Wanda English Burnett, Editor

With gas averaging between $3.75 and $4.00 a gallon this summer, driving a golf cart might seem to be a perfect solution to getting around town. Electric powered golf carts have no dangerous emissions as cars do, thus lending credibility to their use over cars and of course saving dollars at the gas pump. Gas powered ones emit little pollution use little gas.

An ordinance allowing golf carts and utility vehicles to be driven within the limits of the town of Osgood was passed by the town council on October 16, 2007. This ordinance has many residents of the town enjoying their golf carts and saving money at the same time. “It’s a great way to get around,” noted resident Bill Warren, who with his wife, Brenda, do a lot of their errands using their golf cart. “We run to the store, post office or whatever,” he told The Versailles Republican.

However, controversy is brewing in the town with the state police saying golf carts cannot legally be operated, even with a town ordinance. According to information from Sgt. Noel Houze of the Indiana State Police, “an ordinance does not excuse golf cart operators from liability under state statues, and state statues trump local ordinances.”

Sgt. Houze cited Indiana law. “To be lawfully operated upon a public street or highway in Indiana, motor vehicles must be registered and plated with the BMV (I.C. 9-18-2-29). He continued, “a golf cart is a motor vehicle as defined by I.C. 9-13-2-105(a) because it is a self propelled vehicle. That code is a definition statute that excludes certain types of vehicles from the definition of a motor vehicle. “Tractors, farm implements, and some mobilized scooters are excluded,” the officer told The Versailles Republican. However, golf carts are not listed in the exclusion, therefore they are defined as a motor vehicle.

Here’s the problem. A motor vehicle must be registered and plated with the BMV. But, the BMV will not register a golf cart because it doesn’t meet the safety and equipment standards to be driven on the highways, according to Sgt. Houze.

While it’s a confusing situation that Sgt. Houze says he feels will be addressed in legislature this year, right now, it’s illegal for golf carts to be driven on any public roadway, according to the state police.
Osgood Marshal John Hegge has a different take on the golf cart predicament. He says he’s been in touch with Prosecutor Ric Hertel’s office and is waiting for information from them on the situation. He cites Indiana Code under Title 14 saying he believes it does make provisions for towns and cities to provide ordinances allowing the use of golf carts. “I don’t have a problem with them (golf carts) being used,” he told The Versailles Republican.

The Osgood marshal said those operating the vehicles need to get a copy of the ordinance and abide by the rules set forth. The vehicles should have lights if operated after dark, be insured, and the operators have to adhere to all traffic rules.

In the ordinance, operators must come to a complete stop before crossing all streets and yield the right-of-way to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. They are required to stop at the command of law enforcement, and can pay a fine for violating rules set forth in the ordinance.

While Hegge wasn’t the marshal at the time the ordinance was drawn up for the town, he noted, “I’m sure it was researched and the town’s attorney was involved in the draft.”

Some other towns have been looking at adopting this type of ordinance, but Sgt. Houze cautions that the state can impose fines that range from a warning to having the vehicle towed and impounded. “While the Indiana State Police is not engaged in an active enforcement campaign to target the operation of golf carts on roadways, troopers will not turn a blind eye where violations of this nature are observed in the course of routine patrol,” he noted in a press release.

Sgt. Houze also noted that while people might think officers have “more pressing traffic enforcement issues that take priority over taking enforcement action against someone driving down a local street on a golf cart... a trooper observing a violation of Indiana traffic laws is sworn to take appropriate enforcement action.”

In the meantime, some residents of Osgood, who are law abiding citizens, hope the state police will not actively seek them out when they’re “trying to save money and abide by the laws passed in their own town.”

Warren says he doesn’t know what the big fuss is if people are following the rules in the ordinance. He also owns property in Florida where it’s common to even see signs at grocery stores designating “golf cart parking only. The vehicles are a popular way especially for senior citizens to get around,” he concluded.

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTO Bill Warren of Osgood, enjoys using his golf cart to get around town. He says it's economical to operate and easy to use. He hopes that the controversy over the usage of the vehicles doesn't prohibit him from driving his golf cart.