Requiring seatbelts

on golf carts could be more hazardous that having no restraints at all,

according to Peachtree City Fire Chief Stony Lohr.

Seatbelts on

golf carts have been listed as hindering golf cart passengers from escaping

the vehicles when they slip into bodies of water on several occasions

nationwide, Lohr said.

"In California,

they had passed a law requiring seatbelts on carts, but they had to suspend

that because of safety and liability issues," Lohr said.

A good way

to protect young passengers is to have them wear helmets, the chief said.

About two months

ago, one local child suffered a head injury when she fell off a golf cart

and her head struck the pavement. The child, who had been strapped in

a seatbelt, was released from the hospital after an overnight stay.

Four of the

five golf cart fatalities reported nationwide in 1997 involved situations

where the cart actually rolled over, Lohr said.

Carts that

go faster than 20 miles per hour are required to have seatbelts, but those

used in Peachtree City aren't designed to exceed that speed, Lohr told

the City Council at its meeting last week. But golf cart manufacturers

even recommend against using car seats for infants and young children

riding on carts, he added.

Many of the

golf cart injuries reported in Peachtree City are due to passengers riding

on the cart incorrectly, such as standing on the back of the cart or hanging

a leg off the vehicle, Lohr said.

New councilman

Steve Rapson said the one thing that could improve the situation is for

common sense to be used when driving or riding on a golf cart.

In his research,

there was a lack of information on golf cart accidents and fatalities,

Lohr said. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin congratulated him on the thoroughness

of his study.