Golf Cart Driving Injuries May Increase Your Handicap

I have experienced poor driving behavior by my 16-year-old son with a golf cart- I was thrown out and the cart wheel hit my ankle. Another time we were mired in mud off the path.

A four-year study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham indicated that about 1,000 Americans are hurt on golf carts every month with young men ages 10-19 and people over the age of 80 with the highest injury rate.

Suggested Driving Age for Golf Carts

In a report from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, it has been indicated that falling or jumping out of carts accounted for 38% of the injuries, the largest percentage. Half of the injuries occurred on golf courses and the rest occurred off of the golf course. The Ohio study has suggested a minimum driving age of 16 for golf carts with the rules banishing children under 6 from riding in them.

In addition to the dangers from falling out of a golf cart, golf cart over-turning or striking a tree, etc., youngsters gaining their driving wings on a golf cart may also pick up bad habits such as erratic driving, swerving, abrupt stopping and starting, that don’t translate into comfortable and safe driving of motor vehicles on the highway. I recommend encouraging youth who are allowed to operate a golf cart in your presence to drive carefully and not erratically such that the driving skills exhibited are comparable to those used for comfortable and safe driving in automobiles.