Golf carts convenient for navigating through city, owners find
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| Erica Burrus photo/ James Price glides down 12th Street in the Soulard neighborhood in his golf cart. |
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Price is one of a small group who own a golf cart not to go from one green to another, but to find their way around smaller city streets.
City and state officials and at least one local golf cart dealer say it's illegal. But that doesn't stop Price, who often uses the cart to drive the approximately seven blocks between his home and his insurance business at 2229 S. 12th St. It also doesn't stop a growing number of cities and towns in Missouri and throughout the nation from legalizing the practice."I use it for just about everything," said Price, who bought his first cart in 2000. "We like to just go out and cruise around the neighborhood and socialize." He and his wife, Julie, drive to restaurants and pubs and have been known to drive downtown to places and events like Live Off the Levee and Laclede's Landing. But he doesn't go further than downtown.
One recent night when Price was out with his cart, he said he saw two other golf carts, he said.
Convenience is a big reason Price cites for driving a cart.
"We don't have to get in our car and drive to the other side of the neighborhood."
And it's easier to find parking, he said.
But as far as whether he's allowed to take a cart out, Price said, "It depends on who you talk to whether you're legal or illegal."
According to state law, the vehicle is exempt from safety and emissions inspects and titling and registration, Price said. A person can drive a low-speed vehicle on any street posted for 35 miles an hour or less, he said.
But Erica S. Van Ross, spokeswoman for the city police, said it's illegal.
So did David Griffith, public information officer for the Missouri Department of Revenue. "There's a certain standard that has to be met for vehicles to operate on city streets or on a state highway," he said.
State law defines a vehicle as designed primarily for use on highways, Griffith said.
"It's clear that golf carts are not designed for that use," he said.
But Griffith notes a number of Missouri cities have enacted or have considered enacting ordinances that allow carts to operate. They include Albany, Lexington, Kirksville and Desloge. Griffith said a city can enact more restrictive laws than state laws, but not less restrictive ones.
St. Louis Board of Aldermen Clerk and Legal Counsel David Sweeney said some aldermen have spoken to him about the issue and were concerned about it. But Sweeney, who often writes bills for aldermen, said no bills have been introduced.
A check of the Internet shows legalization has been considered or is in place in town from Colorado to Florida, including Sandusky, Ohio, Loveland, Colo., Winchester, Ind. and Key Biscayne, Fla. In places like Prestonburg, Ky and Fairfield County, Ohio, communities save gas money by putting police on carts.
Some media stories say saving gas is a reason people choose carts.
One local cart driver who notes the energy savings is Brad Finkeldei.
Finkeldei, who lives in Benton Park near Soulard, bought his cart used from Price two years ago.
"It's fun and it does help with conserving gas," Finkeldei said.
A fill up of four or five gallons usually carries him for four to eight weeks, he said.
"I generally keep it in the Soulard area, but sometimes there's downtown events I take it to," he said.
He'll take the cart out two or three times a week in warm weather.
"It's an easy way to get around," Finkeldei said. "It makes it neat for parking."
Jeff Bach might seem to be the kind of person who would want golf carts on the streets, but not really.
Bach owns Extreme Toy Store in Rock Hill, whose products include Segways, scooters, motorcycles, three-wheelers and Yamaha "Golf Carts."
"There's a lot of people that do that as a way to get around the neighborhood," Bach said. He doesn't think there's been an increase.
"It's more of a recreational thing than anything else," Bach said. "I guess people get away with it in a small quiet neighborhood," he said. It's not legal by any stretch, Bach said.
A four-wheeled vehicle has to meet state Department of Transportation standards and has to be licensed to be on the street, he said.
That may have been what police thought in April when they pulled over Julie Price in her golf cart at Russell Boulevard and Ninth Street.
Three police cars soon were on the scene, James Price said. After 45 minutes, they ticketed her for not having her driver's license on her and not having an inspection, safety inspection or proof of insurance.
The Prices took it to court.
"The judge looked at it and threw it out and didn't charge court costs," James Price said. "He didn't believe that they were wasting his time with it."
