Golf carts, once seen as harmless vehicles for courses and communities, are now part of a troubling trend. As their use grows in neighborhoods, so do tragic accidents. A recent fatal crash near Myrtle Beach has reignited concerns about their safety on public roads.

Early Sunday morning, a golf cart and a pickup truck collided in Horry County. The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported the crash happened around 1:12 a.m. on Jordanville Road near Dog Bluff Road. Both vehicles were heading west when the pickup struck the golf cart from behind, sending it into a ditch.

The golf cart driver died at the scene, while the passenger was taken to the hospital. The pickup driver and passenger were unharmed. Authorities are investigating the cause, and the victim’s identity will be released once family members are notified. But this isn’t an isolated event.

Just earlier this month in The Villages, Florida, one of the country’s largest retirement communities, another golf cart crash sent an 82-year-old man to the hospital in critical condition. The man, making a routine left turn in his Yamaha golf cart, turned into the path of an oncoming SUV. The violent impact overturned the cart, flinging the elderly driver onto the pavement. Emergency crews quickly responded, and a helicopter was dispatched to airlift him to a nearby trauma center. While the SUV driver was unharmed, authorities issued a failure to yield to the golf cart driver.

And then, there was the harrowing scene in Virginia in August, where a woman found herself trapped beneath an overturned golf cart in a water hazard at Loudon Golf & Country Club. Thankfully, the bystanders didn’t wait for help, and they jumped into action, pulled her from the water, and began CPR immediately. Thanks to their swift efforts, she survived, but the incident served as yet another chilling reminder that golf carts, while convenient, can be dangerously deceptive in their risk.

And while incidents like these are deeply unsettling, the broader numbers behind them reveal an even more alarming truth — golf cart accidents aren’t just isolated events, they’re part of a rapidly growing problem.

Alarming Rise in Golf Cart Accidents Across the U.S

If you think golf cart accidents are rare, you’re not alone. Most people assume these low-speed vehicles pose little risk, but the reality paints a very different picture. Every year, an estimated 15,000 people in the U.S. are injured in golf cart-related accidents — that’s over 1,200 a month, or nearly 300 every single week. And these aren’t just minor bruises or scratches either. From serious head trauma to spinal injuries and broken bones, many of these incidents end in emergency room visits, with over 156,000 ER cases reported between 2007 and 2017 alone.

About 10% of golf cart accidents involve rollovers, which can be especially dangerous due to the lack of seatbelts and open sides. A single sharp, fast turn can easily flip a cart. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of these crashes involve experienced golfers, not just careless or new drivers.

Many of these injuries are preventable with simple safety measures like slowing before turns, staying focused, using lights at night, and treating golf carts like motor vehicles. Without consistent regulations and proper education, however, these risks will only continue to grow.