BY JIM RITCH, Eastern Shore Post —
A woman will appear in General District court on a class two misdemeanor charge after letting her 8-year-old child drive a golf cart in Cape Charles, said Jim Pruitt, chief of police.
Even though the woman sat next to the child, “she had basically no control of the cart,” he said.
The charge could carry a fine of up to $1,000 or six months in jail.
Children may be safer and town regulations regarding golf carts will have more traction in Cape Charles this year as town police increase enforcement of the same state rules that apply to automobiles.
“You think the town streets are slow, but it doesn’t take but a split second to get hurt. It’s time to step it up” after years of burgeoning numbers of carts and abuses, Pruitt said.
As a result of several occasions last year when Pruitt watched parents holding infants in their left arm while steering a golf cart with their right, he asked town officials to consult the town attorney for options.
“You hit a bump or you slam the brakes and you could drop that baby” from the cart, he said.
The attorney confirmed that golf carts qualify as motor vehicles and that drivers can be ticketed as though they were driving automobiles.
Ten words on a new, required decal being posted in all carts summarize the sweeping changes in how children may be carried, carts parked, and partying conducted.
“You must obey all motor vehicle laws and parking ordinances,” reminds the decal.
That means all children younger than 8 years of age must ride in car seats and children younger than 2 must ride in rear-facing seats.
Tickets will carry a penalty of $50 for first offenses and up to $500 for second offenses.
“No warnings will be given” for that particular infraction, Pruitt said.
Warnings may be given for infractions including the local custom of parking carts perpendicular to the curb, which allows as many as three carts to occupy a single parking space.
Last year, the practice was condoned on the beachfront until visitors squeezed carts between parked cars so tightly that the carts interfered with cars pulling out of adjoining spaces.
Visitors “came off the beach after a day with the kids and they couldn’t even open the back of their car. I could feel how angry they were,” said Pruitt.
State regulations also cap the number of passengers, limiting them to the number of seat belts.
Another possible surprise for summer revelers: Driving while impaired laws apply to golf carts.
And similarly, no open containers of alcohol are permitted on the golf cart.
Other regulations include that drivers “must be at least 16 years old and have a valid driver’s license.” The license must be in the possession of the driver.
Town officials added a second decal to the required permit that must be displayed on carts: a permit decal and a separate list of 10 rules.
On rented golf carts, the list decal must appear in the center of the steering wheel.
On personally owned carts, the list may appear on the lower left corner of the windshield, facing the driver, or on the steering wheel, Pruitt said.
Golf carts in Cape Charles are so numerous that they nearly outnumber the year-round residents.
Elizabeth Russell, owner of Eastern Shore Custom Carts, estimates that about 1,100 carts were inspected last year.
Cape Charles had 1,178 residents, according to the 2020 census.
