Golf Cart Safety

Golf cart safety is not practiced in Fairmount Mobile Estates. Some people have taken it upon themselves to rewrite motorized vehicles lighting laws while operating their carts at night on the subdivision streets.

Florida Statutes state that if golf carts are allowed after sunset, they must be equipped with head and tail lights and the lighting must be used. People are using colored clearance lights mounted under the front of the cart, parking lights, four-way flashers or in some cases, no lights at all! This is a clear violation and is dangerous.

I have reported this to the sheriff's office many times in the past. They don't address the lighting issue and say that golf cart use in Fairmount is up to the county commissioners. I have contacted the county commissioners in writing about this issue numerous times, however they direct this back to the sheriff who will not address the problem. Drive your vehicle on county roads without headlights and find out who will stop you and write you a ticket.

I asked one of the people who operate their cart without proper lighting and she told me the sheriff's office gave her special permission to do this. I cannot believe the sheriff's office would okay such a violation of Florida Statutes. Another time, I stopped two carts coming down the road, side by side, toward me, marked only with colored clearance lights mounted under their carts and asked them to turn on their headlights so as to be seen better. One of these operators said "What for?" I replied that I would call the sheriff and he asked if I wanted to use his phone. I called from my own phone and reported the lack of proper lighting, but nothing came of it.

I hope that no one ever gets hurt operating carts or any other motorized vehicle in our subdivision because of a complete disregard for safety. I will continue to pursue this with other law enforcement agencies. Maybe I will find someone that cares about safety.

John C. Foster
Sebring