Seat belts in golf carts
 

I just had the most wonderful experience putting seat belts in our 2nd golf cart. I had Lou Karnbach 352-552-8586 who installs Windshield screens for Golf Carts put in the belts. He not only did a fantastic job but is soooooo much cheaper than anyone else. We love our screens in both carts and strongly suggest to anyone with a cart to put in the Seat Belts before you ever get in one again. I am a survivor of a golf cart accident and thank God everyday. I've had 3 surgeries and lost the hearing in my left ear as a result of the accident I had 2-13-14. Please folks , understand how important it is to be belted in.

After living here for over 4 years and reading about cart accidents, head injuries, life flights to hospitals etc., I had seat belts installed and believe that is the best money I have spent while being a villager. It is not that difficult for a cart driver to catch a passenger off guard for whatever reason, and the end result can be devastating. I usually drive and my wife is usually the passenger. To protect her from accidentally falling out for the price of seat belts is absolutely priceless.
I know there are instances when they might not make a big difference, but all in all I recommend seat belts. It doesn't matter to me where you buy them. I'm glad the OP got them and thank you for the post.

Please listen to the original poster's experience.

Not everyone who gets ejected from a golf cart onto pavement/curbing lives to warn you about it.

This story also relates to the current thread on rental golf cart insurance policies not being written to cover liability in case of a renter having an accident that causes accidental death or grave injury. Landlords and renters need to be aware of the dangers and need for liability coverage of renters when a golf cart is provided as part of a rental home.

I agree
 

I agree 100%. I feel very uncomfortable now if I'm in someone else's cart that does not have seat belts. Not only do we have seat belts in both carts, but extra light bars as well. All we'll worth the price. It's like wearing a helmet while riding a bike. That slight extra might just save your life.

could not agree with you more. We are currently renting but our purchase will definitely include seat belts. We have friends that were thrown out of the cart and required brain surgery. Do not take a chance. Ione accident could be one too many.

We have seat belts and we recommend to all. We lost a friend who was
in a golf cart accident.

I believe in seat belts so I had them installed in my cart. A necessary safety feature. IMHO

Now I need to get a horn, so I can warn people. :smiley:

Seat Belts , just might save your life or prevent a serious injury. Get them.

Agree 100%. I had mine installed 2 years ago

click here for the story
He was an alumni from the high school where I worked. I knew the course well and the people who worked there. I was told he was leaning over to pick up something in the cart when the driver hit a bump. He landed on the concrete cart path.
This was a regular golf cart that can only go 12 mph.

I had seat belts installed in our golf cart. I wouldn't ride in a cart without belts now, no more than I would go out bicycling without my helmet. Golf cart drivers in The Villages often ride at too high a speed to negotiate corners or avoid curbs. I have passed carts in my car where I had to accelerate to pass them as they were doing 25+ miles per hour! These altered carts put a lot of pressure on other golf carts as they often pass them even though they were doing 20mph! I know I have been passed on a curve on the MultiModal path by an altered cart that was doing 25+. I honked the horn and in response the lady in a rush who passed me on a curve just honked her horn and accelerated! Golf carts are inherently unstable and should not be altered to go over 20mph. I would hope the police would ticket more of these impatient speeders. They endanger walkers, bicyclists, and other golf carters. When they pass you on a curve remember one thing, they are going to cut you off and slam back into your lane if they see another cart coming around the curve from the opposite direction. They will put their safety over yours and drive you off the path and possibly cause your cart to tip over. Most people are not stupid enough to pass on a curve when they are in their car, (probably because of the double yellow line.) but put them in a golf cart and they will pass on a curve when they can't see what is coming around in the opposite direction. It has happened to me on my bicycle as well even though I was doing 15mph. I yelled at the driver that he should not pass on a curve. I have also decided to not ride any more to the far right around tight curves and now take the whole lane so as to discourage passing. When the road straightens out, then I ride far to the right side of the MM path.

You are so welcome. I was not thrown out My friend was driving and I was the passenger. A car pulled right in front of us and she hit it broadside. I went forward, hit my head on the bar, lost the hearing in my left ear from the concussion and knee, back and almost ripped my thumb off, hence the 3 surgeries. I thank God every day because it could have been worse and I could be dead. The driver of the car felt so horrible, they have admitted 100% being at fault but it just goes to prove you never know ......... seatbelts save lives. I thank everyone on here for caring enough about others to say so. I cannot stress enough the importance of having and wearing the seat belts in your golf carts.

i am deaf and moving there in April from MN and will remember what you said !
THANKS !!

Google "golf cart crash test"


Speeds as low as 11 mph are enough to eject one from a cart over the seat rails.

I don't like where this conversation is headed. Secondly there are safety counter points to this issue

What does that mean?

I agree that we all should have seat belts, as does the Property Owners Association, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (see below). As I look at the statistics on golf cart accidents, it appears that nearly all, if not all golf cart fatalities occur when someone gets thrown from the cart. Seat belts would prevent that in most all incidents. If someone has statistical evidence to the contrary, I'd like to know about it.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/lsv/lsv.html

Think of not only of adults but children also who do not understand the danger of how easy it is to fall out.

Hi Oneiric: What it means is that I am not interested in having the use of seat belts forced on me by authorities or people you ride with, say like if you have to double up when playing golf.

Secondly for those people who have been thrown from a cart what was the actual cause, speed, age, infirmity

Third unless you have a three point safety harness you can cause as much harm from that belt tied around your waist

fourth if you have two golf carts going 19 or over hit head on those seat belts are not going to prevent injuries.

Locals are placing pressure o the sheriff because originally the sheriffs were against this issue

People have talked about this issue since i arrived and now we have the POA pushing hard on this issue

so watch what you wish for because the police authorities have no jurisdiction on our multi-modal paths now but push a mandatory seat belt law for carts and viola government intervention

i have always carried complete insurance coverage on my golf cart

We recently had our 2008 EZ GO gas serviced at the new Gordon's Garage in Sumter Landing and wanted seat belts installed. They advised me there was no where to anchor them other than in the fiberglass. Have any other EZ Go owners experienced this? Thank you.

Yes-- same answer at EZGO service center on 44 after installing upgrade seats

Anyone who rides in my golf cart is going to wear my seatbelt. That's because I care about your safety.

Points well taken Rubicon, but don't you think if 3 point belts are not available, a seat belt of some type is better than nothing?

And since you don't believe seat belts can save lives or mitigate injuries then you can leave them off your cart.....but I wonder, if you are ever injured seriously, would you be one of those that would sue the other guy? Nobody wears a seat belt in my cart on the golf course, when I leave the course and get in traffic, we both buckle up. If my passenger refuses, I expect him to get out of the cart and call for a ride. So far, no one has refused. But that's me.

ALL new Columbia ParCar P5 models, come with "automotive type" three-point seat belts as standard equipment.

I have no connection with Parcar other than owning two of them. :)

Don

Can anyone state what would be a good price for seat belts? We have them on the rear seat but not up front.

Hi JoMar: I appreciate and respect your candor but perhaps you have made some assumptions.

I am a retired insurance guy that probably was involved in the handling of more lawsuit nationwide then many attorneys. So to one of your questions the answer as to whether I would sue depends on the facts of the case. But let me explain that after handling that many lawsuits I deplore them and find most to be only a benefit to the beloved attorney who claims he would be honored to handle your claim.

Further let me explain that in many states if a person is injured not wearing their seat belts it is not a defense. I know I had more attorneys arguing that the guy would have never been thrown through the windshield if he wore his seat belt or other injuries and a judge returning "it doesn't matter"and has no relevance". I also have seen people who sustained injuries because they only had a seat belt around their waist

To answer your assumption. I do believe in seat belts and you can see why from my previous comments. In fact I tried to have them installed in my cart but the repair guy said because of the type of seat in my cart it would be very difficult. I intend to pursue that goal.

What I did say in my post was that I did not want this subject to move from people believing a personal need for seat belts to a mandatory call for seat belts. In other words I did not want to see cops patrolling the multi-modal pathways issuing tickets because golf cart occupants didn't buckle up. God knows police have a big enough job now on the public streets and investigating break-ins, etc.

You made it clear that no one enters your cart without wearing a seat belt. Again if it isn't a three point belt system you can injure yourself . Again you impose your will on others and others may not share your concern.

Finally let me tell you about the trucker who had his rear axle knocked away by a driver causing his vehicle to go over a hill and roll.
One would assume that fortunately he was wearing his seat belt and was not thrown from the vehicle. However in this case the seat was the cause of his paralysis (quad) as he was found hanging from it. I had spent many hours in conference on how much money to set aside for this guy's care under Workers Compensation because he need 24/7 care.

My years in this business made me compassionate and determined for more safety and many a case brought me to tears seeing the pain and suffering of people such as this truck driver.

Personal Best Regards:

Buggies Unlimited has retractable belt sets for approximately $100.00. That would be a good starting point. Of course if you have someone install this will be extra.

Hi Rubicon,

Thanks for expanding on your post. My "Sue" comment was based on some personal experience. Without going into too much detail I know of a couple accidents that would have resulted in no significant injuries if they had been wearing belts in their car. They were both thrown from their cars which resulted in the injuries, if they had their belts they would have remained in the car and most likely suffered slight to no injuries. It was determined that the accident was determined to be their fault but the sued the driver of the car they hit because their lawyer was able to convince a jury that the other driver should have anticipated the accident. Because the injuries were severe, they received significant compensation and this in a state that has a seat belt law. As long as we have a legal system that believes wearing a belt would not have relevance I guess we encourage the continuing practice and the continuing litigation.

As far as my imposing my will on others, you bet. Since I am the responsible person I make the rules. If I swerve to miss anything, the person falls out and is injured, do you think he will absolve me of any responsibility...I don't. Take away my liability and I would agree with you, but since nobody can do that, they wear belts when with me.

I agree with you, I don't want more regulation, authorities making decisions for me and some kind of enforcement on the MMP. I believe the way we avoid that is to take responsibility to decrease the negative data. Until we do that, the authorities can use the negative data to create enforcement. Personal opinion, they don't enforce much of the cart specific existing laws. I have yet to see a cart pulled over for speeding on the streets much less the MMP so doubtful that, even if they had a law on belts, enforcement won't happen. But do a rolling stop in a cart.......

Have a great day.

JoMar

When I first started reading this thread I would be in the non seat belt camp. However, I have changed my mind. I agree that if you are in an accident just a lap belt may not prevent you from being injured. Then I weigh the likelyhood of an accident verus the likelyhood of being ejected from the cart during an evasive move (to avoid another cart, pedestrian, etc.). To me the latter is much more likely to happen. I do not want my passenge being ejected and a lap belt will prevent this. Seatbelts will be in my new cart along with my current cart being retrofitted.

Thanks for your post Cromlich. Your comments convinced us we need seat belts.
As a result of your post, we just had Lou Karnbach (352-552-8586) install seat belts on our 2007 Yesteryear Cart.
He did a great job and it was very inexpensive as you said. A nice guy.
He even custom ordered flame-red belts to match the interior of our cart!