Golf Cart-Related Injuries on Dramatic Rise
How much do we take golf-cart riding for granted?
No matter how responsible we try to be, there’s something about getting behind the wheel of one of these things that seems to make us let our guard down a bit. And we’re not just talking about carts on the golf course; drive through any sprawling housing development along the Grand Strand, and you’re dodging wayward Club Cars as much as the knucklehead in that Chevy Tahoe who’s too busy to keep his eyes on the road while sending a text message to his buddy.
Golf carts are everywhere now. And you’d figure that golf cart-related injuries would be on the rise, too.
Now, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine would agree with you – and have the numbers to back it up.
According to its recently released study, they’ve gone up dramatically since 1990, to as much as 4.5 injuries per 100,000 population today.
There have been roughly 148,000 golf cart-related injuries reported between 1990 and 2006, ranging from an estimated 5,770 in 1990 to approximately 13,411 cases in 2006. The basic reasons? Golf carts are faster and more powerful than ever before; they’re being used well beyond the golf course; and, at least by my observation, they’re being used by folks young and old with increasing carelessness.
So I ask you, fellow Beach Bloggers, your thoughts on how to increase the safety factor here. What do you say?
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