Arizona Golf Cart Laws
Arizona is a beautiful state that is full of beautiful weather and incredible driving conditions.
As a result, people often enjoy taking a multitude of vehicles out for rides.
The same is true of golf carts.
Arizona has a variety of different rules and regulations that help to keep the roads as safe as possible.
These laws will vary depending on various aspects of state and municipal laws.
Thankfully, these regulations are quite easy to understand, even by the average person with little law experience.
Understanding Current Federal Law
Federal law is not particularly strict when it comes to golf carts.
Typically, the federal government doesn’t interfere with a state’s restrictions regarding golf carts because they limit their rules to vehicles that exceed speeds of 20 miles per hour.
As most golf carts are not capable of exceeding these speeds, this means that state laws regulate a vast majority of golf cart use on state and local roads.
Any vehicle that is manufactured to travel over 20 miles per hour will fall under federal laws.
However, golf carts are incapable of meeting these speeds unless they are modified specifically by the owner.
As a result, modified golf carts – even though they go over 20 miles per hour – are still subject to state and not federal law.
Typically, these laws require many types of upgrades to a cart before it is road ready.
When a golf cart is fully upgraded to become road-ready, it is then classified as a low-speed vehicle.
Any vehicle that qualifies for this grading requires headlights, stop lights, turn signals, tail lamps, parking brakes, windshields, seat belts, reflex reflectors, and Vehicle Identification Numbers.
However, Arizona is currently exempt from the need for a windshield due to state laws.
These changes are necessary because they set up regulations and guidelines that ensure all vehicles on the road meet a minimum standard of safety.
While cart owners may take to the road without meeting all of these standards, they will be breaking the law to do so.
Such lawbreaking is not advised, as drivers may end up suffering from fines if caught and even jail time if their behavior causes dangerous accidents.
Talk to your local DMV officials to get a better idea of what you need to do.
Registration and Insurance Rules
Beyond these laws outlined above, Arizona also has regulations on registering a vehicle and getting insurance.
For example, all golf cart owners are required, by the Arizona DMV, to register their carts.
This registration can be done directly at the DMV in the way that you would register any other motor vehicle.
Make sure that your cart possesses a valid VIN or Vehicle Identification Number before you register it.
These numbers can be found on the cart but can also be created if you do not have one.
Beyond registration, insurance regulations help to keep riders and others safe from injury.
Currently, cart owners need liability coverage at $10,000 and at least $15,000 in bodily injury.
Riders are free to get policies for more, if they like, but need to hit these minimums to ride on roads.
Higher insurance will protect you in case of a serious injury but probably exceeds most damage issues with a cart.
Talk to your insurance agent to get an idea of what coverage level is appropriate for you.
Upgrades for Safety Purposes
Before these carts can ride on any street, however, they must be properly upgraded to keep them safe.
Currently, Arizona allows modified golf carts to ride on roads deemed appropriate by local municipalities.
These roads and streets will change depending on the city or the county, which makes it important to talk to these authorities before riding a golf cart on any road.
However, state law does require that cart owners upgrade their vehicles in various ways to make them road-ready.
For example, all golf carts on roads must have working headlights, brake lights, and horns.
They also need to possess an upgraded engine to make them capable of hitting road-safe speeds.
These engines can be purchased from various golf cart equipment companies.
The engine type varies between electrical and gasoline models – either is appropriate, as long as it hits the appropriate speed.
Like with all vehicles, maximum road speed varies depending on those set in place by the community.
The state restricts golf carts to a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour on any road on which they travel.
Most carts will rarely if ever, be capable of exceeding these speeds.
And travel is restricted to roads that have a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour.
As a result, golf carts cannot travel on many state roads nor on a vast majority of federal highways in Arizona.
Federal Golf Cart Laws
Helpful Links
iltva.org
www.queencreek.org
www.ssvhoa.com
www.one.nhtsa.gov
Disclaimer
Even though our guides are thorough and researched, it is highly recommended that you perform your own research and check with your local municipality on rules as well.
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