Stone said she recently has received more emails from constituents about golf carts than almost any other issue that comes to mind. Stone wrote to Hart last month to ask the attorney what would be required to implement an ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on certain public roads in unincorporated Chatham County. If we sense a danger, we have to take action, and that's what our officers have done." "We've always enforced the laws even when it comes to golf carts. "The police department has got to enforce the laws," said Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Julian Miller. Under the new wording, he said, police can stop people for driving them in any area that does not have an ordinance allowing their usage on public roads.Ĭounty Commissioner Helen Stone, who has received emails about the golf cart situation, and some residents of Isle of Hope say police recently have given warnings to those using the vehicles on island roads. Local authorities that pass such ordinances are responsible for installing signs on roads designated for golf cart use, and the vehicles can cross state roads only at crossings or intersections designated for that purpose.Ĭounty Attorney Jon Hart said, under the old wording of the law, officers could cite people for safety violations such as driving a vehicle without proper turn signals. Under the revised law, people operating such vehicles must drive them in an area where an ordinance allows for their use. The restriction is slightly finer tuned than before, but golf carts are still largely restricted on public roads.Ī revised version of the law that went into effect in July replaced terms for various vehicles with the blanket term "personal transportation vehicle." State law now bans the use of golf carts and similar vehicles from public roadways except in municipalities that adopt ordinances specifically allowing their usage. "We live on an island where we don't have a lot of traffic." "It's very much become part of the lifestyle out here," said resident Jeremy Summerell. There, several people say, driving around in the low-speed vehicles has become something of a way of life. Specifically, the issue has Isle of Hope residents riled.
Driving golf carts on public roads is generally illegal in Georgia, but recent complaints from Chatham County residents about police pulling them over for just that has a couple of county commissioners looking into whether to allow their use in certain neighborhoods.
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