Annual Golf Cart Safety Inspections
 

heard the subject of annual Golf Cart Safety Inspections arise in a couple of repair shops lately... Some valid points of excessive speed, wheel alignments, worn steering component's, and owner added accessories that have blinded oncoming cart drivers. I support this Program,if it will decrease our annual cart insurance premium.. not sure of how this will be enforced! thoughts?

more government regulation....sure. :ohdear::ohdear:

Sounds more like a rumor than impending legislation. However, I wouldn't put it beyond our brilliant lawmakers to pass such a law, while thousands of uninsured motorists are driving their 1978 Chevy Impala clunker down the road with no required inspections.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Not needed, same as car inspections, just more government regulations.

I surly agree with some of the lights added to carts. They will blind you in daylight.

A solution in search of a problem.
How much will it reduce insurance premiums? $10? $25?

I actually would be in favor of going such a route, IF AND WHEN they address the larger issue of automobile insurance. Require yearly inspections just like many other states, including a mandatory check on valid driver's license and insurance. If none, the car is impounded. Make the fine for not having the inspection done $10,000 and the car is impounded until insured. Make the penalty for driving without a license $10,000, car impounded, and mandatory 30 days in jailed for 1st offense. I think we'd not only see a drop in Florida's exorbitant premiums, but also safer highways.

I support regulations for things that affect people OTHER than whoever the regulation was designed for. In other words -

Your golf cart lights might be perfect for you, to see when you drive at night. But if they're positioned such that they blind anyone coming toward you, and causes THEM to get into an accident, then a regulation needs to be made to set some kind of standard, or a standard range.

No greater than X brightness, no less than Y brightness, and must not be aimed more than Z feet above the ground. I don't care if there are "safety inspections" or not. But as long as there's the rule saying "you need to set your lights/speed this way" at least there's some accountability if someone causes an accident by not complying with the rule.

Just like the speed limit requirements for golf carts. You won't see annual tests to make sure your golf cart can't go faster than 20mph. It's still a rule though. If you cause an accident by going excessively fast, you can be held accountable. Without that rule, you can't be held accountable.

So I'm fine with more regulations and enforcement. I don't care one way or another about annual safety tests. As long as we know what the rules ARE, we can follow them or break them at our own risk, and be held accountable when our choices cause harm to someone else.

I would not welcome more regulation, however the bright lights need to be addressed somehow. I can't imagine why people think it is fine to have extremely bright LEDs on their carts while driving next to cars.

But probably the only way to address those bright lights is through more regulation. I hope that "sheds light" on the problem :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

No way this will be happening. This state does not even have auto/truck inspections.

How many golf cart accidents have been attributed to faulty equipment? Most of the causes for cart accidents I've heard or read about involved alcohol, inattentive driving and other stupid acts of impaired driving ability. A useless solution for a nonexistent problem.

A real solution to the problem is driver testing to determine one's ability to safely operate a vehicle.

A group of us could carry 1,000,000 candle power hand held spot lights. They could be directed into the eyes of the offending parties to education them.

Yes, if you need to light-up rooftops to drive at night, you probably should not be driving.

Should never use bright lights in residential neighborhoods, nor city streets.
They're on cars for country highways.

I think auto insurance companies should be required to issue the insured driver a sticker to put on the vehicle, like the registration sticker. That way, you can verify that the vehicle is insured.

Annual vehicle inspections have very little value. I once knew a guy who worked for a new car dealership and his full time job was to inspect brand new vehicles as required by state law. Inspecting low mileage vehicles that are less than 5 years old is a waste of time and money. Also, mandatory vehicle inspections is a license to steal money from uninformed vehicle owners by service stations. I was once told that my inspection failed because my headlights were misaligned. It was not true, so I called the state police and they required the station to issue a sticker and refund the inspection fee.

I agree it doesn't have much value vis a vis newer cars. But it might pull some of those exhaust spewing, no muffler, rusted through death mobiles off the road. More importantly, it would function as a choke point to identify uninsured vehicles and drivers without a valid license---as long as the penalties are severe enough. And the idea for a prominently displayed sticker is a great idea, easier for LEO's to spot the non-compliant drivers. Might also function as a resource for ICE

nfw

Just think..the lines to service golf carts in Brownwood, LSL turn people away because too busy. This new line of inspection would cause an uproar because he can’t get regular service, much less an additional inspection service. You would have to pitch a tent for 2 days instead of arriving day of at 5am.

great point!

Unless you are aware of some pending legislation (I looked and couldn’t find any) then I doubt such a thing is likely in the next couple of years.

This is Florida
 

We’re in the Deep South. The culture is not heavy on rules and regulations in Florida. While annual inspections may sound normal to people from up north, it’s not gonna happen here.

A month late for April's Fool.

:what:

Playing along...........enforcement, like so many permissive issues today, would be selective (if at all).

Trolling

Many people move away from states with too much government. Too much regulation. Too many special rules.
Florida is not like that, and I am solidly against ever taking any changes towards that way of life. No matter how it gets twisted into being sold as "good" for everyone.

Ex-New Yorker. Far as state inspection, nothing is perfect. Brake inspection for example. I says, they only need inspect one brake. On a car with front discs and rear drums they simply look through the wheel at the front brake. I asked them to inspect the rear and they told me they were fine. They were NOT. People assume it is inspected-it is fine. Stuff like tires. You are told you need tires. If you don't buy from them at INFLATED prices they will charge you for another inspection.

Far as drivers. Florida has been cited for having the worst drivers in the nation.

Insurance costs? You can reduce your insurance cost by increasing your deductible-self insuring part of the risk. For me the most outrageous, insurance is your paying for uninsured people-uninsured motorist insurance-IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE.

Most issues are covered by REALITY. Life is not fair.

Not going to happen. Only affects less than 1% of the population and even if a cart is/was defective what are the odds that a defective cart could cause bad injuries or a death. Our cart premium is +/- $200. 10% reduction = a $20 saving and no guarantee there will be a savings

Regulation that affects a lot less than 1% of the population and how much can it help. Most cart accident and car accidents are driver error. Imagine living in a more rural area and having a required inspection. Person would need to transport cart to be inspected. Florida did this with cars 30+ years ago and inspections did not work

Golf carts are NOT required to have insurance, just like motorcycles are not required to have accident insurance. There is NO annual vehicle inspections required in Florida. There is NO requirement for seat belts in golf carts in Florida and there is no requirement for helmets in Florida for motorcyclists. Some folks believe that it's a matter of common sense as to whether or not you operate a safe vehicle and or wear safety devices, AND whether or not you have insurance.
I am NOT a fan of gov. regulation and find that normally the folks that benefit the most are those making money due to "rules."
On the other hand, some insurance companies give discounts for driver safety course completion. Some give discounts for folks with less driving violations and some even have small devices that connect to vehicles to record your driving practices and give you a discount for using them.
Mandates---NO!

NY requires brake inspections too? Bet you’re glad to be free of all that.

In UK, we have had compulsory MOT vehicle (Ministry of Transport) testing since 1960.
Then, cars over ten years of age had to show a test certificate.
Gone down to cars three years from new at present.
Most of the lads in those times were driving total wrecks. We didn't even consider a tire had any wear unless you could see white canvas showing through. We were using racing 'slick tires' years before F1 caught on.
Odd size tires, burning/losing oil, if it started, it was a runner.
Our local garage, who kept all or most of our clunkers running, was made a testing station.
The fee was 15 shilling if you took the car in for testing, or if you preferred not to take the car in, as the majority of us did, it was still 15 shillings, but ten shillings more for the actual certificate.
It made 'Old Danny' a rich man until the Inspectors got tough on him, and us, of course.
Happy days!

Last time I read Florida regulations off road lights have to be covered when driving on roads, why called off road lighting. All those add on light bars are off road lighting. But, getting county to enforce would be like finding rear earth metals in our backyards.

Agree.

Another thing to consider is light color. Blue light destroys night vision, all the more so depending on its intensity. I've encountered a few golf carts at night with such lights. Those blue-tinted LED lights, aside from dazzling oncoming traffic because of their brightness, have the added issue of destroying the night vision of oncoming drivers leaving them disoriented and a danger to themselves or others.

Lived in states with yearly inspections. Was happy to live in Florida, and leave another regulation behind. I can Rember the times before inspections. head lights ,tail lights, smoke from exhausts, and other safety items , were enforced with a summons by the police department. I think that's a deterrent for some who have unsafe vehicles.

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