn’t feel safe doing in your car shouldn’t be something you do with your golf cart.They may be smaller and may not go as fast, but the injuries that can be sustained in a golf cart are comparable to many of those that can be sustained in a full-size vehicle.Everything from scrapes and bruises to broken bones and even fatalities have been reported from the improper use of golf carts.

If injury wasn’t enough to have to worry about, you can throw in legal issues as well.Accidents involving golf carts are just as likely to lead to litigation as those involving cars, and considering the fact that golf carts can get into a lot of places that full-size vehicles can’t, you could make an argument for golf carts having a wider scope for potential legal issues if not used properly.

Problems and Solutions:

One of the most common means of causing an accident has to deal with turning golf carts too sharply, especially at full speed.Golf carts aren’t meant for use on race tracks, so they’re obviously not designed to take sharp corners at high speed, as evidenced in their tendency to flip over.

Of course, while you can drive carefully and avoid doing such things, you can’t always anticipate what you’ll encounter while driving.Sometimes you don’t have any other choice but to turn sharply while going at full speed, such as when trying to avoid hitting a person or animal that runs out in front of you.

However, you can easily help to avoid injuries by installing a few pieces of equipment.Safety grab bars, rollover enclosures, seat belts, and even upgraded, all-terrain tires can really help to minimize accidents and the injuries sustained during them.Another great idea is to have some kind of first aid kit on board, and this is where additional storage certainly comes in handy.

The number of people present on a golf cart can also lead to some serious accidents, as golf carts are really only intended to transport as many people as there are seats.If you just have a front seat, then it’s definitely much more dangerous to try to cram multiple people onto the golf cart.This can create awkward weight displacement that can certainly lead to rolling, but it also increases the chances of someone falling out of the golf cart and injuring themselves.

One rather straightforward solution is to increase the passenger capacity by adding a back seat.You could get a club car rear seat or Madjax rear seat flip.Some even feature guards/grips for passengers in the back to hold in front of them for added balance.

For those driving in areas that are also used by cars and trucks, it’s smart to go ahead and use hand signals along with your golf cart’s turn signals.Like motorcycles, golf carts aren’t always given close attention by other drivers, so your cart’s signals may go unnoticed.

To further prevent accidents while driving, consider installing mirrors that will help reduce blind spots and increase navigability.While driving in the street means you’ll be sharing the road with faster vehicles, this is preferable to driving on the sidewalk.People don’t typically expect to encounter a golf cart while on the sidewalk, so reaction times may be severely delayed, and the sort of situations you find yourself in may be more difficult to deal with.

Apart from improving the way in which you operate your golf cart and the upgrades you can do to make it safer, it’s important to remember that improving the safety of your vehicle has just as much to do with where you get your parts as anything else.Purchase from a reliable retailer with plenty of experience in their field, and which sells quality products from reliable brands.