Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Are golf carts a potential liability on campus?

  • By Troy Engel
  • 07/01/18

Golf carts are designed specifically for golf courses, but they are not street legal. Therefore, they can’t be driven on community streets. That means that many college campuses have their golf carts driving down streets illegally. This leaves the only option of driving on sidewalks where they are a liability to distracted students who are rushing from class to class, texting their friends, or using earbuds.

Students belong on sidewalks and motor vehicles belong on streets. With hundreds to thousands of distracted students, golf carts whizzing down the sidewalk in a rush to get to the next job can create a perfect storm for potential accidents and campus liabilities.

Low-speed vehicles (LSVs) are street-legal, motorized vehicles that are limited to 25 mph and have a maximum gross vehicle weight of 3,000 lbs. Being street legal means they have seat belts, automotive-grade windshields, windshield wipers, turn signals, headlights, back-up cameras, rearview mirrors, side-view mirrors, SAE test-certified roofs, all-forward facing seats, etc. A majority of LSVs are also 100-percent electric, making them more environmentally friendly and sustainable for the campus fleet budget.

LSVs can do everything a golf cart can do and much more. Utility fleets have cargo capacities approaching 1,500 lbs. and a wide variety of customizable accessories to fit your maintenance and repair needs. Passenger versions can carry 2 to 6 people, giving you the ability to shuttle your VIPs, students, and parents taking campus tours.

As fleet managers are evaluating their fleet composition and making regular vehicle replacement purchases, think safety first and consider an all-electric LSV option.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management July/August 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Troy Engel is the marketing specialist Polaris Industries – GEM. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • Armstrong World Industries Acquires Parallel Architectural Products

    Armstrong World Industries, provider of interior and exterior architectural applications, recently announced that it has acquired the Colorado-based Parallel Architectural Products, according to a news release.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.