Golf Cart News

Around our lake golf carts help seniors, individuals with handicaps and people with mobility problems get around easily.  Children and teenagers love to drive golf carts (which can be a good reason for going to grandmothers cottage at the lake)!  Children and teenagers often do not realize that golf carts can weigh 600 pounds or more and can easily cause property damage, personal damage, personal injury or death.  Around lake neighborhoods, the careless use of golf carts can present safety hazards, tear up lawns and landscaping and stoke tempers.  For the property owner or renter who owns a golf cart, make sure that you have good liability insurance in effect for its use.  You should also determine whether such liability insurance will cover drivers other than yourself, and if so, which drivers.  If a grandparent allows his or her teenage grandchild to drive the golf cart alone or with friends and someone is injured or killed by the golf cart, it is highly likely that the grandparent will face significant personal liability.  Adequate liability insurance will help protect the owners of golf carts and their assets. 
Bob Richter, LOW resident

Information reprinted from summer 2015 issue of The Michigan Riparian magazine