Hate to Get in This
 

I hate to get in this BUT not enough to not mention that it would be interesting to know how many bikers or walkers were injured or killed in the same period. I include injuries as well as killed. There is a great push for painting the curbs but doing nothing to install center lines on the cart paths, The basis is that bikers and walkers feel that giving carts center stripes would impact their safety. You can't make this stuff up. How many actually believe giving carts center stripes for driving at night or in the rain will actually cause injuries to walkers or bikers? As I say, you can't make this stuff up. I do agree with seat belts as we have them installed along with additional lighting.:sigh:

Use belts

The most insightful post I've seen on the topic.

If you can't afford a bike helmet and seat belts then just buy the helmet and wear it in the cart.

Seat belts are not the solution to idiot behavior, I agree totally. But the naivety is in the fact that there are many people here driving around in their carts, loving the lifestyle and totally blind to the fact that YES, there are people here driving golf carts and cars who are reckless, uncaring, inebriated, elderly, and just plain don't give a damn. As an individual, one can't do anything other than try their best to protect themselves in the event an accident happens.
I don't believe wearing a seat belt either in a car or in a golf cart will provide total protection from injury or death in the event of an accident. But I think not wearing one greatly increases ones chance for severe injury or even death due to an accident. I have seen the photos of most of the golf carts involved in accidents resulting in death, and in my opinion, most were survivable had ejection not occured. I choose to wear a seat belt ... but it's a choice all of us can make.

:agree:

Another interesting bit of information on the accidents would be if there was another vehicle or person involved.

My position on seat belts NOT being the solution is not proposing not using them.

You are correct. Seat belts are not the solution to idiot behavior. But they do offer a degree of protection from it.

The fact is that there is no solution to idiotic behavior. There will always be idiots and they will always engage in idiotic behavior. Anyone who thinks that there is a a complete 100% foolproof solution to people being killed and/or injured in accidents involving vehicles is naive.

People are imperfect. They make mistakes and do stupid things. You're also correct in that seat belts MIGHT reduce the chance of death and/or injury in certain situations. It's not much different than motorcycle helmets. I know of people who were wearing a helmet and died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

In this state, it's a choice whether or not to wear a helmet but it's not to wear a seatbelt in a car.

The question becomes, do we want the government mandating that we wear seat belts in golf carts that are operated other than on a golf course?

Sorry, but some people are either uneducable (yes,is that a word) or don't care in spite of education.

And common sense is not so common. We cant even get a consensus on what is common sense when approaching a stop sign. You're never going to get everyone to agree on how golf carts should be operated.

It's difficult to enforce safety even when the rules and regulations are in place. Ask any shop teacher or shop steward.

Government won't mandate seat belts in carts since they aren't registered and they have no method or desire to enforce. Street Legal do fall under the seat belt law but haven't heard of that being enforced here either.

Wow all this campaign appears some of us have rally a cause expect to see sign carriers walking the multi-modal paths.

What I did not notice, I may have missed it is discussion on the "effective how"

Not all seat belt installations are equal and not all seat belts are equal.

If you are concerned for your safety and want seat belts you may want to be certain they are attached properly so that they will hold when your body starts being hurled around. You also may want to consider a three point system because a two point could cause some damage to your stomach and spine and head when you are forced forward .

Thankfully rare but I have knowledge of at least three people who were involved in roll over accidents and the seat belts were the direct cause of their paralysis one of which was a total quad and on a ventilator
I mention this because seat belts only provide limited protection and some posters here seem to believe that it is the solution to total safety

I checked on seat belts for my cart and according to the repair guy my seats made the task difficult. I will eventually have them installed.

In the meantime I will drive defensively, maintain a reasonable and safe speed, obey all traffic regulations and the rules of the road, don't drink and drive, won't use my cell phone when I am in motion, properly maintain my cart's operation and practice overall courtesy

Personal Best Regards:

Rubicon, I hope you have them installed sooner rather than later. All your safe driving practices are good, but they won't stop another driver from running into you because they're intoxicated/have limited eyesight/lost their driver's license/made a mistake. I think your anecdotal examples are good because you know three people with rollovers. Is that three separate incidences, or two, or one?

But I do think the statistics lately are more telling. My mother, and even some young people I knew in the '90s, used being trapped in a car as a reason not to use seatbelts. I must admit, I thought they were just lacking in education about the safety stats or were using that as an excuse because they just didn't want to wear them. That wouldn't be you. I think it might be some people who won't install them in golf carts.

Hi CFfrance: My reference again to the three rollovers were three separate accidents Again only used to show some balance to this issue. and my heart bled for each of those people. I met one face to face a young guy just 20 and actually cried when I walked away

I am a believer in seat belts indeed tried to have them installed and the repair guy said it was difficult because of the seats I purchased for my cart. Will try again

Personal Best Regards:

There's no such thing as total safety. All you can do is attempt to maximize your safety. Seat belts have long been shown to help in that effort.