Mount Pleasant Police: Be Careful With Golf Carts

Mount Pleasant Police Crime Prevention Officer Bryce Gregory is reminding residents to follow these simple guidelines for golf cart use this summer.

“Summer is upon us and with it comes the increased use of golf carts,” said PFC Gregory. “The Mount Pleasant Police Department would like to remind you that the driver of a golf cart must be at least 16 and have a valid driver’s license. The golf cart must be insured and the driver must have a permit issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.”

Police offer these tips:

• Operate on a secondary road where posted speed limit is 35mph or less and within four miles of registered address.
• Only cross a primary road to get to another secondary road
• Operate only during daylight hours

“Remember that these laws can be applied to parents who knowingly allow juveniles to operate golf carts outside of the law,” added Gregory “Please help us keep our residents safe this summer!”

About the South Carolina State Laws Regarding Golf Cart Usage On Roadways

SECTION 56-2-105. Golf cart permit and the operation of a golf cart.
(A) For the purposes of this section, "gated community" means any homeowners' community with at least one access-controlled ingress and egress which includes the presence of a guard house, a mechanical barrier, or another method of controlled conveyance.

(B) An individual or business owner of a vehicle commonly known as a golf cart
may obtain a permit decal and registration from the Department of Motor
Vehicles upon presenting proof of ownership and liability insurance for the golf
cart and upon payment of a five dollar fee.
(1) During daylight hours only, a permitted golf cart may be operated within four miles of the address on the registration certificate and only on a secondary
highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or
less.
(2) During daylight hours only, a permitted golf cart may be operated within four miles of a point of ingress and egress to a gated community and only on a
secondary highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles
an hour or less.
(3) During daylight hours only, within four miles of the registration holder's
address, and while traveling along a secondary highway or street for which the
posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or less, a permitted golf cart may
cross a highway or street at an intersection where the highway has a posted
speed limit of more than thirty-five miles an hour.
(4) During daylight hours only, a permitted golf cart may be operated along a
secondary highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles
an hour or less on an island not accessible by a bridge designed for use by
automobiles.

(C) A person operating a permitted golf cart must be at least sixteen years of age and hold a valid driver's license. The operator of a permitted golf cart being
operated on a highway or street must have in his possession:
(1) the registration certificate issued by the department;
(2) proof of liability insurance for the golf cart; and
(3) his driver's license.

(D)(1) A golf cart permit must be replaced with a new permit every five years, or at the time the permit holder changes his address.
(2) Golf cart owners holding golf cart permits on or before October 1, 2012, will
have until September 30, 2015, to obtain a replacement permit.

(E) A political subdivision may, on designated streets or roads within the political subdivision's jurisdiction, reduce the area in which a permitted golf cart may operate from four miles to no less than two miles. However, a political subdivision may not reduce or otherwise amend the other restrictions placed on the operation of a permitted golf cart contained in this section.

(F) The provisions of this section that restrict the use of a golf cart to certain
streets, certain hours, and certain distances shall not apply to a golf cart used by a public safety agency in connection with the performance of its duties.
HISTORY: 2012 Act No. 177, Section 1, eff October 1, 2012.