Low Speed Vehicles and Golf Carts
The sunny weather is nice and all, but Florida is not known for its public transportation options or for being a safe place for bicyclists and pedestrians. Therefore, what do you do when you are too lazy or too sensible to walk, and you don’t have a car or the place you need to go is not accessible by public roads? The obvious choice is to ride in another kind of motor vehicle that will get you from point A to point B, albeit not as quickly as a car can do it. Golf carts and other small, sluggish motor vehicles are a common sight on golf courses and school campuses and in parks and some high-end residential developments in South Florida. The laws governing the operation of these vehicles vary from one type of vehicle to the next. Meanwhile, if you get into a collision in one of them, you are as vulnerable to injury as you would be if you crashed a motorcycle, since there is little vehicle structure to protect you; you do not have the seatbelts and airbags that prevent severe injury in so many car accidents. If you have been injured in an accident in a golf cart or similar vehicle, contact a Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorney.
What Does Florida Law Say About Motor Vehicles That Are Slower Than a Car?
According to Florida law, a low-speed vehicle (LSV) is a four-wheeled motor vehicle with a maximum speed between 20 and 25 miles per hour. To drive an LSV in Florida, you must have a valid driver’s license. It is legal to drive LSVs on public roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or less as long as the LSV has seatbelts, brakes, mirrors, and a windshield like cars have; if you drive it after dark, it must also have headlights and taillights.
A golf cart has a maximum speed of 20 mph and does not have the car-like features of an LSV, such as seatbelts and headlights, despite being shaped like an LSV. You can drive a golf cart on public roads where the speed limit is 30 mph or less. To drive a golf cart, you must have a driver’s license or learner’s permit. It is possible to modify a golf cart so that it becomes an LSV, but if you do this, you must re-register it as an LSV.
The results can be devastating if a golf cart collides with a car. Another common occurrence is single-vehicle golf cart collisions where numerous teenagers, none of whom are experienced drivers, pile into a golf cart, and multiple people get injured. The same legal rights apply to people injured in golf cart or LSV accidents as to people injured in car accidents.
Set Up a Consultation Today
A personal injury lawyer can help you if you suffered injuries arising from a golf cart accident or low speed vehicle accident. Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.
Source:
flhsmv.gov/safety-center/consumer-education/low-speed-vehicles/
