Wednesday, April 2, 2003
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Wednesday, April 2, 2003 |
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Teens on golf carts warned about rules By J. FRANK LYNCH
Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown has a warning for teenage golf cart operators who may feel driven to drag race on a soccer field or carve donuts in a neighbors lawn this spring. Do it, and that may be the last "driving" you do for awhile. Compelled by frustrated police and a recreation department weary from repairing sod on rutted playing fields, Brown issued a press release through City Hall last week urging all cart drivers, but especially those still in high school, to use caution and plain old good sense on the city's 80-plus miles of cart paths this season. "While many of our teens are operating golf carts responsibly, some are giving the entire group a bad name and causing complaints to be issued," Brown said. In the past, those complaints were usually delivered straight to the offender's parents by either the mayor himself or the police. Presumably, said Brown, judgment and appropriate sentencing were handled on the "parenting" level. But that isn't always the case, and the vandalism by teen drivers hasn't decreased, he said. So this spring, city police are being instructed to crack down on irresponsible cart drivers and that includes ticketing offenders. Brown reminded teens that certain aspects of Georgia's Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act, adopted in 1997 after a series of high-profile fatal accidents involving teen drivers, can apply to golf carts drivers. State law requires a qualified adult supervise when a 15-year-old gets behind the wheel of a car, but Peachtree City gave approval in September for 15-year-olds with learners permits to operate golf carts unsupervised. Otherwise, most of the rules of the road also apply to the cart paths. The act outlines a series of steps teens must go through to get a full driver's permit by the time they reach 18. But it also makes it clear that any traffic violation prior to age 18 from reckless driving to DUI will disqualify a teen from getting his or her permanent license. "I just wanted to give everyone fair warning prior to the Police Department issuing citations for these problems," said Brown, urging parents to put make sure their children are qualified to drive before taking out the family golf cart.
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