Golf Carts are Hazardous to Your Health

by Mulligan Stu on Jun 12, 2008 10:23 AM EDT Comment 5 comments

I was thinking recently of what I perceived to be an increase in the number of news stories about people being injured in or by golf carts. And it turns out that my perception wasn't (as is so often the case) wrong.

A couple of studies have emerged citing how dangerous golf carts can be:

The research found that over a four-year period, nearly 50,000 people were hurt in accidents involving golf carts.

One of the studies, by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said about 1,000 Americans are hurt on golf carts every month.

Such figures are really meaningless without context - how many people used golf carts in the past four years? how many use them every month? what percentage of people using carts wind up having some sort of mishap? how does that compare to the number of people using cars, using lawnmowers, using electric knives, using hammers, who win up hurting themselves or getting hurt as a result?

I think the key part of the article about the studies is this sentence:

Males aged 10 to 19 and people over 80 had the highest injury rates.

Ah, so the dumbest among us and the most fragile among us are the ones most likely to get hurt in or by a golf cart. Makes sense.

As with everything else in life: Let's be careful out there, people. Make good decisions; don't act stupid.

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types of "injuries"

They only listed two injuries – “head injuries” (undefined), and bone fractures. What constitutes an “injury” ? Breaking a nail pulling a tee out of the holder ? Does banging your head on the roof count as a “head injury” ? (guilty) Paper cut from the score card ? Sprained ankle getting out ?

Ok – you really have to either be dumb or unlucky to break a bone in a golf cart. I admit to driving with the left foot swinging off the side and have almost banged into a tree – so it can happen, but I would have fallen into the “dumb” catagory if I hadn’t pulled my leg back.

This is the same nonsense that drives up our car insurance costs. A lot of courses make you sign a waiver before giving you a cart key – but how many towns require licenses and insurance to take a golf cart out on the streets ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 12, 2008 11:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that's why...

I throw my sticks on my back and walk whenever I can. Of course my scores will deteriorate as a result of doing so, but who cares? At least I won’t be involved in a cart accident. 8-)

by dianemarie on Jun 12, 2008 2:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

way to go, D

ruin the curve !! Did you mess up the grade curve back in school, too ? :-)

my scores are usually better when I walk – I lose track of the shape of the course riding in a cart along the cart path.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jun 12, 2008 2:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

deteriorating scores

I was referencing Stu’s post http://www.waggleroom.com/2008/6/6/547300/new-study-finds-that-being#comments
where the phantom researchers discovered that walking raises scores.

I play better when I’m walking too.

by dianemarie on Jun 12, 2008 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I heard about this on NPR this AM.

And they made a point of mentioning that one of the studies indicated that nearly half of these golf cart related injuries occur somewhere other than a golf course.

Which is to say, some of this could be idiots sitting around the house getting loaded and deciding to take the ol’ cart up to the corner Texaco for another sixer under the assumption that “it’s not really a DUI, right?”.

The most beautiful phrase in the English language: "Touchdown, Alabama!"

by turnover on Jun 12, 2008 3:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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