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Tag: golf cart

City registration coming for golf cart owners

Golf cart regulations considered

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners are trying to figure out a way to regulate golf carts, but they’re split on how to enact regulations without penalizing residents.

At a March 8 work session, Holmes Beach commissioners continued a discussion on enacting a registration program for golf carts that would only allow homesteaded city residents to drive them within city limits and give the operation of the vehicles on city streets a sunset period.

A golf cart is defined as being capable of traveling up to 20 mph and is not required to be registered with the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles. In contrast, a low-speed vehicle (LSV) may look similar to a golf cart, but can travel at speeds up to 25 mph and must have a state-issued license plate and insurance. Golf carts, unlike LSVs, are only allowed to be driven in the city of Holmes Beach, not in Anna Maria or Bradenton Beach.

If the new regulations pass, golf carts in Holmes Beach will be required to have a registration issued by the city. They would need to have insurance in case of an accident and would be allowed to be operated only during daylight hours, a custom commonly practiced now. The registration would be a one-time issue for residents because the operation of golf carts in the city would have a sunset period of five years.

Though the sunset period was initially proposed by city staff at 10 years, commissioners agreed 3-2 to lower the sunset period to five years, after which the vehicles would not be allowed to be operated in the city. The exception would be for operation at the Key Royale Golf Course.

With an eye toward preventing golf carts – which don’t have the same safety features as an LSV – from being rented to visitors, Mayor Judy Titsworth said she’d like to make whatever regulations are adopted by the city as painless as possible for residents. She also said she’s unconcerned with having golf cart owners pay for the registration, especially since it’s a one-time expense, one that she said the city could potentially absorb.

If the regulations pass a vote during a regular commission meeting, City Attorney Erica Augello said that commissioners should set a deadline for golf cart registration, suggesting a three-month deadline from the time the regulations are passed. No golf carts would be allowed to be registered in the city after that date and no golf carts could be operated in Holmes Beach legally without the registration.

After the meeting concluded, Commissioner Pat Morton said he’s changed his stance on the potential for golf cart regulations. Rather than requiring current owners to have a host of new equipment placed on the carts for them to operate legally, Morton said he’d rather grandfather in current golf carts for homesteaded residents.

“I don’t want to penalize the residents,” Morton told The Sun.

Adding to what he’d like to see happen, Morton said he’d prefer to have golf carts registered to homesteaded residents for the lifetime of the golf cart. After the golf carts die, a new one couldn’t be purchased.

The regulations will go back before commissioners for further discussion at a future meeting.

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Island resident seriously injured in golf cart/auto crash

Island resident seriously injured in golf cart/auto crash

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria resident Jana Samuels was seriously injured late Monday morning in a head-on crash involving a car and the golf cart she was driving.

The crash occurred on Monday, Nov. 29 at 11:47 a.m. in the 6800 block of Palm Drive, near the north end of the city, according to the Florida Traffic Crash Report provided by the Holmes Beach Police Department.

The block was temporarily closed again for a few hours Wednesday morning and early afternoon while the Holmes Beach Police Department conducted an additional investigation of the accident scene.

Island resident seriously injured in golf cart/auto crash
Members of the Holmes Beach Police Department conducted an additional investigation of the accident scene Wednesday morning. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

According to the crash report, a silver 2021 Nissan Versa driven by 59-year-old Michael Lynn Fitzgerald, of Ellenton, veered into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the yellow 2008 golf cart driven by 79-year-old Samuels.

According to the crash report narrative, “Driver of vehicle #1 (Fitzgerald), while driving north, crossed the centerline for unknown reason and struck vehicle #2, a golf cart, that was southbound, head-on. Driver of vehicle #1 appeared impaired by suspected drug influence. Driver of vehicle #1 cited for careless driving and DUI investigation ongoing.”

The crash report notes the driver was given a drug test and the results of that blood test were pending. According to the report, Fitzgerald was not suspected of alcohol use. Samuels was not suspected of drug or alcohol use.

According to the crash report, New Port Richey-based Trulieve Inc. is the owner of vehicle #1. Trulieve Inc. operates several medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Manatee County and Florida.

The report notes Samuels was ejected from the golf cart and transported to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton. As of Thursday evening, she remained at Blake and continued to receive treatment for the serious injuries she sustained.

Samuels, a well-known Island resident, is the mother of Anna Maria Island Sun Advertising Director Shona Otto.

Island resident seriously injured in golf cart/auto crash
Jana Samuels, left, was seriously injured in Monday’s accident. She and her daughter, Shona Otto, right attended a Friends of Manatee County Animal Services fundraiser in November. – Submitted

When contacted at the hospital Thursday afternoon, Otto said, “She sustained some critical, life-threatening injuries, but she’s hanging in there. She’s had a few surgeries and more are expected. I know my mom would appreciate the outpouring of support that’s come from the community and her many friends on the Island. This is going to be a long road ahead for her.”

According to Manatee County court records, in June 2020, a vehicle registered to Fitzgerald received a red light camera citation for failing to stop at a red light signal at the intersection of Cortez Road and U.S. 41. The fine for that citation was later paid. In 2007, Fitzgerald received a careless driving citation for a crash that resulted in property damage to another vehicle; the fine was later paid.

LSV talks proceed slowly

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners continue to discuss making the roads safer through Holmes Beach, particularly for drivers of cars, golf carts and low-speed vehicles (LSVs). Though commissioners made one decision, talks are planned to continue at a future work session.

When commissioners met on Oct. 26 for a work session, Mayor Judy Titsworth warned them that there is only so much they’re going to be able to do to regulate the use of LSVs in the city because they are considered vehicles by the state. She advised them instead to focus on the golf cart/LSV moratorium they enacted which involves new rental businesses coming to the city.

Police Chief Bill Tokajer said for safety purposes, the things he’d like to see reinforced through commission action is to have individual seatbelts on vehicles for each passenger, require the vehicles to be operated only by licensed drivers, remind drivers that they’re not allowed to operate golf carts and LSVs in bike lanes or on Manatee Avenue, East Bay Drive, or on the beach and require child restraints for small children. If approved by commissioners, those reminders to drivers will go on a sticker to be placed on rental vehicles as a visual reminder to those operating them in Holmes Beach.

Commissioners also are considering pushing the operation of golf carts and LSVs to roads in the city with a speed limit of 25 mph or less. To do that, commissioners also will need to agree to lower the speed limit in one section of Gulf Drive along the beach from 35 mph to 25 mph.

While commissioners agreed that each passenger needs to have an individual seatbelt, which also will limit the number of riders on the vehicles to the number of seats there are, all other considerations were continued to a future work session for further discussion.

Since commissioners began discussions on the regulation of golf carts, LSVs and rental businesses, some questions have been raised by the community about where the vehicles currently can be operated and whether trying to move the vehicles to more residential roads is a good idea.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said she is in favor of moving the operation of slower-moving vehicles to roads with a 25 mph speed limit to give motor vehicle drivers traveling along Marina and Palm drives some relief and hopefully lessen road rage in the city.

Addressing the issue of LSVs and golf carts not being allowed on state roads, Tokajer said he’s received memos from both the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol ruling that the vehicles are not allowed to be operated on state roads, though they can cross them. The state roads in Holmes Beach are Manatee Avenue and East Bay Drive. Because the vehicles are not allowed to be operated on Manatee Avenue, Tokajer added that they should not be driven across the Anna Maria Island Bridge.

Under state law, counties and local municipalities are allowed to prohibit the operation of LSVs within their jurisdiction on roads where the operation of those vehicles is determined to not be safe.

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Commissioners talk golf cart/LSV regulations

Commissioners talk golf cart/LSV regulations

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners met Oct. 12 for a work session about potential golf cart and low-speed vehicle regulations, focusing on how to have those vehicles travel safely through the city.

A vehicle defined as a golf cart in Holmes Beach does not require a license plate. A low-speed vehicle can look like a golf cart, one of the mini-cars rented on the Island or other street-legal, non-traditional vehicles. These have license plates and can be driven in all three Island cities, except that they cannot be legally driven on state roads, including Manatee Avenue and East Bay Drive in Holmes Beach, although the vehicles can cross these streets. Because they are not supposed to be driven on Manatee Avenue, they should not be driven across the Anna Maria Island Bridge.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said his concerns about golf carts and low-speed vehicles primarily include safety and speed. The slower-moving vehicles on main roads, such as Marina Drive, which has a 35 mph speed limit in some places, can cause issues for car and truck drivers because the lower-speed vehicle slows traffic down. It also creates a safety hazard, he said, because some LSV and golf cart drivers will pull into bicycle lanes to allow cars to pass or cars will pass slower-moving vehicles on the right through the bicycle lane. Both maneuvers are illegal and could seriously injure a bicyclist traveling in the bicycle lane if a driver pulls over without seeing them or stops ahead of the cyclist. Due to traffic congestion, sometimes cyclists move faster than the vehicles, Tokajer said.

His suggestion is to change the speed limit on a section of Gulf Drive along the beach from 35 mph to 25 mph to match the speed limit on the rest of the road. Doing this would give drivers of LSVs and golf carts a way to travel through Holmes Beach while driving only on roads with a speed limit of 25 mph or less.

To direct drivers to the correct path, he said stencils on the street can be used instead of signs and stickers placed on LSV rentals to alert drivers of the requirement to drive only on streets with a 25 mph or less speed limit, along with other regulations.

Tokajer also suggested mandating that all passengers on golf carts and LSVs be required to have their own individual seat belts. For children, a proper child restraint device is required.

The discussion is expected to continue at a future work session.

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Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts

Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Three companies that rent out golf carts within the city of Anna Maria have agreed to place decals in their carts reminding drivers and passengers of four state laws that apply when traveling on public streets.

The decals are an attempt to help alleviate growing concerns about the illegal behavior of those who use the rented golf carts to get around while vacationing in Anna Maria and elsewhere on the Island. The three participating rental companies are Beach Bums, Robinhood Rentals and Lazy Turtle Beach Rentals.

Rules of the road decals to be placed in rented golf carts
Decals that reference four state laws will be placed inside golf carts rented in Anna Maria. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

To be printed at the city’s expense and then voluntarily placed in the rented golf carts, the 3-inch by 5-inch decals will include as attention-getters the logos of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the Anna Maria Code and Parking Enforcement Department.

The decals will include a header that says, “City of Anna Maria Rules of the Road.”

The decals will include the following warning: “State of Florida laws are strictly enforced.”

The decals will address four state laws that will be more stringently enforced within the city limits.

  • “Only licensed drivers may operate this vehicle.”
  • “All passengers must wear seat belts.”
  • “Children 5 & under in a child restraint device.”
  • “Do not exceed the seating capacity of this vehicle.”

The decals do not address the speed at which a golf cart should travel when operating on a public street.

Murphy first proposed the golf cart decals on Aug. 18 when providing the commission with a recap of his private meeting with the three business owners.

During the Aug. 26 meeting, Murphy said a commission vote was not required to move forward with the proposed action, but he did want the commission’s input before doing so.

“You could put more on here, but we felt we wanted to keep it simple, clean and easy to read. These are the four types of violations that seem to be the most prominent. This is not intended to be a total solution for the issue of golf carts. It’s intended to be a step to see if we can’t improve the behavior of the golf carts within our city,” Murphy told the commission.

“We will pick up the tab because it’s something we’re asking them to do,” he added. “It’s a couple hundred dollars. It’s a good investment for the city.”

Murphy said the three business owners had no objections to the proposed decal design.

“They like it. They didn’t recommend any changes at all,” he said.

He noted the decals are voluntary and are not something the city can mandate business owners to do.

Murphy said he also reviewed the decal language with Sgt. Brett Getman, who leads the Anna Maria Unit of the Sheriff’s Office.

“We felt it was important to mention the State of Florida laws,” Murphy said.

Commissioner Mark Short asked the mayor who receives the citation if one is given for a violation of one or more of the state laws referenced on the decal. Murphy said the operator of the vehicle would receive the ticket for a violation of state law. The mayor said city-issued parking tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle – which would be the rental company if the parking violation involves a rented golf cart.

Commission Chair Carol Carter suggested the decals also be placed in rented, three-wheeled scoot coupes. Murphy said that could also be accomplished. He said he also hopes to have the city’s rules of the road presented to vacation rental guests when they check into their accommodations.

“Hopefully this helps. There’s no silver bullet. There’s no one thing you can do to help with this golf cart dilemma that we’ve got,” the mayor said. “I hope this will be a start in the right direction. The next step after this is to go to the companies that are bringing carts in and get the same type of agreement. These rules apply to all three cities on the Island. Those are State of Florida laws.”