Braking, handling requirements only for ‘06 carts and newer

A proposal to restrict the height of golf carts, and add special requirements for their braking and stability, will be considered by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.

In recent times, the city’s 80-plus-mile network of cart paths has seen an increase in customized golf carts, some of which have their height increased with lift kits and larger tires. Some of the golf carts are more like off-road vehicles than traditional golf carts, noted city Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler.

The larger golf carts have led to safety concerns, particularly because golf carts share the paths with pedestrians, cyclists and even skaters in addition to the golf-cart-like low-speed vehicles which were designed for use on some city streets. The speed limit on the path system is 20 mph by current ordinance.

The proposed ordinance will limit the frame height, measured as the distance from the ground to the bottom of the cart frame, to nine inches. Most standard golf carts have frame heights of about six inches, Tyler said.

The proposed ordinance also will limit the height of the golf cart’s canopy to no more than 72 inches at the outer edge or 74 inches in the middle. This requirement is due to the smaller size of four golf cart tunnels that are under seven feet tall, Tyler said.

All existing golf carts would have to meet the frame height and canopy height requirements.

The City Council may choose to add more requirements or remove some of the proposed requirements, Tyler noted.

The proposed ordinance includes new standards for lateral stability, braking capacity and required equipment, but current golf carts will not be required to meet them, Tyler said.

Those requirements will apply to golf carts manufactured after Jan. 1, 2006, when the industry is changing its product lines to meet those requirements, Tyler said. The standards were developed by the American National Standards Institute with input from golf cart manufacturers and dealers, she added.

The city would not conduct inspections of golf carts to determine if they meet these standards unless, for example, there is a serious accident and the police department needs to determine whether or not a golf cart’s brakes worked properly, Tyler added.

The ordinance also allows the use of additional parts and accessories on vehicles such as side-view mirrors and the like.

The issue stands to affect many Peachtree City residents, who own between 8,000 and 10,000 golf carts used on the path system that has become the city’s calling card.

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