[Villages Kahuna]

I believe the illegality of a golf cart that has been modified to exceed a 19.9 mph top speed is that carts capable of greater speed than that are required to be licensed and carry automotive-type insurance coverage. There are lots of golf carts that are capable of exceeding 19.9 mph in TV. The problem is that the majority of them are not properly licensed or insured. All of the GEM carts sold by Daimler-Chrysler dealers are capable of higer speeds, as an example, but are licensed when sold. Most responsible golf cart dealers will not modify their carts to exceed the 19.9 mph unlicensed limit. But there are all kinds of mechanics who will make the necessary modifications to speed carts up.

People knowledgeable regarding "souping up" carts to go fast have a common observation regarding the practice. Getting a golf cart to go fast is easy. But getting it to stop safely from higher speeds is a whole lot harder. Of the large number of carts that have been souped up in TV, very, very few have also been modified with better brakes to permit safe stops from higher speeds. If that's not done to a souped up golf cart going, say 30 mph, the increase in danger to the occupants and others outside the cart is a simple matter of physics. Souped up carts cannot be stopped safely when operated at high speeds without major brake modifications.

The police have threatened to ticket speeding golf carts for some time now. But their warnings have gone largely unheeded. Don't be surprised if the police radar guns are pointed at golf carts whizzing by in the future. The resulting ticket(s) could really be expensive. Let's see...speeding, driving an unlicensed vehicle, inadequate insurance, and so on. I hate to even think how much those tickets would cost.