Photo: Getty Images
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Isle of Palms Police Department worked on two incidents involving a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle over the long holiday weekend.
For both, the department says the golf cart and LSV drivers were doing everything right, and they were not at fault.
As we continue into summer, the department is emphasizing that keeping these incidents minimized comes down to everyone who’s on the road to pay attention and follow the law.
They say the week of July 4 is one of the busiest the island sees, with an estimated 65,000 people on it, and more people means more golf carts and LSV’s cruising up and down the roads carrying anywhere from one to six people.
The department says the incidents boil down to people not paying attention and the surplus of people on the island.
Sgt. Matt Storen, with the department, says, “Our island is not that big, so when you have that many people in such a confined space, you have more cars, more golf carts, more low speed vehicles, a lot more traffic and unfortunately you’re going to have some collisions that go with that.”
Storen says the key things they’re doing to ensure people can enjoy themselves safely is educating people about the laws in place and not hesitating to enforce them.
“Do not drink and drive under the influence of narcotics or alcohol,” Storen says. “We have zero tolerance for it. You will get stopped, arrested, and spend the night in jail.”
He explains that golf cart and LSV collisions are something the department has been vigilant about for years, but this year it seems the community is more aware.
“The general public, they’re seeing more of it because of that tragedy on Folly Beach, but we are always trying to push our message of education and enforcement to make sure everyone is safe on our roads,” Storen says.
Storen says year to date, there have been 41 stops involving a golf cart or LSV, 10 of which were in June and six tickets.
Law enforcement’s message is for everyone to pay attention when behind the wheel to avoid accidents from happening.
“A car, a truck, any other standard, traditional vehicle weighs significantly more than a golf cart or LSV and if you’re not seat belted in or you do not have doors on your golf cart or LSV, the mechanics of a collision can be very severe,” Sgt. Anthony Gibson with the Charleston Police Department says. “We’ve seen that around here locally and recently.”
Gibson says the department has not seen a particular uptick in golf cart of LSV incidents in the past two months.
Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.