Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2005 | 11:19 a.m.
As gasoline prices continue to rise, the use of golf carts in master-planned communities, apartment complexes and other areas for short trips could become more prevalent.
But an unusual accident on Monday showed that the vehicles, though small and relatively slow, can still pose a danger to pedestrians.
A 90-year-old Las Vegas woman was in critical condition Monday afternoon after she was struck by what was likely a slow-moving golf cart outside her assisted living facility earlier that morning, Metro Police said.
Officers say Rose Baca stepped in front of the golf cart driven by 50-year-old Maria Almazan as she drove through the parking lot of the Carefree Senior Living facility at 1600 S. Valley View Blvd., between Oakey and Charleston boulevards.
Baca was dragged a short distance before Almazan brought the golf cart to a stop, Officer Jose Montoya, a Metro spokesman, said. Just how far Baca was dragged was under investigation Monday afternoon, he added.
"By the time she (Almazan) stopped she had probably dragged her (Baca) a few feet," Montoya said.
Almazan, who police said was an employee of the assisted living community, was not cited, Montoya said. Baca was admitted at University Medical Center in critical condition and was later moved to the hospital's intensive care unit, UMC spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger said.
Baca remained in the hospital's trauma unit this morning.
A call to Carefree Senior Living was referred to Carrie Barone, director of property management for Templeton Development, which manages the center. Barone did not return phone calls to her office.
Because the center's parking lot is privately owned, it is not subject to laws that restrict golf carts from traveling on public streets and sidewalks, Montoya said. If caught, drivers operating the motorized vehicles there are subject to a misdemeanor traffic citation, he said.
But, because most golf carts are operated on private property, it's rare that an incident requires Metro's intervention, police said. In fact, Monday's collision was the only such incident in Montoya's memory that left a pedestrian seriously injured, he said.
"I can certainly tell you it's not an everyday occurrence or even a weekly or monthly occurrence," Montoya said.
Use of golf carts on sidewalks and public streets in some parts of the valley is common, however. For example, wall repair crews that have been working in the Green Valley Ranch subdivision for the last several weeks have had golf carts on the sidewalks almost every weekday, and landscapers in the same neighborhoods frequently do the same.
Officer Todd Rasmussen, Henderson Police spokesman, did not provide answers to the Sun's questions about golf cart usage this morning.
Golf carts also are often sighted at other master-planned communities throughout the Las Vegas Valley. They also are popular with both golf aficionados, of course, and are often used by the maintenance crews that keep up the sprawling courses.
The electric-powered vehicles as well as the high mileage gasoline versions are becoming increasingly popular in the valley, said Ed Clair, the office manager for Double Eagle Golf and Utility in Las Vegas, which sells the popular Club Car model.
Among the dealer's clients are Nellis Air Force Base, which recently bought four of Club Car's top-of-the-line cart, which includes an enclosed cab with roll-down windows, air conditioning and a heater, and a host of casinos and private companies spread out over large complexes, he said.
The vehicles cost between $8,000 for a stripped-down model and up to $20,000 for the top-of-the-line version, but when compared with small pickup trucks, they are a more affordable option, Clair said.
"If you look at the price of a pickup truck they (the golf carts) are worth it," he said. "You can't get a pickup truck, a decent one anyway, for under $20,000 anymore."
A small pickup also has higher associated expenses for registration and maintenance than a golf cart does, Clair said.
At the Anthem Country Club, a large gated community in Henderson that caters to golfers, drivers are almost as likely to be seen driving a motorized cart as a traditional automobile, making them subject to strict rules imposed by the private homeowner's association, Ann Lattanzio, association manager for the Anthem Country Club Association, said.
While the community association does not own or use any golf carts for its own maintenance, residents who use them on Anthem streets are required to submit proof of insurance to the association and must display a sticker that serves as a kind of registration for the private club, she said.
Like traditional automobiles, they must stay under 25 mph on "main loop" roads that circle the community and 15 mph on the secondary streets, Lattanzio added.
Other private communities, including the massive Summerlin North Homeowners Association, have banned the use of golf carts on its streets altogether, said Summerlin North President Hal Bloch.
Instead, maintenance personnel there either use small pickup trucks or diesel-powered tractors that allow workers to access remote paths, he said. Drivers of those vehicles are required to stop until any pedestrians on those paths have passed.
Few, if any, are directly owned by Summerlin North, he said. Most are used by and are owned by subcontractors who do landscaping and maintenance work.
"We don't really have rules governing golf carts," Bloch said. "You can't use them on the road and the golf courses are private."
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