There soon may be fewer motorized vehicles designed for personal transportation such as a golf cart on the streets of Waycross and in its neighborhoods.
Waycross Police Chief Tommy Cox told city commissioners he’s working on the specifics of an ordinance that would set parameters for use of the vehicles in the city.
Chief Cox said the vehicles have increased in popularity, and although Georgia law governing their operation is “pretty standard” the city should have its own laws on the books tailored to the community. The Georgia Department of Transportation, in fact, encourages municipalities to have an ordinance governing the vehicles in their community.
“Even though people think they’re following state law, they may not,” Chief Cox told commissioners during their planning and information session, April 14.
The chief said he’s getting the final details together and hopes to have the ordinance in a form for commissioners to consider at their second meeting next month or first in June.
Acting City Attorney Huey Spearman said at the work session, Rick Currie, his predecessor, had drafted an initial motorized ordinance. It never was completed to the point of being offered to the commission for consideration, however.
State law has a minimum age for the driver at 12 years old. Drivers under 16 must be supervised by a licensed adult who is at least 18 years old.
If the driver is 15 years old and has a permit, they can operate the golf cart alone.
Carts are allowed only on roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less. Maximum speed for a cart is 20 mph and its weight must not exceed 1,300 pounds.
Cart use on a public roadway also requires liability insurance. Minimums are $15,000 for bodily injury per person, $30,000 for bodily injury for accident and $10,000 for property damage per accident. To be street legal, carts must have a braking system, reverse warning device, tail lamps, a side horn and hip restraints.
Cox
“(City ordinance) may be more strict than the guidance of the state law, but it will fit the city and safety always will be paramount,” Chief Cox said Friday.
Douglas has a law governing motorized carts. It mirrors state guidelines on many counts, but is more restrictive in others.
Its insurance limits are among them — $25k per person, $50k per accident and $25k for property. The vehicle’s operator also must be licensed, the vehicle must be registered with the city, and its operation is limited to two-lane streets — one in each direction.
The chief said he’s compiling a list of streets where the carts would be prohibited. Most are multiple lane and heavily traveled from early morning well into the evening, he said, mentioning Carswell and Knight avenues, City Boulevard, and Tebeau, Brunel and Alice streets among consideration.
Use on those streets only would be OK in the case of moving across the roadway at a designated intersection with another permitted street.
“We want someone to be able to move from one neighborhood to another, but on the safest streets,” he said. “The way the roadway system is built, there are some challenges.”
Chief Cox also said special consideration of street usage will be given around Memorial Satilla Health.
“We don’t want to impede anything in that area with a slowermoving vehicle,” he said.
Like in Douglas, the chief said the carts would need to be registered with WPD and receive a decal. He said that cost would be minimal, possibly $15.
Depending on the views of commissioners, the item could be presented at a work session and acted on at the following night’s business meeting. City ordinances require two readings that are approved by the commission before becoming law.
