{"id":515441,"date":"2026-03-05T06:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/515441\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T06:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:50:15","slug":"tampa-study-finds-increase-in-golf-cart-crashes-starting-in-2021-while-experts-warn-of-injuries-legal-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/515441\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa study finds increase in golf cart crashes starting in 2021 while experts warn of injuries, legal issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Golf Golf cart crashes on the rise<\/a> <\/p>\n

Golf carts are a staple in Florida, but they’re posing a bigger danger. Golf cart crashes are on the rise after a significant drop in 2021. FOX 13’s Danielle Zulkosky reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – A new study<\/a> created by a Tampa-based law firm breaks down data about golf cart crashes, the injuries that follow and the groups most vulnerable to crashes.<\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

The study comes from Diaco Law Firm, which noticed an increase in both golf cart use and crashes.<\/p>\n

“They’re dangerous vehicles,” Joseph Diaco, the founder and attorney at Diaco Law firm, said. “They go very fast.”<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

We live in Florida, where you will likely see a golf cart on the road every day and not just on the course.<\/p>\n

READ: Tampa rolls out new pedestrian safety improvements in Ybor City after deadly crash<\/a><\/p>\n

“I think it’s the normalcy of golf carts and the fact that we’re just seeing them more often on the streets than we ever used to before,” Diaco said.<\/p>\n

Diaco’s study shows an increase from 2021 to now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

He said it is all about protection, which starts with proper insurance.<\/p>\n

“Auto insurance, including personal injury protection on your golf cart, because it’s considered a slow-moving vehicle,” Diaco said. “If you’re driving it yourself, and you have guests on it, God forbid they fall off the golf cart, you’re responsible for it.”<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

He explained that you should be sure to keep their keys away from young teens.<\/p>\n

READ: Tampa Bay Area’s ‘State of the Region’ report shows mixed results<\/a><\/p>\n

A 2023 Florida law requires drivers of golf carts on public roads to be at least 15 years old with a valid learner’s permit or 16 with a valid driver’s license.<\/p>\n

“Roughly 17% of all accidents are between 12 and 16-years old and, believe it or not, a lot of them happen on the roads, not on golf courses,” Diaco said. “That’s one of the things we see in Florida.”<\/p>\n

Injury rates also start to creep up for drivers in their 60s.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes elderly people lack the skill set,” Diaco said. “They lack the coordination, the reactive time that we have when we’re younger people.”<\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Many of the injuries doctors see include fractures, cuts and internal injuries.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“There was somebody driving with a nanny on the back and the nanny fell off with the baby. That’s a bad accident. That’s a bad injury,” Diaco said. “The driver just accelerated a little too quickly. She fell right off the back. Thankfully, she cradled the baby. The baby wasn’t hurt, but she had serious injuries.”<\/p>\n

READ: E-Motos vs. E-Bikes: Police and doctors warn Florida families about dangers, consequences<\/a><\/p>\n

But, there are ways to stay safe. Some newer golf carts have some upgraded safety features, including seat belts that experts say you should consider using.<\/p>\n

The study found men get in slightly more golf cart crashes, with\u00a055% of the total crashes over the last ten years.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this story comes from interviews done by FOX 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.<\/p>\n

Tampa<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golf cart crashes on the rise Golf carts are a staple in Florida, but they’re posing a bigger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,36146,20653,622,155131,44,82,13272,182],"class_list":{"0":"post-515441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-crime-publicsafety","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-golf","13":"tag-hillsborough","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-tampa","17":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}