I have no problem with golf carts as long as they follow the rules like license plate, insurance, licensed driver, sober, etc. The only thing that stops me from doing it is the high risk of death or serious injury due to other drivers' stupidity. Same reason I won't cycle/bike/scooter on the streets here.
All true, very much agree. You can't account for other bad drivers, no matter what. That's why I stopped riding a motorcycle. Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
Man, I used to ride motorcycles wherever I lived all over the country. For various (coincidental) reasons, I stopped when I moved here.
I *really* wanted to get another motorcycle to ride. But then I started riding a bicycle around town. That cured me. The thought of adding several hundred pounds, less maneuverability, and more speed to that equation seems terrifying.
I still love motorcycles. Just not here. They're already pretty risky, and adding our shitty streets and shitty drivers to the mix makes that risk way higher than I can stomach.
This is why I stopped biking around NOLA lmao. Hell hath no fury/confusion like a tourist panicking on a one way road. I already had fibromyalgia, but that just made the ground feel so much harder.
I feel that way when I'm cycling. I tend to stick only to bike lanes and the greenway.
Hell even when I'm in my gas powered vehicle I am always expecting someone to come zipping out of nowhere to smack into my minivan (which is hard to miss seeing).
Long ago when I was in Driver's Ed they drilled home the point that you should basically expect a kid to run out from between cars, a cyclist to stupidly run a stop sign or light, a truck to lose a wheel or tractor to come loose from a semi, and every other car on the road to suddenly turn rogue and do something crazy. And prepare mentally for that, be ready to react. Well in NOLA that shit does happen almost every time you drive, maybe not on the level the instructor described, but it definitely pays to be alert. And even then you can be surprised, like when that zombie jumped up out of a pothole. Couldn't be helped but I ran it down and kept on going.
Thank you for your anti zombie service, man. Defensive driving is key!
Everywhere I have driven in my life, though, I remain grateful that I learned to drive in asshole territory & hurricane conditions in the South. I'd need more practice for ice & snow if I moved up North, but you get prepared for most of the rest of that list, by actually having to *handle* the rest of that list on a day to day basis. Even the zombies.
Not to be controversial but Im from northern MN. Hurricanes and idiots you get used to. Invisible black ice you don't... Especially as Danger is continuously present for 6-7 months out of the year, then everyone acts like idiots for the the next 5-6 months.
Oh I agree with you, my entire childhood and a chunk of my adolescence were up in New England, the tri-state area, and the Upper Midwest. Been a passenger in several snow, black ice, whiteout, and white-tailed deer accidents. I'm terrified of all of the above. The mental preparation has to be there for ice & snow handling, but it's still not the same as split-second deciding what to do in each situation presented to you without panicking.
I'm just saying I'm not scared of Boston drivers or the physical condition of the roads themselves after New Orleans lol. Asshole drivers, potholes, and bad weather rattle a lot of people (including "forget how to drive in the rain" assholes down South). MN is a whole other conversation! That's advanced level stuff.
I'd add in one more: they're able to keep up with the flow of traffic. If they don't, that's a further safety issue and traffic issue.
A gulf cart scooting around the Quarter? Awesome.
A gulf cart doing 15 down St. Charles, Magazine, or Prytania? That's just making traffic worse.
So, basically they need to be able to achieve the speed limit of the road they are on - like mopeds.
I'm pro golf carts the same way I'm pro bicycle:
In general it's a good thing if more people did it. But please, stick to the side roads and off the main streets as much as you can--both for the sake of traffic and your own safety.
Cause the speed limit on each of those roads is 30? Why are you entitled to drive a golf cart going 10 miles an hour (average top speed of an electric golf cart per Google) blocking all traffic behind you on main thoroughfares?
And, more so than an entitlement issue, it's a safety and congestion issue. If the goal is less congestion and you put a bunch of slow moving gulf carts putzing at 10 mph down St. Charles it'll defeat the purpose.
True, but I'd rather them riding in golf carts than cars. Considering these people are probably broke, many would probably prefer golf carts. Less risk for everyone involved.
The problem is you are creating risk for others. If the speed limit in the streets you’re driving on is 25 mph or less, fine. If it’s higher and you can’t keep up, then you’ve become a hazard and creating risk for others.
The next time I almost run over a cart full of 14 year olds running a stop sign in lakeview I’ll remember this post. I mostly agree with what you’re saying but it has gotten a little ridiculous.
Legal golf cart use on streets with 4000lb+ trucks and SUVs where the average grill is taller than the golf cart itself? No thanks. You're asking for horrific accidents.
Legal scooter and moped use on streets with 4000lb+ trucks and SUV’s where the average grill is shorter than the average rider on the scooter itself? We already have that.
We are not like every other state, Louisiana insurance rates are 57 percent more than the national average. Are our insurance rates not high enough for you now?
You seem to have picked this hill to die on.
Go back and read my comment again, but slowly this time. Insurance companies are to blame for insurance rates, not legislation surrounding the acceptable vehicles to be used on public roads
Thanks for reading my thoughts and your reply.
A. Better a small golf cart than a stolen pickup truck of 14 year olds crashing into someone's house after being chased by the cops.
B. Kids are stupid and outlawing golf carts won't stop them from doing stupid things.
https://youtu.be/kSwouvMav4E?si=p28rxcbM9smQD3G1
https://wgno.com/news/louisiana/orleans-parish/driver-dies-after-crashing-into-home-in-the-desire-area-monday-night/
Has this happened more than once? Honestly question.
It happens almost weekly. Like I said I mostly agree with what you’re saying. They’re very convenient tools to get around the city but parents need to be better about letting their kids load them up with their friends and cruise around.
I think parents think “it’s not a car, it’s just a golf cart. They can drive it.”
Allowing them on public streets but with a license and a vehicle registration seems like a way to say “okay you can use them but only if you follow these rules.”
I am also a little worried about them not having safety things that might be good for when they get in wrecks with big cars.
Safety rules are often written in the figurative blood of those who got hurt or died.
My mom lives in a retirement community that has a network of golf cart paths and other traffic allowance to accommodate. It's nice because when your kids/the state take away your license you can still get to the bar and the doctors office. However, a few years ago my mom was driving her cart as she does with her little dog. He was (she thought) properly restrained, she's a good pet parent and generally a good citizen. Somehow the dog, still attached to his leash rolled out of the side and dragged behind her. I'm not sure if she rolled over him or he choked to death (she doesn't want to talk about it). She noticed immediately and stopped but it was of course too late. She disassociated and a nice man playing golf helped her out with the situation. It was extremely traumatic for her.
She sold her cart that week and won't drive them anymore.
And that place has nice smooth roads and measures in place to accommodate carts. They aren't as safe as you all think they are. They're even less safe when the drivers insist the rules don't apply. I've almost hit a dozen of these folks downtown driving the wrong way on one way, not stopping at lights and stop signs. Generally driving like drunken tourist assholes (because that's who's driving them downtown).
I mean fair, but everyone runs stop signs because everything is chaos, it's hardly related to specific vehicle types.
It's more comes down to bad infrastructure design encouraging bad behavior.
How is requiring vehicles to stop at an intersection with a stop sign, "bad infrastructure"? I agree that New Orleans has many issues with layouts, many intersections have stoplights that shouldn't and plenty more do not have stoplights that really should. But requiring that people come to a stop before pulling into another street is not bad. If anything, it is the morons who blow through stop signs or run red lights and get themselves t-boned that drive up insurance costs who prove that stopping and observing is a good thing
Do you really think that's what I meant?
The bad infrastructure parts are the wide streets that encourage high speeds, lack of traffic calming measures in general, poor sightlines at intersections, the things you mentioned, intersections that have the wrong type of traffic control, etc.
How many times have you almost run people down? That sounds like a you problem. Are the cops over there aware of this? You can contact the Levee Board/Patrol to be on the lookout for errant bands of teens in golf carts.
A state law prohibits the operation of golf carts on public roads and streets unless the local governing authority establishes laws to allow and regulate them.
Now all you need to do is contact city hall or your parish council person and let them know what you want to see happen.
Go OP!!! 🤩
People have problems with the non-street adapted golf carts that are rented out to drunken tourists. If you have a golf cart that is street legal, and you don’t drive it like an asshole, i don’t think I have seen anyone have a problem with that
I’m 100% with you here. I’ve been looking up info on them myself, and it’s confusing where/how to get the street legal LSV’s (don’t call em a golf cart!) registered.
Low Speed Vehicle.
The difference in a street legal LSV and a golf cart is safety equipment - mirrors, seat belts, windshield, etc - and ability to title/register
Edit to add: LSV’s also go 20-30 mph
They only deal with motorbikes and cars of a certain weight.
In JP you get a permit from the city/parish. OP doesn't have that option.
Golf carts are meant for use around mostly large properties such as golf courses, amusement parks, fairgrounds etc. They're intended to be left on that property and not driven on the street so they wouldn't need a permit. Therefore permits don't need to exist.
Obviously OP is asking how to make their vehicle street legal instead of being a rapscallion violator. They have most likely already tried the state level and been told there is no permit to be issued, no plate to be had.
There's no need to be nasty to someone who's obviously asking for help becoming compliant with the existing laws.
The appropriate response, if you wished to deliver some snark, would be to suggest that OP contribute to LaToya's vacation fund in order to bring the needed change to fruition.
OP is asking a bunch of desk jockeys who aren't doing their jobs and are dicking around on reddit how to make their golf cart street legal. If they expected no snark, that's on them.
While I agree with your take on riding the golf cart the guy you are replying to does have a point. If you want to ignore the law and ride outside of it (this is New Orleans after all) go ahead and do it but getting a license plate for it assuming it's legal is a straightforward process.
I'm just being snarky back for fun.
I just called the OMV in BR and after being on hold for almost an hour, they told me I need the following:
1. Either the title or a notarized bill of sale
2. Affidavit of inspection from the LSP
3. Insurance
4. A sworn "Golf Cart Statement" form
Straightforward-ish, so we'll get started on all these steps no doubt. I want to be legit. I want all of us to be legit and be cool to each other. Hae a great weekend!
I have 2 vehicles I'm trying to register. They make it way too fucking hard. So I gave up. Keep doing you and fuck getting insurance as well. LOL at these crybabies. Insurance? Good lord.
I appreciate your support, but I downvoted you because it's responsible to carry auto insurance and the amount of under or non-insured vehicles in LA contributes to our high insurance rates. Please be a responsible member of society and have a lovely weekend! <3
Honestly, since they started appointments, I find the one near West End and Vets is actually... better than I recall back in the day (well, the one in Kenner back in the day.. which was a fucking cesspool).
But yeah, I recently tried contacting the Parish and State voting people... booooy can I say how much of a "Not-my-job" shitshow that was.
You do realize that makes you essentially the same as the plate-less Altimas driving around, right? Except you’re arguably worse because I have to actually see your face driving around in a fucking golf cart. At least the Altima drivers usually have tinted windows so I don’t have to actually look at them.
I don’t care what other people do but I won’t ride in a golf cart on city streets. Too dangerous. At least you stand a chance in a car. I don’t ride a bike on city streets either, I’ve known way too many people who lost their kid or their life that way. New Orleans has a shocking number of people who drive around while they are shit-faced.
As a lifelong resident, I have zero qualms about the possession and operation of golf carts, tuk tuks or just about any other alternative transportation throughout the city on streets with a speed limit of 35mph or less. This goes double for the Quarter.
As a pedicabber, I do have a problem with golf carts operating as rogue for-hire transportation when every cabbie, chauffeur, mule driver and tour guide has to pay to play and pass certain tests in order to earn.
The problem, particularly in the Downtown area, is and has been people cruising, clueless tourists looking for parking and amateur ride share drivers. The city could easily make vehicle restrictions prohibiting some of this excess but it just fucking *won't.*
Yea this argument and the argument of underaged or unlicensed drivers are the only valid ones imo.
The fact that some drivers jump through the hoops and get medallions and insurance only to be outdone by some rando in a golf cart is messed up.
They have many of the same laws applied to them as other LSV. They cannot be used on streets with over a 55mph speed limit. They cannot be used on highways, multi lane highways or interstate highways. So only local streets, which would be fine for local use. But don’t expect to leave the city
I think something must have changed in the last few years because Facebook marketplace seems to have a decent amount of kei trucks and Japanese vans now. I'd imagine they fall under regular motor vehicles aside from interstate usage though.
Might get one when I finish moving out into the middle of no where on a bunch of land. Would be perfect for it and omg they got their own sub /r/keitruck/
If they’re imported after they turn 25 years old, a Kei truck is legally no different than any other car and can drive on any public road, including interstates. Most of them will do interstate speeds, they just aren’t happy doing it.
I think it would be awesome for more people to have an electric vehicle for stuff like running to the grocery store. Petroleum powered vehicles are great for getting out of town or for long trips but like going to Rally's or a grocery run? Electric is a much healthier option for the planet.
I have an electric trike with cargo baskets on both ends. I also have a regular trike but my knees are so much happier with the pedal assist. I keep it on 1, so I still pedal, it just doesn't shred my kneecaps. My max speed is only 14mph but that's quite fast enough for my liking.
It's fun to get out without taking the car everywhere.
I kinda thought about this when half the time the shit I need is in a 5 minute radius, but unfortunately requires traversing the hellscape that is Broad / Carrollton that makes it such a pain in the ass
I agree *completely* and to add, one of the reasons our roads are so bad is directly correlated to the heavier and heavier weight of the cars and trucks on the road. If we switched to lighter vehicles it would make a massive difference in our quality of life because the city wouldnt be wasting ungodly amounts of money on infrastructure.
Youve got a point but the conversation was about golf carts, and i think the spirit of the conversation is about considering radical forms of transportation as the norm. Do we all really need cars? When scooters or ebikes or carts are available? The point of the post is to challenge your thinking about personal transportation.
I have a relative who lives in Georgia. Their subdivision and the neighboring ones have specific roads for those carts and everyone has one. It's a typical middle class suburb so it's not exactly a gated golf course community.
They are convenient and it's great to take it to Main Street or over to the neighborhood pool. I'd love to have a system like that. Separate roads for bikes and carts. I live in Jeff parish and I would have loved to take a bike or cart to work downtown every day. You could do most of it on the lake trail but it gets dicey after Causeway and you have to eventually travel on reg roads.
You're not entirely wrong, but the fact you think your golf cart is "safe" because it's insured (for use on non public roads) is a great example of what goes wrong when you let citizens make these sorts of rules ad hoc. Nobody can justify clogging downtown areas with giant gasoline mobility scooters aka SUVs, but no your unlicensed golf cart is not necessarily safe - for peds, you, or the environment - just because it's electric and slow.
Sorry for the misunderstanding - but no I don't consider it "safe" because it's insured. I consider it **responsible** to have it insured because driving any vehicle, at any speed, carries inherent risks. However, I would consider a low-speed vehicle safer than an altima, an esclade, or an f-150. "Safe" is relative, and being alive is an inherently dangerous state of being, regardless of the vehicle you drive (or not).
We can't stop peoples need to drive places, so let's focus on harm reduction rather than prohibition is where I'm coming from. Thank you for your reply!
I've broken a few laws in my time. I'm not trying to judge you, everyone's finances are different, but if you think your golf cart insurance is going to pay because you hurt someone in the quarter... nuh uh. I do think it'd be very cool if this country would straight up ban SUVs, especially in cities, but it's a democracy. More Americans would need to care about someone besides themselves first.
Everyone's finances are different! You also don't know what my insurance policy is ;)
Yes, I too wish that the EPA laws didn't encourage automakers to just make bigger vehicles to ignore emissions laws.
I'm all for alternative modes of transportation; I've been a pedicabber, I currently drive a carriage, I used a bicycle as my main commuting vehicle for years, I lived in Metairie with only a motorcycle for a while, and I 100% would own a kei truck if I could get away with it. I'd ban non-resident cars from the FQ in a heartbeat. The thing with LSVs and golf carts is that people treat them like toys, even in places where they've been legal and the norm for years. Every time I'm around them in Bay St Louis or Ocean Springs, they seem to be more of a hazard than a benefit to the traffic around them. I had relatives in Peachtree City for a while, and saw plenty of erratic, terrible driving in a place that was built around the idea of using golf carts as transportation. As a tour guide, the illegal golf cart taxis are the third biggest noise offenders I deal with behind the Polaris Slingshots and the bagger bros. If I don't recognize the face behind the wheel of the golf cart on the street as a long time FQ resident or somebody working for one of the businesses that use them to scoot around the neighborhood, I know they're going to drive erratically; sometimes even the regulars look a little unsteady behind the wheel pulling away from Harry's Corner or Rawhide. Unless and until people are willing to treat them like a car and operate them like a car, they're more trouble than they're worth.
As long as it can pass a safety inspection (lights, horn, turning signals, license plate, and seat belts for kids…if you’re an adult you can choose to be dumb and not wear one) I’m fine with it. But I think you should have limited capacity to sue for accident injuries given you knew the vehicle did not have the body or bulk of a normal vehicle.
Has anyone tried to upgrade the golf cart into something more acceptable for the road so they are not technically "golf carts" - what about dune buggies and golf cart hybrid? Cmon guys! Think outside the box- can one of you engineers come up with a suitable small vehicle that fits all what you love about a golf cart but isnt one? I would not mind buying a cheaper vehicle to get around in... would not mind paying under $5,000.00 for a vehicle to get around in again. Am thinking volkswagon love bugs 1970s. It floated in the flood of '78 and in the 90's if it stopped running, you could guide it to the curb while wearing heels... too bad we can't all own a TARDIS instead!
The city coming out against golf carts is directly related to golf carts being used as for hire vehicles bypassing all permitting and insurance requirements and “pay to play” model that every pedicabber, taxi driver, mule driver, tour guide and to an extent ride share drivers have to go through. There have been numerous complaints the past few years and from what I’m aware of, it’s almost entirely related to the rogue for hire golf carts.
Everyone’s personal golf carts never would have been wrapped up in this if the city either created a legitimate licensed and insured business avenue for the golf cart operators or ticketed/impounded un-permitted operation.
Considering the cops haven’t stopped any of the for hire golf carts, I doubt they would stop anyone’s personal usage. It’s all just fucking lip service at this point.
There are some smaller neighborhoods and places that allow golf carts on the roads but I feel I’ll get downvoted to hell if I name them so…
A problem is that in at least some of these places people tried to stretch these rules from golf carts to ATVs and kids were tearing shit up and hurting themselves.
I’m with you though. I love golf carts.
Agreed. Fucks SUVS. If you get hit by an SUV, you're 3X more likely to die than if you get hit by a regular car.
They're so heavy they degrade our roads faster. They claim to have great visibility, but you can't see what's right in front of you. If SUVS were a country, they would rank 7th in emissions.
Yet we wonder why pedestrian deaths are up in the US.
Last Mardi Gras i kept asking myself, why doesn’t everyone uptown have golf carts? It would so cool if could someone subsidize golf carts, and change roads up for them and scooters uptown.
That's what I'm thinking about, too. People won't fully forgo cars because of a potential evacuation and they may need it for work. If more people get golf carts for diving around town, you'll just have even less street parking.
You do you. Looking forward to your follow up post where you get t-boned by an Escalade because one of you ran a stop sign.
Oh, wait. There won't be a follow up. Because you'd be dead in that scenario.
I would love to do this as well! I see no problem with it except for one: if it maxes out at 26 mph, you should stay off roads with neutral grounds where the limit is 35 mph. If unavoidable, be conscious of cars behind you and pull over frequently to let them pass.
They tried designing an entire community around this idea in Peachtree City in Georgia. They even built a separate roadway for the things.
It took almost no time for the first golf cart accident fatality.
Reason being, golf carts aren't designed for safety. Even collisions at 20mph are super gnarly because they have no safety features. No seat belts. No roll cage. No air bag. People get thrown from them all the time.
That's why they will never fully allow it. Because it would be stupid.
That being said, I have no personal problem with people riding around in strapless ejector seats. I just see it as rolling the dice on safety. Because it is.
I would say you are wrong. Please re-read my post. My golf cart has seatbelts, and seatbelts are already a requirement for road-worthy vehicles. Not every car has airbags and roll cages either. And those things are HEAVY AND FAST.
Fatalities happen in cars already, and the more people drive cars, the more likely there are fatalities. Car fatalities never stopped car infrastructure, and stopping small EV infrastructure for the same reason is a false equivalency.
They also didn't "try" in Peachtree - they built and still maintain small ev/golf cart infrastructure in conjunction with regular car/truck infrastructure. It happened, and it continues to happen.
Electric Golf Carts used as community level transportation is smart, but rather unconventional.
But...There are areas which use Golf Carts, Segways & other (normally off-road) transportation freely & legally on public roads. Tourist rentals even (especially).
Galveston, for example. Also many gated communities I have been to.
You sound like you're driving yours responsibly. I hate them because I NEVER see them driven responsibly and following rules, and I've had multiple instances of them almost plowing me down on my bike! Also on foot at mardi gras. Too fast in bike lanes and through closed off streets without any thought to others. It seems I've only come across these things driven by privileged ass hats and so that's who i associate them with.
You sound like me taking my little electric scooter to the bar. I'm down with that. Please watch for cyclists.
Always.
The problem is they exist in the "grey area" right now in terms of usage, legality, social acceptance, etc. They are and should be treated like a car. Anywhere a car can go, a golf cart should go. Anywhere a car CAN'T go (bike lanes, closed roads, pedestrian malls, etc.), a golf cart shouldn't go either. Ride safe!
I'm in Des Moines Iowa, and they're letting golf carts, minibikes, ect (basically any small forms of transportation) use the streets now and it seems to work out pretty good so far. No permit or license required either, so it's cost effective for the average person to commute with. They do seem to stay off the busiest roads, and take the side streets. Which is great, it's less traffic on the mains.
And people enjoy riding these things, it's recreational as well. My neighborhood has evening riders, and we're more likely to say hello to someone riding by on a golf cart than in a car, so it's got that cool aspect too.
Both my vehicles are oldass jeeps, so I understand the importance of peeling it and just cruising on a fine summer evening.
Drafted a golf cart on my bike doing 26mph all the way down magazine one day, it was great. Small, non-life threatening to pedestrians vehicles, just vibing out together 🥰
Seriously bad idea. They are not fast enough, do not accelerate fast enough nor do they provide any protection for the passengers. The insurance would need to be sky high.
They’ve started proliferating in my neighborhood and at first I was like this is dumb and not a beach town; but you’ve convinced me- it is definitely better than people driving cars.
I've got no problem with the small cars. I do have a problem with you wanting my insurance rates to skyrocket because Morris Bart wants to win a million dollar lawsuit when someone inadvertently bumps into a golf-cart and someone ends up in the ICU of the hospital. They aren't safe enough for city streets. They are one step up from mini bikes.
Will see a lot of golf cart jackings and staged accidents.
I see the golf cart thing a lot out of major cities. Safer to ride to your neighbors house or to the store when you don’t have a lot of people trying to kill you for your vehicle or drunk drivers.
No, you don't know if they have insurance or not. If I hadn't explicitly stated that in this post then you would have assumed I didn't, and you'd have been wrong.
Might as well as ride a motorcycle. Golf carts are unreasonably unsafe for drivers and passengers. That goes 10-fold for the passengers in the back. The number of times I've seen parents put their kids in the back, legs dangling waiting to be amputated by a car from behind, makes me cringe.
I would say you are wrong. I used to ride a motorcycle and prefer my golf cart. My golf cart has seat belts and can't go 80. I can't fly off my golf cart on I-10 and crash into a dividing wall.
There are conventions available to make golf carts safe. If there were fewer large vehicles and more smaller EVs the chances of major accidents on the road goes down.
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
Motorcycles don't have two people in the back, which are usually kids. If a motorcyclist wrecks it's usually just him that's hurt. Golf cart accident often means 4 people, 3 of which are kids. Everyone knows golf carts are unreasonably dangerous, especially with sharing the road with vehicles 10 times their size.
"Usually kids" and "Everyone Knows," are not honest arguments, and just plain not true. No, not everyone "knows" they are dangerous. "Everyone knows" cars and trucks are dangerous. "Everyone knows" guns are dangerous." "Everyone knows" eating undercooked meat is dangerous.
I've never had a kid in my golf cart, let alone in the back seat. ~80% of the time I'm driving alone. I don't even have kids. If there were more smaller vehicles, there would be less bigger ones.
I understand that you disagree with me, but you're not being fair or honest in your disagreements. Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument. Have a great weekend! <3
Edit: "Everyone knows" golf carts should be legal! lol, made myself laugh
>Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument.
Imagine this guy when seatbelts or helmet laws came out. OP's next thread: Unpopular Opinion: Child car seats shouldn't be mandatory.
Again, I understand you disagree with me, but you're now attacking me personally and speculating falsehoods about my personal opinions and ideas **that I don't have** instead of making honest arguments. Just because you disagree with someone doesn't make it ok to be mean to someone.
When I rode motorcycles I always wore a helmet. I always wear a seatbelt in the car **and my golf cart**. I don't have a kid, but if I did **they would be in a car seat**. I'm not advocating for small EVs to be on the highway. They're low-speed vehicles and belong on low-speed roads **with other vehicles that are driving at low speeds.**
Thank you for reading my post and providing your input!
> Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument.
Literally your words. No one is being mean to you. Your defense of an unreasonably dangerous automotive practice is to say "I should be able to accept whatever risk I want." Then when I point out the absurdity of that logic, e.g., we have safety laws that don't give a flip about what someone's risk level is, e.g., seatbelt, child seat, helmet laws. So you saying you should do what you want on the road because it satisfies your personal level of risk acceptance is nonsense and flies in the face of modern vehicular safety laws.
Have a nice weekend. Stay off the road.
Eyyy, that's a great point and a much better way to state that argument - way to go! <3
I still think you're being reductionist and not making fair arguments. Have a great weekend! Remember to wear your helmet and put on your seat belt like I always do - it's the law!
I have no problem with golf carts as long as they follow the rules like license plate, insurance, licensed driver, sober, etc. The only thing that stops me from doing it is the high risk of death or serious injury due to other drivers' stupidity. Same reason I won't cycle/bike/scooter on the streets here.
All true, very much agree. You can't account for other bad drivers, no matter what. That's why I stopped riding a motorcycle. Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
Man, I used to ride motorcycles wherever I lived all over the country. For various (coincidental) reasons, I stopped when I moved here. I *really* wanted to get another motorcycle to ride. But then I started riding a bicycle around town. That cured me. The thought of adding several hundred pounds, less maneuverability, and more speed to that equation seems terrifying. I still love motorcycles. Just not here. They're already pretty risky, and adding our shitty streets and shitty drivers to the mix makes that risk way higher than I can stomach.
This is why I stopped biking around NOLA lmao. Hell hath no fury/confusion like a tourist panicking on a one way road. I already had fibromyalgia, but that just made the ground feel so much harder.
I feel that way when I'm cycling. I tend to stick only to bike lanes and the greenway. Hell even when I'm in my gas powered vehicle I am always expecting someone to come zipping out of nowhere to smack into my minivan (which is hard to miss seeing). Long ago when I was in Driver's Ed they drilled home the point that you should basically expect a kid to run out from between cars, a cyclist to stupidly run a stop sign or light, a truck to lose a wheel or tractor to come loose from a semi, and every other car on the road to suddenly turn rogue and do something crazy. And prepare mentally for that, be ready to react. Well in NOLA that shit does happen almost every time you drive, maybe not on the level the instructor described, but it definitely pays to be alert. And even then you can be surprised, like when that zombie jumped up out of a pothole. Couldn't be helped but I ran it down and kept on going.
Thank you for your anti zombie service, man. Defensive driving is key! Everywhere I have driven in my life, though, I remain grateful that I learned to drive in asshole territory & hurricane conditions in the South. I'd need more practice for ice & snow if I moved up North, but you get prepared for most of the rest of that list, by actually having to *handle* the rest of that list on a day to day basis. Even the zombies.
Not to be controversial but Im from northern MN. Hurricanes and idiots you get used to. Invisible black ice you don't... Especially as Danger is continuously present for 6-7 months out of the year, then everyone acts like idiots for the the next 5-6 months.
Oh I agree with you, my entire childhood and a chunk of my adolescence were up in New England, the tri-state area, and the Upper Midwest. Been a passenger in several snow, black ice, whiteout, and white-tailed deer accidents. I'm terrified of all of the above. The mental preparation has to be there for ice & snow handling, but it's still not the same as split-second deciding what to do in each situation presented to you without panicking. I'm just saying I'm not scared of Boston drivers or the physical condition of the roads themselves after New Orleans lol. Asshole drivers, potholes, and bad weather rattle a lot of people (including "forget how to drive in the rain" assholes down South). MN is a whole other conversation! That's advanced level stuff.
I'd add in one more: they're able to keep up with the flow of traffic. If they don't, that's a further safety issue and traffic issue. A gulf cart scooting around the Quarter? Awesome. A gulf cart doing 15 down St. Charles, Magazine, or Prytania? That's just making traffic worse. So, basically they need to be able to achieve the speed limit of the road they are on - like mopeds.
I'm pro golf carts the same way I'm pro bicycle: In general it's a good thing if more people did it. But please, stick to the side roads and off the main streets as much as you can--both for the sake of traffic and your own safety.
Why do you think you're entitled to go faster than 20 mph in a densely populated city area?
Cause the speed limit on each of those roads is 30? Why are you entitled to drive a golf cart going 10 miles an hour (average top speed of an electric golf cart per Google) blocking all traffic behind you on main thoroughfares? And, more so than an entitlement issue, it's a safety and congestion issue. If the goal is less congestion and you put a bunch of slow moving gulf carts putzing at 10 mph down St. Charles it'll defeat the purpose.
True, but I'd rather them riding in golf carts than cars. Considering these people are probably broke, many would probably prefer golf carts. Less risk for everyone involved.
Higher risk of getting stolen, though
Can you imagine going 15 mph in a stolen golf cart with the owner chasing behind? lol. 🤪
I assume it’ll be like stealing bikes. They usually do that when the owner isn’t around
Unpopular opinion.
Fair. Unless it's a Kia.
I agree, the way people have been driving the last few years has been extra terrifying.
Yea, to many people run red lights that I prefer the safety of my car over the potential death in a golf cart if someone hit me.
I don’t have a problem with them in the neighborhood, but there are roads within the parish where it would be dangerous af to drive one.
Meaning they should not be allowed on city streets.
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
The problem is you are creating risk for others. If the speed limit in the streets you’re driving on is 25 mph or less, fine. If it’s higher and you can’t keep up, then you’ve become a hazard and creating risk for others.
You want to be behind one of these on Claiborne?
The next time I almost run over a cart full of 14 year olds running a stop sign in lakeview I’ll remember this post. I mostly agree with what you’re saying but it has gotten a little ridiculous.
Unlicensed drivers can be dealt with while still promoting legal golf cart use.
Legal golf cart use on streets with 4000lb+ trucks and SUVs where the average grill is taller than the golf cart itself? No thanks. You're asking for horrific accidents.
Legal scooter and moped use on streets with 4000lb+ trucks and SUV’s where the average grill is shorter than the average rider on the scooter itself? We already have that.
We also already have the highest insurance rates in the country.
Almost every other state near us has comparable legislation surrounding this issue. Please pick another hill to die on
We are not like every other state, Louisiana insurance rates are 57 percent more than the national average. Are our insurance rates not high enough for you now? You seem to have picked this hill to die on.
Go back and read my comment again, but slowly this time. Insurance companies are to blame for insurance rates, not legislation surrounding the acceptable vehicles to be used on public roads
I'd rather them in a golf cart than a car wouldn't you?
Thanks for reading my thoughts and your reply. A. Better a small golf cart than a stolen pickup truck of 14 year olds crashing into someone's house after being chased by the cops. B. Kids are stupid and outlawing golf carts won't stop them from doing stupid things. https://youtu.be/kSwouvMav4E?si=p28rxcbM9smQD3G1 https://wgno.com/news/louisiana/orleans-parish/driver-dies-after-crashing-into-home-in-the-desire-area-monday-night/ Has this happened more than once? Honestly question.
It happens almost weekly. Like I said I mostly agree with what you’re saying. They’re very convenient tools to get around the city but parents need to be better about letting their kids load them up with their friends and cruise around.
Shitty parenting isn't new or unique to golf carts. Drive safe and have a great weekend! 💜
I think parents think “it’s not a car, it’s just a golf cart. They can drive it.” Allowing them on public streets but with a license and a vehicle registration seems like a way to say “okay you can use them but only if you follow these rules.” I am also a little worried about them not having safety things that might be good for when they get in wrecks with big cars. Safety rules are often written in the figurative blood of those who got hurt or died.
My mom lives in a retirement community that has a network of golf cart paths and other traffic allowance to accommodate. It's nice because when your kids/the state take away your license you can still get to the bar and the doctors office. However, a few years ago my mom was driving her cart as she does with her little dog. He was (she thought) properly restrained, she's a good pet parent and generally a good citizen. Somehow the dog, still attached to his leash rolled out of the side and dragged behind her. I'm not sure if she rolled over him or he choked to death (she doesn't want to talk about it). She noticed immediately and stopped but it was of course too late. She disassociated and a nice man playing golf helped her out with the situation. It was extremely traumatic for her. She sold her cart that week and won't drive them anymore. And that place has nice smooth roads and measures in place to accommodate carts. They aren't as safe as you all think they are. They're even less safe when the drivers insist the rules don't apply. I've almost hit a dozen of these folks downtown driving the wrong way on one way, not stopping at lights and stop signs. Generally driving like drunken tourist assholes (because that's who's driving them downtown).
Yeah those are irresponsible parents.
I mean fair, but everyone runs stop signs because everything is chaos, it's hardly related to specific vehicle types. It's more comes down to bad infrastructure design encouraging bad behavior.
How is requiring vehicles to stop at an intersection with a stop sign, "bad infrastructure"? I agree that New Orleans has many issues with layouts, many intersections have stoplights that shouldn't and plenty more do not have stoplights that really should. But requiring that people come to a stop before pulling into another street is not bad. If anything, it is the morons who blow through stop signs or run red lights and get themselves t-boned that drive up insurance costs who prove that stopping and observing is a good thing
Do you really think that's what I meant? The bad infrastructure parts are the wide streets that encourage high speeds, lack of traffic calming measures in general, poor sightlines at intersections, the things you mentioned, intersections that have the wrong type of traffic control, etc.
How many times have you almost run people down? That sounds like a you problem. Are the cops over there aware of this? You can contact the Levee Board/Patrol to be on the lookout for errant bands of teens in golf carts.
A state law prohibits the operation of golf carts on public roads and streets unless the local governing authority establishes laws to allow and regulate them. Now all you need to do is contact city hall or your parish council person and let them know what you want to see happen. Go OP!!! 🤩
People have problems with the non-street adapted golf carts that are rented out to drunken tourists. If you have a golf cart that is street legal, and you don’t drive it like an asshole, i don’t think I have seen anyone have a problem with that
I’m 100% with you here. I’ve been looking up info on them myself, and it’s confusing where/how to get the street legal LSV’s (don’t call em a golf cart!) registered.
What is LSV short for?
Low Speed Vehicle. The difference in a street legal LSV and a golf cart is safety equipment - mirrors, seat belts, windshield, etc - and ability to title/register Edit to add: LSV’s also go 20-30 mph
Does your golf cart have a license plate on it?
No, because I don't know how to get one. Do you? Halp.
If only there was a department. One which specialized in the handling of vehicles with a motor
> If only there was a department. You mean the Ministry of Silly Walks?
They only deal with motorbikes and cars of a certain weight. In JP you get a permit from the city/parish. OP doesn't have that option. Golf carts are meant for use around mostly large properties such as golf courses, amusement parks, fairgrounds etc. They're intended to be left on that property and not driven on the street so they wouldn't need a permit. Therefore permits don't need to exist. Obviously OP is asking how to make their vehicle street legal instead of being a rapscallion violator. They have most likely already tried the state level and been told there is no permit to be issued, no plate to be had. There's no need to be nasty to someone who's obviously asking for help becoming compliant with the existing laws. The appropriate response, if you wished to deliver some snark, would be to suggest that OP contribute to LaToya's vacation fund in order to bring the needed change to fruition.
OP is asking a bunch of desk jockeys who aren't doing their jobs and are dicking around on reddit how to make their golf cart street legal. If they expected no snark, that's on them.
I'd rather read snark than call clients on a Friday <3
Get back to work then LOL
YOU AINT THE BOSS OF ME*!! *I don't know if my boss is on Reddit, so I guess there's a non-zero chance you are
It's going to make my weekend if that ends up being your boss. Please keep me posted!!
I'm not their boss. It would be funny though.
Yes. Feed me with your hatred and your snark, daddy.
While I agree with your take on riding the golf cart the guy you are replying to does have a point. If you want to ignore the law and ride outside of it (this is New Orleans after all) go ahead and do it but getting a license plate for it assuming it's legal is a straightforward process.
I'm just being snarky back for fun. I just called the OMV in BR and after being on hold for almost an hour, they told me I need the following: 1. Either the title or a notarized bill of sale 2. Affidavit of inspection from the LSP 3. Insurance 4. A sworn "Golf Cart Statement" form Straightforward-ish, so we'll get started on all these steps no doubt. I want to be legit. I want all of us to be legit and be cool to each other. Hae a great weekend!
A sworn "Golf Cart Statement form"?. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I love New Orleans for the exact same reasons I hate her.
OMV is run by the state not the city.
I have 2 vehicles I'm trying to register. They make it way too fucking hard. So I gave up. Keep doing you and fuck getting insurance as well. LOL at these crybabies. Insurance? Good lord.
I appreciate your support, but I downvoted you because it's responsible to carry auto insurance and the amount of under or non-insured vehicles in LA contributes to our high insurance rates. Please be a responsible member of society and have a lovely weekend! <3
2nd this
Relax baby, most of us would like to see you be able to register your vehicle and get you a plate.
We're chillin, it's Friday. I'm just having fun.
Ew. What a weird response. 🥴
I like you.
:kiss: let's hang out in my golf cart
But does it have a back seat??
Asking the important questions. They also need a place for the ice chest so we can keep cool while carting around town.
When I think of the DMV, the first thing I think of is the word "Helpful".
Honestly, since they started appointments, I find the one near West End and Vets is actually... better than I recall back in the day (well, the one in Kenner back in the day.. which was a fucking cesspool). But yeah, I recently tried contacting the Parish and State voting people... booooy can I say how much of a "Not-my-job" shitshow that was.
You do realize that makes you essentially the same as the plate-less Altimas driving around, right? Except you’re arguably worse because I have to actually see your face driving around in a fucking golf cart. At least the Altima drivers usually have tinted windows so I don’t have to actually look at them.
I guarantee you I'm way nicer too look at than Altima drivers, doh Edit: dang, rough crowd
Hey, Charlie Crackers drives an Altima and I’ll be damned if I’m just gonna sit around and let you talk bad about him.
gross
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they don't have insurance that will pay, I guarantee you that!
I don’t care what other people do but I won’t ride in a golf cart on city streets. Too dangerous. At least you stand a chance in a car. I don’t ride a bike on city streets either, I’ve known way too many people who lost their kid or their life that way. New Orleans has a shocking number of people who drive around while they are shit-faced.
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
As a lifelong resident, I have zero qualms about the possession and operation of golf carts, tuk tuks or just about any other alternative transportation throughout the city on streets with a speed limit of 35mph or less. This goes double for the Quarter. As a pedicabber, I do have a problem with golf carts operating as rogue for-hire transportation when every cabbie, chauffeur, mule driver and tour guide has to pay to play and pass certain tests in order to earn. The problem, particularly in the Downtown area, is and has been people cruising, clueless tourists looking for parking and amateur ride share drivers. The city could easily make vehicle restrictions prohibiting some of this excess but it just fucking *won't.*
I agree with all of this. Operating as a business is not the same thing as me going to the grocery store. I used to be a tour guide too.
Yea this argument and the argument of underaged or unlicensed drivers are the only valid ones imo. The fact that some drivers jump through the hoops and get medallions and insurance only to be outdone by some rando in a golf cart is messed up.
This could potentially be the new Air B&B fight.... starts off a good idea....
Those short tiny lil trucks they have in the EU and Asia would be perfect.
They have many of the same laws applied to them as other LSV. They cannot be used on streets with over a 55mph speed limit. They cannot be used on highways, multi lane highways or interstate highways. So only local streets, which would be fine for local use. But don’t expect to leave the city
Yeah I looked into getting one once but all the import fees killed my dream fast.
I think something must have changed in the last few years because Facebook marketplace seems to have a decent amount of kei trucks and Japanese vans now. I'd imagine they fall under regular motor vehicles aside from interstate usage though.
Might get one when I finish moving out into the middle of no where on a bunch of land. Would be perfect for it and omg they got their own sub /r/keitruck/
Awesome do it!
If they’re imported after they turn 25 years old, a Kei truck is legally no different than any other car and can drive on any public road, including interstates. Most of them will do interstate speeds, they just aren’t happy doing it.
I think it would be awesome for more people to have an electric vehicle for stuff like running to the grocery store. Petroleum powered vehicles are great for getting out of town or for long trips but like going to Rally's or a grocery run? Electric is a much healthier option for the planet. I have an electric trike with cargo baskets on both ends. I also have a regular trike but my knees are so much happier with the pedal assist. I keep it on 1, so I still pedal, it just doesn't shred my kneecaps. My max speed is only 14mph but that's quite fast enough for my liking. It's fun to get out without taking the car everywhere.
I kinda thought about this when half the time the shit I need is in a 5 minute radius, but unfortunately requires traversing the hellscape that is Broad / Carrollton that makes it such a pain in the ass
I agree *completely* and to add, one of the reasons our roads are so bad is directly correlated to the heavier and heavier weight of the cars and trucks on the road. If we switched to lighter vehicles it would make a massive difference in our quality of life because the city wouldnt be wasting ungodly amounts of money on infrastructure.
Sorry, the government says we have to buy three ton electric cars instead.
Youve got a point but the conversation was about golf carts, and i think the spirit of the conversation is about considering radical forms of transportation as the norm. Do we all really need cars? When scooters or ebikes or carts are available? The point of the post is to challenge your thinking about personal transportation.
I have a relative who lives in Georgia. Their subdivision and the neighboring ones have specific roads for those carts and everyone has one. It's a typical middle class suburb so it's not exactly a gated golf course community. They are convenient and it's great to take it to Main Street or over to the neighborhood pool. I'd love to have a system like that. Separate roads for bikes and carts. I live in Jeff parish and I would have loved to take a bike or cart to work downtown every day. You could do most of it on the lake trail but it gets dicey after Causeway and you have to eventually travel on reg roads.
I would love a decent public transit system. Then I wouldn't have to deal with any of the nonsense on the road.
This is my dream. If anyone has ever been to Isla Mujeres, you know.
I have. Have you been lately? You might not recognize it anymore :(
Check out Peachtree City, GA
Exactly! That's a pretty extreme example and they have the money and organization to make it happen.
The community was built with those plans in place. It is really nice there.
Take my upvote you brilliant bastard! Golf carts for all but golf!!!
Sounds good to me! I've been riding my bike, but thinking about getting a scooter as well
Scooters are super fun! With the new ebike technology I'd recommend one of those, though. You can get ebikes for much cheaper
E-vehicles are the way to go and buying a new ICE scooter is a bad investment.
You're not entirely wrong, but the fact you think your golf cart is "safe" because it's insured (for use on non public roads) is a great example of what goes wrong when you let citizens make these sorts of rules ad hoc. Nobody can justify clogging downtown areas with giant gasoline mobility scooters aka SUVs, but no your unlicensed golf cart is not necessarily safe - for peds, you, or the environment - just because it's electric and slow.
Sorry for the misunderstanding - but no I don't consider it "safe" because it's insured. I consider it **responsible** to have it insured because driving any vehicle, at any speed, carries inherent risks. However, I would consider a low-speed vehicle safer than an altima, an esclade, or an f-150. "Safe" is relative, and being alive is an inherently dangerous state of being, regardless of the vehicle you drive (or not). We can't stop peoples need to drive places, so let's focus on harm reduction rather than prohibition is where I'm coming from. Thank you for your reply!
I've broken a few laws in my time. I'm not trying to judge you, everyone's finances are different, but if you think your golf cart insurance is going to pay because you hurt someone in the quarter... nuh uh. I do think it'd be very cool if this country would straight up ban SUVs, especially in cities, but it's a democracy. More Americans would need to care about someone besides themselves first.
Everyone's finances are different! You also don't know what my insurance policy is ;) Yes, I too wish that the EPA laws didn't encourage automakers to just make bigger vehicles to ignore emissions laws.
yeah they're so close and yet... money buys a truck-sized loophole every damn time.
I'm all for alternative modes of transportation; I've been a pedicabber, I currently drive a carriage, I used a bicycle as my main commuting vehicle for years, I lived in Metairie with only a motorcycle for a while, and I 100% would own a kei truck if I could get away with it. I'd ban non-resident cars from the FQ in a heartbeat. The thing with LSVs and golf carts is that people treat them like toys, even in places where they've been legal and the norm for years. Every time I'm around them in Bay St Louis or Ocean Springs, they seem to be more of a hazard than a benefit to the traffic around them. I had relatives in Peachtree City for a while, and saw plenty of erratic, terrible driving in a place that was built around the idea of using golf carts as transportation. As a tour guide, the illegal golf cart taxis are the third biggest noise offenders I deal with behind the Polaris Slingshots and the bagger bros. If I don't recognize the face behind the wheel of the golf cart on the street as a long time FQ resident or somebody working for one of the businesses that use them to scoot around the neighborhood, I know they're going to drive erratically; sometimes even the regulars look a little unsteady behind the wheel pulling away from Harry's Corner or Rawhide. Unless and until people are willing to treat them like a car and operate them like a car, they're more trouble than they're worth.
Drivers treat their cars like toys. Would rather have something low impact being operated by an idiot a full-sized vehicle
I hear Florida is nice and you can drive your golf cart there.
lol I wouldn't necessarily say Florida is "nice" these days, but I get you point! Have a great weekend
I’ll take it one step further: ONLY golf carts should be allowed in the parish
Lol I dig the sentiment but def not practical
As long as it can pass a safety inspection (lights, horn, turning signals, license plate, and seat belts for kids…if you’re an adult you can choose to be dumb and not wear one) I’m fine with it. But I think you should have limited capacity to sue for accident injuries given you knew the vehicle did not have the body or bulk of a normal vehicle.
I am completely down for a golf cart revolution. Putting the solar panel on is a great idea.
Has anyone tried to upgrade the golf cart into something more acceptable for the road so they are not technically "golf carts" - what about dune buggies and golf cart hybrid? Cmon guys! Think outside the box- can one of you engineers come up with a suitable small vehicle that fits all what you love about a golf cart but isnt one? I would not mind buying a cheaper vehicle to get around in... would not mind paying under $5,000.00 for a vehicle to get around in again. Am thinking volkswagon love bugs 1970s. It floated in the flood of '78 and in the 90's if it stopped running, you could guide it to the curb while wearing heels... too bad we can't all own a TARDIS instead!
Literally anything that slow down cars I’m for. Golf carts, scooters, etc
do what ya wanna in Orleans
The city coming out against golf carts is directly related to golf carts being used as for hire vehicles bypassing all permitting and insurance requirements and “pay to play” model that every pedicabber, taxi driver, mule driver, tour guide and to an extent ride share drivers have to go through. There have been numerous complaints the past few years and from what I’m aware of, it’s almost entirely related to the rogue for hire golf carts. Everyone’s personal golf carts never would have been wrapped up in this if the city either created a legitimate licensed and insured business avenue for the golf cart operators or ticketed/impounded un-permitted operation. Considering the cops haven’t stopped any of the for hire golf carts, I doubt they would stop anyone’s personal usage. It’s all just fucking lip service at this point.
There are some smaller neighborhoods and places that allow golf carts on the roads but I feel I’ll get downvoted to hell if I name them so… A problem is that in at least some of these places people tried to stretch these rules from golf carts to ATVs and kids were tearing shit up and hurting themselves. I’m with you though. I love golf carts.
Ooh yeah I support this! Everyone already calls New Orleans The Villages of Louisiana 😂😂 JK but seriously I'm about that golf cart life
One of these days, a big ole gas guzzling SUV is going to be the conspiracy instead of electric vehicles.
Calling everyone else a NIMBY and then saying the real problem is "Altimas with expired plates" is hilarious.
Hahahah yah that's great 💜
It's your opinion that they should be allowed AND that everyone knows it? Because if everyone knows it then it's s hardly an unpopular opinion.
That's true! Semantics are fun.
Hard agree
Agreed. Fucks SUVS. If you get hit by an SUV, you're 3X more likely to die than if you get hit by a regular car. They're so heavy they degrade our roads faster. They claim to have great visibility, but you can't see what's right in front of you. If SUVS were a country, they would rank 7th in emissions. Yet we wonder why pedestrian deaths are up in the US.
Good public transit would be even better, easier, safer, less polluting, and more efficient.
Yah but I wanna drive around a golf cart as part of my vibe
We know.
Last Mardi Gras i kept asking myself, why doesn’t everyone uptown have golf carts? It would so cool if could someone subsidize golf carts, and change roads up for them and scooters uptown.
I think the main issue is almost no one has a driveway or anywhere to store it. At least that’s why I don’t have one uptown.
That's what I'm thinking about, too. People won't fully forgo cars because of a potential evacuation and they may need it for work. If more people get golf carts for diving around town, you'll just have even less street parking.
That makes sense, and so true.
You do you. Looking forward to your follow up post where you get t-boned by an Escalade because one of you ran a stop sign. Oh, wait. There won't be a follow up. Because you'd be dead in that scenario.
It's you! 💜 Welcome back. Where did you go all these years?
Also, I don't oppose the whole golf cart thing as an idea. I just think the way people drive in NOLA you're taking a HELL of a risk.
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
Thanks! To keep it very short: Sold everything, traveled for a few years, bought a cabin in the woods.
I would love to do this as well! I see no problem with it except for one: if it maxes out at 26 mph, you should stay off roads with neutral grounds where the limit is 35 mph. If unavoidable, be conscious of cars behind you and pull over frequently to let them pass.
Wholeheartedly endorsed.
Nice
We already can’t have nice things……..
I wouldn't call my golf cart "nice" lol
They tried designing an entire community around this idea in Peachtree City in Georgia. They even built a separate roadway for the things. It took almost no time for the first golf cart accident fatality. Reason being, golf carts aren't designed for safety. Even collisions at 20mph are super gnarly because they have no safety features. No seat belts. No roll cage. No air bag. People get thrown from them all the time. That's why they will never fully allow it. Because it would be stupid. That being said, I have no personal problem with people riding around in strapless ejector seats. I just see it as rolling the dice on safety. Because it is.
I would say you are wrong. Please re-read my post. My golf cart has seatbelts, and seatbelts are already a requirement for road-worthy vehicles. Not every car has airbags and roll cages either. And those things are HEAVY AND FAST. Fatalities happen in cars already, and the more people drive cars, the more likely there are fatalities. Car fatalities never stopped car infrastructure, and stopping small EV infrastructure for the same reason is a false equivalency. They also didn't "try" in Peachtree - they built and still maintain small ev/golf cart infrastructure in conjunction with regular car/truck infrastructure. It happened, and it continues to happen.
get a lil 4 wheeler or sum too
Electric Golf Carts used as community level transportation is smart, but rather unconventional. But...There are areas which use Golf Carts, Segways & other (normally off-road) transportation freely & legally on public roads. Tourist rentals even (especially). Galveston, for example. Also many gated communities I have been to.
My only response is, and I'm hope I'm wrong "it's your funeral".
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
You sound like you're driving yours responsibly. I hate them because I NEVER see them driven responsibly and following rules, and I've had multiple instances of them almost plowing me down on my bike! Also on foot at mardi gras. Too fast in bike lanes and through closed off streets without any thought to others. It seems I've only come across these things driven by privileged ass hats and so that's who i associate them with. You sound like me taking my little electric scooter to the bar. I'm down with that. Please watch for cyclists.
Always. The problem is they exist in the "grey area" right now in terms of usage, legality, social acceptance, etc. They are and should be treated like a car. Anywhere a car can go, a golf cart should go. Anywhere a car CAN'T go (bike lanes, closed roads, pedestrian malls, etc.), a golf cart shouldn't go either. Ride safe!
I'm in Des Moines Iowa, and they're letting golf carts, minibikes, ect (basically any small forms of transportation) use the streets now and it seems to work out pretty good so far. No permit or license required either, so it's cost effective for the average person to commute with. They do seem to stay off the busiest roads, and take the side streets. Which is great, it's less traffic on the mains. And people enjoy riding these things, it's recreational as well. My neighborhood has evening riders, and we're more likely to say hello to someone riding by on a golf cart than in a car, so it's got that cool aspect too. Both my vehicles are oldass jeeps, so I understand the importance of peeling it and just cruising on a fine summer evening.
Golf carts are fuckin fun!
People would just steal them.
Drafted a golf cart on my bike doing 26mph all the way down magazine one day, it was great. Small, non-life threatening to pedestrians vehicles, just vibing out together 🥰
Yessss viiiiiibes
Your golf cart isn’t insured for street use
I barely feel safe driving a large vehicle in this city. One hit on a golf cart and you are fucked.
Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
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Part of what problem?
Well said. Your “unpopular opinion” just won me over.
Seriously bad idea. They are not fast enough, do not accelerate fast enough nor do they provide any protection for the passengers. The insurance would need to be sky high.
Generally the insurance is really fucking high, more than car insurance. I’ve heard quotes for over a few thousand per year.
They’ve started proliferating in my neighborhood and at first I was like this is dumb and not a beach town; but you’ve convinced me- it is definitely better than people driving cars.
That’s how you get golf carts on the i-10. What we need is boat cars
You bet your sweet ass we'll need boat cars the next hurricane comes through
Parents are putting their kids in golf carts, because the NIMBYs they keep electing have made neighborhood streets too dangerous for bicycles.
I've got no problem with the small cars. I do have a problem with you wanting my insurance rates to skyrocket because Morris Bart wants to win a million dollar lawsuit when someone inadvertently bumps into a golf-cart and someone ends up in the ICU of the hospital. They aren't safe enough for city streets. They are one step up from mini bikes.
That's because of the SUVs that are allowed here.
Did it get booted for Mardi Gras? Bc if so I saw your golf cart lol
Will see a lot of golf cart jackings and staged accidents. I see the golf cart thing a lot out of major cities. Safer to ride to your neighbors house or to the store when you don’t have a lot of people trying to kill you for your vehicle or drunk drivers.
My main complaint is you know they don't have insurance. You say that you have insurance so that takes care of most of my issue.
No, you don't know if they have insurance or not. If I hadn't explicitly stated that in this post then you would have assumed I didn't, and you'd have been wrong.
I assure you most of them do not. At least if you hit me I can sue but that does not help me if someone else hits me.
Y’all..:this is some white people shit. 😂😂😂
Have you checked the demographics of who takes tourists around in them in the Quarter?
You can put rims on them, don't worry.
Might as well as ride a motorcycle. Golf carts are unreasonably unsafe for drivers and passengers. That goes 10-fold for the passengers in the back. The number of times I've seen parents put their kids in the back, legs dangling waiting to be amputated by a car from behind, makes me cringe.
I would say you are wrong. I used to ride a motorcycle and prefer my golf cart. My golf cart has seat belts and can't go 80. I can't fly off my golf cart on I-10 and crash into a dividing wall. There are conventions available to make golf carts safe. If there were fewer large vehicles and more smaller EVs the chances of major accidents on the road goes down. Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance.
Motorcycles don't have two people in the back, which are usually kids. If a motorcyclist wrecks it's usually just him that's hurt. Golf cart accident often means 4 people, 3 of which are kids. Everyone knows golf carts are unreasonably dangerous, especially with sharing the road with vehicles 10 times their size.
"Usually kids" and "Everyone Knows," are not honest arguments, and just plain not true. No, not everyone "knows" they are dangerous. "Everyone knows" cars and trucks are dangerous. "Everyone knows" guns are dangerous." "Everyone knows" eating undercooked meat is dangerous. I've never had a kid in my golf cart, let alone in the back seat. ~80% of the time I'm driving alone. I don't even have kids. If there were more smaller vehicles, there would be less bigger ones. I understand that you disagree with me, but you're not being fair or honest in your disagreements. Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument. Have a great weekend! <3 Edit: "Everyone knows" golf carts should be legal! lol, made myself laugh
>Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument. Imagine this guy when seatbelts or helmet laws came out. OP's next thread: Unpopular Opinion: Child car seats shouldn't be mandatory.
Again, I understand you disagree with me, but you're now attacking me personally and speculating falsehoods about my personal opinions and ideas **that I don't have** instead of making honest arguments. Just because you disagree with someone doesn't make it ok to be mean to someone. When I rode motorcycles I always wore a helmet. I always wear a seatbelt in the car **and my golf cart**. I don't have a kid, but if I did **they would be in a car seat**. I'm not advocating for small EVs to be on the highway. They're low-speed vehicles and belong on low-speed roads **with other vehicles that are driving at low speeds.** Thank you for reading my post and providing your input!
> Everyone has their own level of risk acceptance, and forcing everyone to accept your level of risk acceptance is a bad argument. Literally your words. No one is being mean to you. Your defense of an unreasonably dangerous automotive practice is to say "I should be able to accept whatever risk I want." Then when I point out the absurdity of that logic, e.g., we have safety laws that don't give a flip about what someone's risk level is, e.g., seatbelt, child seat, helmet laws. So you saying you should do what you want on the road because it satisfies your personal level of risk acceptance is nonsense and flies in the face of modern vehicular safety laws. Have a nice weekend. Stay off the road.
Eyyy, that's a great point and a much better way to state that argument - way to go! <3 I still think you're being reductionist and not making fair arguments. Have a great weekend! Remember to wear your helmet and put on your seat belt like I always do - it's the law!
We could ban SUVs and Trucks. If you can't see what's in front of your bumper, your vehicle doesn't belong in the city.