The Broward County Sheriff’s office recently released two vehicle guides to help Broward County residents prioritize their safety on the road. In Florida, golf carts and more recently electric bicycles can be seen all over the road.
Even seen at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, more and more students are coming to school in electric bicycles.
According to TrialPro, overcrowded roadways and bike paths may lead to an increase in injuries for both the people riding the bicycles and those on the road. The sheriff’s office released a guide on how to ensure safety when traveling via bicycle. The guide offers tips for both an electric bicycle as well as motorcycle. For an electric bicycle, they recommend a max speed of 28 mph and continuously checking the condition of the bicycle to ensure that it will not break during use.
Alongside the bicycle safety guide, the office also released a guide on how to properly use a low speed golf cart, to ensure the safety of passengers and those on the road. According to ABC news, Florida is labeled the golf cart capital of the nation. In just Central Florida alone, there are approximately 75,000 golf carts. However, with the ownership of a golf cart comes a responsibility to ensure it is registered and insured.
“My parents allowed me to start driving our golf cart when I got my license,” sophomore Aubrey Lee said. “I think that while it is a very easy way to get around my community, it is also very dangerous to me and the people around me. I think these guides are going to help raise awareness to new golf cart drivers.”
In Florida, one needs a learner’s permit at 15 and a driver’s license at 16 to drive a golf cart, making golf carts a very popular form of transportation for teenagers, according to multiple news sites throughout Florida.
The guide presented by the office offers helpful information on different types of golf carts, as well as the max speeds available on most golf carts. The guide also shows a diagram with identifications of which parts of the golf carts are which.
“The guides that the Broward Sheriff’s office released are very important for people living in Florida,” senior Ashley Alfaro said. “ I feel like every time I drive I see electric vehicles and golf carts and I think these guides will help inform people on how to safely operate them.”
These guides offer important information to the residents of Broward County to help ensure their safety on the road.
