CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT) – If there’s one message Sergeant Colby Edens wants to get out to golf cart drivers, it’s that golf carts have to follow the same rules of the road that cars do.
“Stop at stop signs, stop at stop lights, you have to have seatbelts for all passengers, child restraints if the kid belongs in a child restraint,” Edens said.
Officers like Edens at the Carolina Beach Police Department say following these tips could have prevented a golf cart crash that happened Thursday, July 25. A 15-year-old driving a golf cart pulled out in front of a car on South Lake Park Boulevard. He was left with head injuries that sent him to the hospital.
Pleasure Island resident Brandon Rosenthal witnessed the aftermath of the crash as he was driving back from Carolina Beach’s weekly fireworks show.
“You could see the golf cart pretty beat up and you could see somebody on the ground with emergency personnel around them,” Rosenthal said. “I was worried that it was going to be a death accident.”
The 15-year-old was thankfully okay and released from the hospital later that night. However, the crash was determined to be his fault. Edens said he shouldn’t have even been driving the golf cart in the first place.
“You have to have a valid driver’s license,” Edens said. “A full, not limited permit, or a provisional permit, you have to have an actual driver’s license.”
Edens also said as a golf cart driver, you are supposed to yield to overtaking vehicles like traditional cars and trucks.
It’s a message he’s trying to spread as the golf cart trend continues to grow in Carolina Beach.
“People are buying them more, you’re seeing them more, people are coming on vacation, they’re renting them,” Edens said. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen an uptick in the amount you see on the roadway and also an uptick in the amount of accidents that we have. I know we at least have at least one or two a year that are serious.”
Rosenthal said as a golf cart driver himself, he understands why they’ve become so popular. It’s his preferred method of travel around the island, often joined by his furry companion, Ms. Red Dog.
“It’s a much more convenient way and beautiful way to see the city,” Rosenthal said. “I think that there’s a lot of pluses to it. I think the negatives come down to personal bad choices, not the vehicle and laws surrounding it as much, just individuals making bad decisions.”
To prevent future accidents, Rosenthal said he’d like to see more people sharing safety tips. He said many tourists who aren’t used to driving golf carts around town could especially use the extra advice.
“I would like to see Airbnb owners, VRBO owners, hotels, some rentals make people aware of what the rules are.” Rosenthal said. “It is a licensed actual vehicle on the road that you need to be licensed to drive, it’s not a toy.”
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