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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ind. Law - Golf carts may soon putter around town of Topeka (LaGrange County) [Updated]

Updating this ILB entry from June 9th about Oldenburg's plans, Robin Degner reports in the Goshen News:

The new golf cart ordinance for Topeka is in its final stages of completion.

“After last month’s meeting, we did a lot more research,” town attorney Bill Eberhard said.

The golf cart ordinance will require that all drivers have a valid driver’s license and be at least 16 years old.

Additionally, the golf carts must bear a “slow moving vehicle” sign during the day.

To be driven at night, they must have taillights, turn signals and head lights, which need to be used a half hour before sunrise and a half hour after sunset.

After some discussion, the Town Council and Eberhard agreed that only six passengers will be allowed on each golf cart. Insurance is also a necessity.

Eberhard said the penalty is a classic infraction, which is up to a $200 fine per offense.

“It could get rather salty pretty quickly,” Eberhard said.

For example, six teens without a driver’s license driving without insurance could result in an $800 fine.

[Updated at 6:30 pm] The City of Lebanon may be thought of as the place where the Indiana golf cart brouhaha began. See this ILB entry from Aug. 13, 2008, quoting a story headed "Golf cart use still illegal on city streets":

But, as this headline to a story in the June 9th Lebanon Reporter states: "Golf carts could return to city streets." Rod Rose reports:

Lebanon — Beginning July 1, pending legal review, golf carts that meet city standards will be allowed on Lebanon streets.

City officials warned golf cart owners not to start their engines prematurely.

“I want everyone to understand that this does not go into effect until July 1,” Mayor Huck Lewis said Monday.

On that day a state law allowing cities to regulate golf carts takes effect. The law clarifies confusing, contradictory and sometimes contentions positions between the Indiana State Police, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and local authorities.

The carting controversy began several years ago, when Lebanon streets were flooded by dozens of carts rented from an entrepreneur who trucked them into town for the Fourth of July festivities. Police were deluged with complaints of recklessly driven golf carts overloaded with passengers.

Before then, a few residents had used carts for errands and short trips.

An Indiana State Trooper began ticketing golf cart drivers, citing them for violations of motor vehicle laws.

Lebanon’s city council passed an ordinance designed to restrict and regulate golf cart use, but the ordinance was declared illegal in 2008. More than 70 golf cart permits, at $30 each, were issued in 2007. No permits were sold in 2008.

Darren Chadd, an attorney with the city’s law firm, will review the state law and Lebanon’s three-year-old golf cart ordinance.

If he finds no conflicts, carts are go for launch July 1.

Clerk-Treasurer Debbie Ottinger will keep her office open for 12 hours that day, in anticipation of the demand for $30 permits.

“Nothing will happen until everything’s been approved,” Ottinger said at Monday’s city council meeting.

Previous permits are invalid, she said Tuesday. “These permits are only for a specific year.”

Golf carts must be owned by the registrant, Ottinger said. No one renting a golf cart will be given a permit.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 11, 2009 02:32 PM
Posted to Indiana Law