We do everything to protect our children with required by law car seats and put side air bags in our cars yet children are left totally unprotected from the dangers of falling out of a moving vehicle like a golf cart with NO safety features for children. This need to be regulated to protect children from parents who feel this is safe. My ex takes my son golfing and he is 4 and my heart is in my throat the entire time worrying that he will fall out. And while they are at it school buses need them too.
My seven year old son fell off a golf cart and died from a head injury on 8/30/2004 and I just saw an article entitled, "Golf Cart Safety not a worry" in our newspaper. It is time for more regulations around golf cart safety.
I think it's critical that golf carts are more regulated. I live in a golf course community and see all kinds of silly things taking place that could easily turn into a tragedy.
When Golf Cart manufactories fail to provide safety features then congress has to step in. Our children are dying because nobody knows how dangerous these are.
There need to be changes made here, just like the changes that were needed for "3-wheelers"
Changes need to be made at the manufacturing level....no matter what the cost. Children and senior citizens are the target group for these vehicles. Small changes would make all the difference.
There are many "victims" to this type of tragedy.
My daughter was the driver of the golf cart rollover that killed her friend: Jordan Kori Jackson. Not only did she lose her friend in this senseless tragedy, but will forever bare the scars of having to live with the "guilt" of being at the wheel when this happened.All accidents are "preventable" but very often we only learn this once someone has been severely injured or a life has been lost. I have been told that crash investigators have determined that in the crash involving my daughter and Jordan, the golf cart flipped on the "left side"....the side my daughter was on. I am still amazed that my she survived this crash. She sustained moderate physical injuries that we are still dealing with 7 months later. But, the most severe injuries to her, are the ones you "can't see". The emotional scars left from the senseless death of her friend, and the subsequent cruelty of some mostly uniformed or misformed people, she will never fully heal. We as a family are forever changed by this. If the safety measures needed are accurate, and it would cost the Industry a mere $200 a unit then all I can say is:....WHAT ARE THEY WAITING FOR?
I had no idea how dangerous these golf carts were until my 15 year old niece Jordan Kori Jackson was killed while riding as a passenger in a 1994 EZ Go Golf Cart.
The Cart was going down a hill and the driver perceived that the brakes were not going to stop the cart so the driver locked the brakes up which in turn caused the cart to roll over and Jordan sustained a fatal head wound.
After the accident my entire family started researching the issue and learned that there are approximately 1,000 golf cart accidents per month and that safety standards for golf carts are almost non existent.
The manufacturers of golf carts have known for more than 30 years that these carts need to have brakes on all 4 wheels, yet most golf carts only have brakes on the front or rear wheels (which causes the cart to become uncontrollable) if the cart is being driven on an incline and the brakes are applied forcefully.
The bottom line is that at least 13 states now allow golf carts to be used on public roads as a means of transportation, yet the safety standards for these carts still are yet to evolve.
Every time safety advocates attempt to mandate seat belts the industry argues that safety belts would result in people being trapped in a cart that is about to roll over.
When safety advocates lobby for mandatory roll cages or (ROPS) Rollover Protection System the golf cart the industry cries poor.
Since the Federal Government only tracks injured victims who make it to the hospital alive there is no telling how many people are killed each year in America while riding in golf carts but we believe that the number could be as high as 60 deaths per year.
These deaths could be virtually eliminated with ROPS, Seat Belts and with 4 brakes on all golf carts. It would cost the golf cart manufacturers less than $200 per unit to put 4 brakes on all carts.
Please help us with our crusade to educate our public and legislators so that no more senseless and preventable deaths will occur on these seemingly harmless vehicles.
Too many lives are being lost, too many victims are still suffering, too easy to solve this issue!!!
"...what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground, how can you run when you know....."
The manufacturers of these golf carts need to install a neutral lock out in the drive train so that if the cart is in neutral it will not roll or if it is rolling it can not be placed in neutral. Also, a speed governor needs to be installed so that the top speed of a golf cart is held under 10 MPH.
My 15 year old daughter was killed on July 25th 2010, in an golf cart accident. She was also a passenger. Her name is Jordan Kori Jackson.
I have since met yet another mother in New York who's daughter (Elaina Rose Canestrare) died on June 21st, 2010. This has to stop.
We feel that people must be warned of the potential dangers these carts pose. Children are being injured and many are dieing every month and few seems to notice. Awareness is the answer.
WE NEED HELP NOW!
We recently had a accident involving my two daughters while riding on the neighbors golf cart. 3 yo. ended up with massive bruising on her shines and arms.
No child should have to be taken home at such a young age, due to a "loose" law. It should and WILL be rewritten that ANY child who is riding in a golf cart MUST have a helmet on at all time and with a licined adult. They must remain seated and buckled at ALL times. These tragidies can be prevented by just a few changes. Why not make them for our future?
If it's not a crime for manufacturers to foist hazardous recreational equipment like these golf carts off on the public, it certainly should be. And the penalty shouldn't be a mere fine, just part of "the cost of doing business." No, the penalty should be jail time. Hard time.
My grandaughter went to the same school as Bella. She said she always had a smile on her face. So sorry for your loss. My 7 year old grandaughter will never forget her.
Some changes definitely need to be made to golf carts. I like the idea of the golf cart but I always feel like I'm going to fall out of it, no matter how careful the person driving is. They feel very unsafe. Doesn't mean I don't like them or want them banned, or anything, they just need to rethink the safety of the people using them.
i think they should have the carats fixed to where children should not fall off or the parents should be with them when they are on the,,,,,it seems there are more laws that needs more attention than this one..as our country is in more dire need.and i fully support protecting our children ,but the govt dont need to be in our lives deciding every little law for the familys,let the famlys take some responsibilities on their own,and rasie the children and protect them
I have been in golf carts driven by people showing me apartments recently and I had to hold on tightly so that I wasn't thrown out. This is common sense to have seat belts in ALL golf carts...let's prevent more tragedies like this! My prayers go to this family!!
Gabriella's Law
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Changes need to be made at the manufacturing level....no matter what the cost. Children and senior citizens are the target group for these vehicles. Small changes would make all the difference.
My daughter was the driver of the golf cart rollover that killed her friend: Jordan Kori Jackson. Not only did she lose her friend in this senseless tragedy, but will forever bare the scars of having to live with the "guilt" of being at the wheel when this happened.All accidents are "preventable" but very often we only learn this once someone has been severely injured or a life has been lost. I have been told that crash investigators have determined that in the crash involving my daughter and Jordan, the golf cart flipped on the "left side"....the side my daughter was on. I am still amazed that my she survived this crash. She sustained moderate physical injuries that we are still dealing with 7 months later. But, the most severe injuries to her, are the ones you "can't see". The emotional scars left from the senseless death of her friend, and the subsequent cruelty of some mostly uniformed or misformed people, she will never fully heal. We as a family are forever changed by this. If the safety measures needed are accurate, and it would cost the Industry a mere $200 a unit then all I can say is:....WHAT ARE THEY WAITING FOR?
The Cart was going down a hill and the driver perceived that the brakes were not going to stop the cart so the driver locked the brakes up which in turn caused the cart to roll over and Jordan sustained a fatal head wound.
After the accident my entire family started researching the issue and learned that there are approximately 1,000 golf cart accidents per month and that safety standards for golf carts are almost non existent.
The manufacturers of golf carts have known for more than 30 years that these carts need to have brakes on all 4 wheels, yet most golf carts only have brakes on the front or rear wheels (which causes the cart to become uncontrollable) if the cart is being driven on an incline and the brakes are applied forcefully.
The bottom line is that at least 13 states now allow golf carts to be used on public roads as a means of transportation, yet the safety standards for these carts still are yet to evolve.
Every time safety advocates attempt to mandate seat belts the industry argues that safety belts would result in people being trapped in a cart that is about to roll over.
When safety advocates lobby for mandatory roll cages or (ROPS) Rollover Protection System the golf cart the industry cries poor.
Since the Federal Government only tracks injured victims who make it to the hospital alive there is no telling how many people are killed each year in America while riding in golf carts but we believe that the number could be as high as 60 deaths per year.
These deaths could be virtually eliminated with ROPS, Seat Belts and with 4 brakes on all golf carts. It would cost the golf cart manufacturers less than $200 per unit to put 4 brakes on all carts.
Please help us with our crusade to educate our public and legislators so that no more senseless and preventable deaths will occur on these seemingly harmless vehicles.
"...what if you knew her and found her dead on the ground, how can you run when you know....."
The manufacturers of these golf carts need to install a neutral lock out in the drive train so that if the cart is in neutral it will not roll or if it is rolling it can not be placed in neutral. Also, a speed governor needs to be installed so that the top speed of a golf cart is held under 10 MPH.
I have since met yet another mother in New York who's daughter (Elaina Rose Canestrare) died on June 21st, 2010. This has to stop.
We feel that people must be warned of the potential dangers these carts pose. Children are being injured and many are dieing every month and few seems to notice. Awareness is the answer.
WE NEED HELP NOW!
Steven A. Ager, M.D.
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