Street carts and the law

doodles bug

My granddaughter and I took the cart over to the 1,238 acre park across the street today. About 100 yards in, we met a Park Patrol car coming the other way. I waved and he put his hand out the window like a wave but he stopped so I stopped and back up to his door.

He told me I couldn’t operate the cart in the park, it was the same regulations as streets. I was nice but I told him that I didn’t know that but had looked for regulations about operating carts on Kansas streets and could not find where they were prohibited. I told him I had called the KS DMV and was told Kansas did not license or register carts. I also told him I found a statement that the minimum age to operate a golf cart in Kansas was 13 which would seem to mean they were street legal since Kansas would have no jurisdiction on private property. About this time a car came down the road and I move to a parking area to clear the road. The park patrolman moved there too.

We were both gray haired and carried on a very civil conversation. He became interested in what the regulations were admitting that he didn’t really know but had always thought …

He tried to search on his in car computer but then called his wife and asked her to look it up. He also called what I assumed to be his supervisor to see if he could find out about the regulations. He checked that I had headlights (which I turned on for him) and asked about turn signals. I told him I had the turn signals but not the switch yet, further stating that I knew my hand signals demonstrating right turn, left turn and stop. He also asked about a horn which I told him I hadn’t installed yet.

After talking to his supervisor, his temporary decision was that I had to have a horn, not necessarily electric, could be a handheld air horn or a squeeze bicycle horn, and he wasn’t sure about turn signals one way or the other, that hand signal might be acceptable since early automobiles did not have turn signals.

He gave me his card with his phone number and email address on it, told me to call him and he would try to find out more. We talked a bit more, said bye to each other and then I headed back to the housing development. This conversation took over half an hour.

My granddaughter and I rode around the development a little stopped to visit with the neighbor across the street and then decided to put the cart away.

I was coming up the steps from the garage level when the doorbell rang. It was the park patrolman. He said that no more than 5 minutes after I left, another cart from the neighborhood came into the park and he stopped him so he dropped by to tell me what he had heard from him. I wasn’t a problem to find, the housing development is the only thing around out in the middle of farm land. He happened by just as the garage door was closing and saw my cart.

This other cart had license plates. He told me what he had been told by the owner that it had to have headlights, taillights, turn signals, a horn and seatbelts to be licensed.

I looked for information on the KS DOT and DMV websites for what their worth. The only thing I found on the official websites was Kansas does not register golf carts. Maybe he got it licensed as a neighborhood electric vehicle.

So, what has anybody else experienced driving on the street, especially Kansas residents and how did you find any definitive information assuming you did?

BGW

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shaffer88

Where at in ks you at. ? I live se ks in small town and just do what ever lol

LURCH

Try LSV or MSV for low or medium speed vehicle, Tn. won't do carts but they will do the other 2.

cmalberto

In Texas, carts are considered Slow Moving vehicle...which requires the slow moving emblem on the cart. Lights I believe are required but most important are the city/community ordinances. They give the yea/nea. Down at my local beach then allow them plus you can cross a highway at 90 degrees and ride on the public roads that are marked 30 or less.

cphilip

Here in SC you have to get a sticker from the DMV. Which requires the vehicle to be insured in order to get one. And its allowed to operate within a few miles of your residence (temporary or not)... and not ever on State Highways. I found out the hard way...

jakesnake27

Just a warning, now you know...

Scott H.

Dude, feel lucky you got a warning on Edisto!

I stopped going there because of all the B.S. I was getting pulled over for when I was driving my old '72 Nova SS.

They wouldn't bother me if I was in my '98 Cadillac though!

-Scott H.

cphilip

Well.... yea... it was something like out of Alice's restaurant.

At first there was simply one officer pulling me over but eventually THREE cars assembled to the scene of the crime. My first response to the officer was "Was I speeding?"... for which she took it well and laughed thank goodness. But... at some point it was discovered that I didn't have my drivers license on me because... i wasn't operating the car so why would I? ... and they then couldn't seem to find me in the computer system at all... so supervisors got called. And it took them a good while to get there. Eventually I had to get someone from the house bring me my wallet so I could give them a Drivers License and so at some point a third officer arrived on scene curious to find out what everyone else was doing. It looked like a major bust going down and I wish I had had the presence of mind to have a picture taken. All of Edisto's finest were out in force.

I was ordered to park the cart for the remainder of my stay. It was my first full day down that trip. So I did. I now have a sticker. But that still does not allow me to go down Palmetto. The actual best road for carts since it is a 4 lane in which the outer two lanes are parking for the most part but makes it a lane for slow vehicles. But it violates some state law or some sort since it is considered a high way.

doodles bug

I’m in the KC area, southwest corner of Overland Park.



Yeah, that’s the ticket. Golf carts don’t have lights, a horn, seatbelts, etc. “Golf cart” is the wrong term.

So far what I’ve found for an LSV is County Treasurer's Title and Registration Manual


From page 73:
Some LSV’s can be used as golf carts, but a golf cart does not automatically qualify as a LSV.

The statutory requirements to qualify as a low speed vehicle are:

A four wheeled ELECTRIC vehicle that must be able to maintain the speed of at least 20 miles per hour (MPH), but the top speed cannot exceed 25 miles per hour (19 MPH or less to slow, 26 MPH or more to fast); (Kansas, go figure, don’t know to, too and two)

Manufactured in compliance with the national highway and traffic safety administration standards for low-speed vehicles in 49 C.F.R. Part 571.500 (500). Section 500 is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) rule for low speed vehicles. The standard requires a VIN, but waives safety-labeling requirements on the vehicle. Unlike motorized bikes or motorcycles, it also permits the modification of standard golf carts to meet the FMVSS requirements. HOWEVER, MODIFIERS ARE CONSIDERED MANUFACTURERS AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CERTIFYING COMPLIANCE WITH ALL SAFETY EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS.

GOLF CARTS
In the past, T&R permitted golf car owners to self-certify compliance with FMVSS for title and registration purposes. THIS PRACTICE HAS BEEN TERMINATED AND CURRENT POLICY REQUIRES A CERTIFICATION STATEMENT FROM THE MANUFACTURER OR MODIFIER THAT THE VEHICLE COMPLIES WITH ALL FMVSS FOR LOW SPEED VEHICLES.


From page 74:
RESTRICTED USE
Low speed vehicles are restricted in their operation and are limited to any street or highway with a posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour or less. However, low speed vehicles may cross a street or highway with a speed limit in excess of 40 miles per hour. All operators of low speed vehicles must have valid diver’s licenses.

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That’s a pretty tight restriction on the speed. Does it have to maintain 20MPH up hill and not exceed 25MPH downhill? If it's on flat and long enough, I'm good.



What I’ve found typical is the speed limit on the road causes the restrictions.

Podnuh

Look at Kansas Statutes Annotated 8-15,108.

"(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a golf cart:
(1) On any interstate highway, federal highway or state highway;
(2) on any public highway or street within the corporate limits of any city unless authorized by such city; or
(3) on any street or highway with a posted speed limit greater than 30 miles per hour.


(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not prohibit a golf cart from crossing a federal or state highway or a street or highway with a posted speed limit in excess of 30 miles per hour.


(c) A golf cart shall be operated on any public street or highway only during the hours between sunrise and sunset.


(d) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the uniform act regulating traffic on highways."

Get your city to pass an ordinance permitting golf carts (just like many do with micro-trucks and ATVs) and you'll be good to go.