How many register and plate their Golf Carts for road use?
 

I thought Florida statutes state you do not need to register a golf cart that goes 25mph or less as long as its used for school transport or golf? Is this true? Do you need plates and road worthy equipment to drive on the TV roads?

There is no need for registering a golf cart to drive around TV. You have a register a street legal golf cart, called a LSV. Those carts have stricter equipment requirements.

Florida defines a golf cart as something with a top speed of 20mph. A golf cart does not need to be registered.

If your vehicle has a top speed of 25mph then it is a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV). A LSV must have certain safety equipment, registration, insurance, and plates.

It is unlikely that you will be stopped and ticketed but it has happened. This would not be a speeding ticket, this would be a driving an unregistered vehicle ticket.

Please check here:
Low Speed Vehicles - Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
to learn the exact state laws regarding LSVs and golf carts in Florida.

Even an LSV can't legally be driven on 466, 466A, 44, 441/27, 42, etc.

I wouldn't be very interested competing with cars and trucks in my cart.

Why cause they want to go 30 plus down B/V or Morse Blvds. IMO nobody registered Golf cart to go only 5MPH over 20 MPH, they are already doing that.:wave:

Which leads to the larger question. Why are golf carts limited to 20 and street legal carts to 25? My cart is set to 19.9, but I have everything that would qualify it to be street legal except a 1-piece windshield and of course the registration fee. People have cited safety as a reason and that carts were only engineered to go 15, so why does paying a fee make the cart safer at 25 than it would be at 20? Oh, yes, the difference is THE FEE.

*Might* have to do with insurance:

"They" might want to require insurance for vehicles traveling on city streets. Assume neighborhood streets are 25mph or less, city streets are 35mph, and let 30mph be a gray area. Creating a special class of vehicle (LSV) that is allowed on the city streets bur are required to be registered is at least an attempt to ensure that it is also insured.

*** The registration fees and fines for violations don't hurt either

I agree,

only engineered to go 15?


Engineered gearing to only go 15 MPH. The cart will go as fast as governor lets it or if governor taken out as fast as the lawnmower engine can take in air. Which can be between 30 and 40 MPH depending on gearing and tire height. Or I electric carts case controller or altered controller. I seen some 8” tires on golf carts go as high at 30 or little over which beside them in my car. With the 8” tire engine pretty much tapped out around 30.

My cart is insured. Again, the only thing lacking is a one piece windshield. Yet apparently my cart gets safer if I pay a registration fee

As is mine, but voluntarily. Many automobile drivers on the road today don’t satisfy the requirement for insurance, how many more would be uninsured if there was no requirement? And yes, this also shows that registration does not ensure compliance.

Your argument is just as valid for automobiles. There is nothing about the fee or the paper that makes the vehicle safe.

Still just a guess, but a registration requires that at one point in time a minimal set of requirements was met. Registration renewal asserts that those conditions are still being met. It all could be a lie, but it is a little better than nothing.

The small number of LSVs that will pay the fee can’t be much of a moneymaker.

This argument is academic. Your golf cart is not engineered for streets of any kind. It is engineered for a golf course where the most likely collision would be a collision with a person or a tree. It is only by concession that they are allowed on streets at all. They can't even safely deal with hitting a curb without a tip over risk. Pushing the limit people want to drive them on busier roads / highways. If the speed limit is 35MPH and they can only go 30MPH, they are a hazard.

Seen several statements about what golf carts are designed to do. Any references to back this up or just baseless assertions?

If hitting a curb with a golf cart is dangerous, try it with a motorcycle or bicycle, both of which were designed for use on roads.

go to the next golf cart safety clinic. Aug 20 9AM given at Colony Cottage Rec Center. They will answer ALL your questions and the answers will be CORRECT. Too many people THINK they know the answers, but they don't. It's free too and given every month on the third Wednesday. Could just save your life or the life of someone you love.

I may be wrong but street legal LSVs are only electric.