Golf carts are leaving the paved trails of their country clubs and meandering into the streets of Iowa. 

Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines, could become the second suburb of the state’s largest metropolitan area to legalize golf cart usage on city streets. The proposed change comes just a year after Bondurant, Iowa, became the first Des Moines suburb to legalize golf carts on city streets. Ankeny, another Des Moines suburb, also considered legalizing street carts in 2022, but the proposal was dropped after the city’s mayor threatened to veto the proposed change.  

To legally operate a golf cart on city streets, Iowa law requires the vehicle to have multiple safety features such as a slow-moving vehicle sign, headlights, a safety flag, and a rearview mirror. Currently, golf carts are only allowed on streets with 25 mph speed limits.  

However, golf carts should not be legally allowed on city streets. They pose a large safety risk with no significant benefits to their communities’ transportation systems.  

Despite their innocent appearance and snail-like speeds, golf carts can be dangerous like any motorized vehicle. According to the National Library of Medicine, more than 18,000 injuries related to golf carts occur annually in the U.S. 

Many golf carts lack basic safety features in other vehicles, like seatbelts, directional signals, brake lights, wipers, and mirrors.  

Golf carts can travel up to 25 mph, making a collision on a golf cart potentially deadly. Golf carts are also known for their inability to turn rapidly, and because of their lack of doors, it is a common occurrence for drivers to eject themselves or passengers out of the vehicle when making sharp turns. These factors become more troubling when considering that golf carts will be sharing the roads with cars and trucks.  

Terrain is another concern regarding golf cart usage in Iowa. Pleasant Hill, as its name suggests, has hills. Driving golf carts on hills is considered extremely dangerous, as it is easy for the cart to flip over if a slope is too steep.  

On top of safety concerns, there is no practical reason for legalizing golf carts on city streets. To legally operate a golf cart, one must have a driver’s license, which means that anybody who drives a golf cart can and should be able to drive a car. It goes without saying that cars serve as a much faster and more efficient method of transportation.  

Outside of the golf course, golf carts serve no significant purpose that justifies their inclusion on city streets. Other slow-moving vehicles include tractors, large trucks, and road maintenance vehicles. Tractors and trucks are beneficial to cities and farming communities by transporting and supplying goods. Road maintenance vehicles ensure safety on all public routes. 

Golf carts are good at transporting sticks and balls.   

Another reason why it is impractical to operate a golf cart on Iowa streets is the weather. Iowa is not Florida. Iowa winters make golf cart transportation completely inaccessible. This means golf cart owners need to keep a large amount of space in their garages for their carts to hibernate during winter months.  

The safety risks and lack of benefits make legalizing the usage of golf carts on streets seem unfavorable. Cities in Iowa have more important laws to focus on than trying to legalize street carts.