Driving a golf cart takes away all the stress from the driver as the ride is peaceful, soothing, and very comfortable.
Nowadays, a golf cart has become one of the most suitable transport for commuting, given it is much easier to drive than other transport.
For this reason, children are often seen driving golf carts smoothly across roads. However, not all children are eligible to drive the golf cart on roads, and they need to be at a certain age to be eligible to sit on the driving seat.
Minimum age for a person to drive a golf cart
The minimum age at which a person can drive a cart varies from one country to another, as different countries set different laws for driving a golf cart.
In some countries, where the laws are lenient for golf cart drivers, the minimum age is 12 years, and in some countries, where the laws are stricter, the minimum age is 16 years.
Laws in some countries are so strict that they require cart drivers to bear a driving license before driving on public roads. Many countries require insurance to be done on a golf cart before it is brought to the street. Laws are made to protect the pedestrians and other vehicles in the vicinity of the moving golf cart.
These laws are strictly imposed on public streets to prevent any mishaps and relax in private properties, where traffic of people and vehicles is less.
This allows children to practice driving golf carts in private properties and become experts before they venture into the public streets.
Benefits of driving golf cart at a young age
Gather skills and expertise on driving
Children can start with golf carts to learn driving at a very young age, as golf carts are easy to learn and drive on roads.
Starting at a young age speeds up the learning, and the children soon learn to drive the bigger vehicles such as cars, buses, trucks, etc., based on the skills and expertise they have gathered with time while practicing in golf carts.
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Spending more time on outdoor activity
Nowadays, children’s eyes are glued to smartphones or laptops as they play games or watch videos for hours. This practice harms their health intensely, and they must be distracted from outdoor activities to better their health.
Driving golf carts is one way of deviating their mind from the gadgets, and this not only helps them learn driving skills but also improves their mental health due to the stress-free environment of the golf cart.
Parents must encourage their child to practice driving golf carts in empty streets so that he/she gains more confidence with time and ignores the electronic gadgets.
Disadvantages of driving golf cart at a young age
Children are more vulnerable to mistakes
Children are expected to make many mistakes when they are at the learning stage of driving the golf cart. They might step on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal and end up bumping onto someone.
Thus, to avoid this, an experienced driver must sit beside the child during the child’s entire learning stage to guide him/her properly. Children should also practice on empty roads only to prevent causing harm to any pedestrian or vehicle.
Children are immatured
Maturity is less in children, and thus they have a little conscience about what is right and what is wrong. They might think that bumping a cart onto a person intentionally is fun, but they are oblivious of the damage caused to the person.
Hence, the parents must guide their child well about right and wrong so that the child drives sincerely on the roads.
Conditions for a golf cart to be street legal
For a golf cart to be street legal i.e. eligible to be run on street, it must meet certain conditions. The conditions vary from country to country but the general conditions include:
The cart must have:
- Headlight
- Taillight
- Brake light
- Windshield wiper
- Solid windshield
- Cart identification number
- Turning signals indicator
- Speed limit of 20 mph
Read More: How Fast Does a Golf Cart Go
These conditions are set to create a safe environment for the golf cart driver and the surrounding pedestrians and vehicles. All conditions, except the speed limit of 20mph, might vary from country to country, but the speed limit of 20 mph is constant for every country.
A cart has a top speed of more than 20 mph would not be allowed to run on the street of any country. Therefore, if the cart’s top speed is more than 20mph, the owner must make additional modifications to his cart to bring down the speed limit.
Owners, who want to experience the thrill ride with a speed of 40-50 mph, must drive the cart elsewhere but not on the public street.
People, who fulfill the minimum age requirement for driving a golf cart, may still be barred from driving the cart on streets if their carts do not meet a set of certain conditions.
Hence, a citizen needs to know all the conditions that make a golf cart street legal in his country.
In conclusion, driving golf carts is very relaxing and can take you anywhere you want, but at the same time, you need to grow up to a certain age before you can drive on public roads.
Moreover, you need to make sure your cart meets all the safety requirements before taking it to the streets. Lastly, you need to be very careful and humble while driving to avoid any kind of mishaps.
The number of accidents worldwide is increasing day by day, and unlicensed drivers, unfit vehicles, and rash driving contribute significantly to the total number of road accidents each year.
Just imagine what the deceased’s family members had to go through due to the deaths of their loved ones. Be a responsible citizen and follow the law while driving.
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