Letter to the editor

Should golf carts be allowed on city streets?

To the Editor:

Should golf carts be used to make short trips to the grocery store and other places around town?

This question has generated a lot of talk in this neck of the woods ... enough talk that I am seriously considering filing legislation to address the issue.

What kind of legislation? For that, I need your help.

Certainly plenty of people have given me their opinions about the regulation of golf carts on the streets and alleyways of Mitchell, Linton, Oolitic, Shoals, French Lick, West Baden, Paoli, Orleans, and Campbellsburg.

Under the current laws of our state, golf carts may not be operated on streets or in alleys, even if they meet the standard requirements for slow-moving vehicles by having lights, turn signals, seat belts and a proper emblem.

I have talked with county prosecutors. They are of the belief that golf carts are not "street legal" because they cannot be registered with the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Prosecutors also have legitimate questions about the safety of operating these carts on streets in our cities and towns.

I also know that rural, less-populated areas do have special, unique characteristics that should be addressed in any such discussion of this type.

As a believer in local government and home rule, I feel that mayors and the members of city and town councils have the best ability to determine what should be done in their communities to regulate the flow of traffic. From my talks with Linton Mayor Tom Jones and Mitchell Mayor Dan Terrell and the good people who serve on the town councils in our area, I believe these folks should be the ones to determine what is best for the citizens they represent.

Common sense regulations enacted by local governments should be respected and accepted whenever and wherever possible.

It should not be against the law for a senior citizen to drive a golf cart to the store for groceries or to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. It should not be illegal for a person to operate a golf cart to go to and from work in a city regulated by local ordinance. Questions of safety can be addressed at the local level.

I am a member of an interim legislative study committee that is spending this summer and fall looking at alternative methods of transportation. I intend to use some of that time to research this issue and determine if there is a balance between the concerns of the law enforcement community and the rights of local units of government to determine the rules that govern its citizens.

Is this an issue that should be handled by the Legislature? I want to find out, and I want you to give me your ideas -- what do you think?

Government should reflect the best interests of its citizens. Common sense and reasonable behavior should be the essence of law. Clarity of intent should be the focus of our laws.

Where doubt arises and confusions exists, we must be responsible. Whenever reasonable behavior and common sense can prevail, those of us who serve in the Legislature should give it a chance to thrive.

As I have come to find, this quest is better described by one of you, Merlin Hamke of Bedford told me that the most important thing is to "work together for the benefit of everyone."

Please contact me at h62@in.gov, 200 W. Washington Street, Indianapolis, Ind., 46204.

State Rep. Sandy Blanton

Paoli