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Golf carts, like this one at Washington Country Club, and their legality on city streets are up for debate in many Daviess County communities this summer.
Photo by Kelly Overton /


Published June 26, 2009 10:01 pm - The streets in Daviess County have been littered with outlaw vehicles, slowly holding up traffic in areas that some would call dangerous.
But soon, golf carts will be legal in several cities and towns in the state. Starting July 1, carts with the proper modifications will be legal if the cities and towns a driver lives in passes an ordinance doing so.


From fairways to freeways?


By Nate Smith, Staff Writer

The streets in Daviess County have been littered with outlaw vehicles, slowly holding up traffic in areas that some would call dangerous.

But soon, golf carts will be legal in several cities and towns in the state. Starting July 1, carts with the proper modifications will be legal if the cities and towns a driver lives in passes an ordinance doing so.

Depending on where one lives in Daviess County, the debate on the ordinance may come as soon as the law takes effect. Town council members in Odon, Montgomery and Plainville said this week the ordinance will be discussed at their July meetings.

“We’ll probably present it for a vote in our July meeting,” Odon Town Council President Keith Bechtel said.

Bechtel went on to say the council had discussed the ordinance at a meeting in June and asked its attorney to draw up the ordinance.

Another town board member, Tommy Noble, said the town will probably pass the ordinance.

“I’m completely for them and most of the council is for them,” Noble said. “We won’t be charging a (cart) fee, unlike Loogootee.”

Loogootee already passed an ordinance earlier this month, according to Mayor Don Bowling. The fee, $25, will not go into effect until July 1.

In Plainville, Town Board President Dick Heshelman said the issue will be brought up at the board’s next meeting in July. The usual date, the second Thursday of the month, is being changed for July, Heshelman said.

Washington Mayor Larry Haag said Thursday the city is looking at the law and asked City Attorney Jeff Norris to research it, but could not say if the council would see or vote on an ordinance in July.

“There’s been some discussion and we are continuing to do some research,” Haag said.

A message was left with Elnora Town Board member Jerry Beck.

The largest issue on the carts may be in Montgomery, where many carts can be seen on the town roads. Board President Mike Healy said the town board will discuss the matter but he said “on a personal basis, I don’t want (an ordinance.)”

“I can’t speak for the rest of the board,” Healy said. “But I don’t think they are safe to be on city streets.”

Earlier this summer, accidents have been reported in the town from golf carts. On May 30, a child was taken to Daviess Community Hospital after a cart flipped over onto her. On May 20, a 12-year-old girl sustained injuries to her legs after a cart accident in Montgomery.



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