April 2020 GCOptions Apr20 MAGZTER | Page 26

DMV, to register their carts. This registration can be done directly at the DMV in the way that you would register any oth- er motor vehicle. Make sure that your cart pos- sesses 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 lia- bility 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 mod- ified golf carts to ride on roads deemed appropriate by local municipalities. These roads and streets will change depending on the city or 26 WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM the county, which makes it im- portant to talk to these author- ities before riding a golf cart on any road. However, state law does re- quire that cart owners upgrade their vehicles in various ways to make them road-ready. For example, all golf carts on roads must have working head- lights, 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 pur- chased 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 com- munity. 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. Each month we will be cover a new state • Alabama (February 2020) • Alaska (March 2020) • Arizona (April 2020) • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming