The Villages golf cart accident attorney can provide help after golf cart accidents cause injuries or fatalities. Unfortunately, there have been far too any accidents involving golf carts in The Villages. In fact, there have been so many incidents – including fatal incidents – that Villages News reported that the sheriff's office had expressed concern about how many deaths were occurring in accidents involving golf carts.
Sheriff's Office Stresses the Need for Better Golf Cart Safety
According to Villages News, a total of 13 golf cart deaths had occurred in The Villages over the course of just a seven year period, which Sergeant Robert Siemer of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office described as 13 incidents too many.
Siemer wanted to promote golf cart safety in response to the high number of accidents with the goal of reducing the number of people injured or killed. Unfortunately, on the very same morning of the day that the lecture on golf cart safety was organized, another accident in The Villages occurred. In that particular incident, a driver was ejected from her golf cart and she suffered a head injury and was trauma alerted. Concern over that accident prompted many people to attend the golf cart safety talk that was held by Sergeant Siemer.
Siemer had several recommendations for golf cart operators in order to try to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. First and foremost, the Sargent recommended installing seat belts in golf carts. Seat belts are not always installed as standard equipment, so many carts do not have them. If a cart does not come equipped with seat belts, owners should make it a point to add them.
Even when carts do come with seat belts, many of the people operating golf carts choose not to use them, which is a risky mistake. According to Siemer, all of the fatal golf cart accidents that occurred in The Villages involved the victim not wearing a seat belt and being ejected from the cart when the accident occurred. The victims who were ejected all hit their heads- some on the pavement from the street and others on a tree. By contrast, there were no recorded golf cart fatalities in which the driver was actually wearing a seat belt at the time of the deadly accident.
While there are incidents where golf carts tip over and roofs cave in, causing serious crushing injuries and potentially making the golf cart manufacturer liable for damages, golf cart accidents in which the cart completely rolls over are relatively rare, according to Siemer. In most cases, carts tip but don't fully roll so wearing a seat belt would help victims to reduce injuries in all of these incidents.
Siemer also warned that excessive speed is a major risk factor in golf cart accidents and he urges drivers to follow rules of the road including keeping their speed under 20 miles per hour, stopping at stop signs, and using turn signals.
If golf cart drivers fail to follow best practices and cause accidents to occur, victims should consult with The Villages golf cart accident attorney to get help pursuing claims for compensation.
