Peachtree City

officials have received numerous complaints about 15-year-old golf cart

drivers violating the rules of the road by failing to stop at stop signs

and driving on the wrong side of the road.

The Police

Department is issuing warnings instead of ticketing violators. But in

the future, citations will be written which can result in points being

taken off the violator's driving permit, police Lt. John Anderegg explained

to the City Council at its regular meeting Thursday night.

Instead of

developing penalties or restricting the 15-year-olds from driving carts

after dark, council decided to let police educate the drivers about the

need to follow the rules of the road when golf carts are driven on city

streets.

Councilman

Steve Rapson questioned whether the complaints received were actually

for 15-year-old cart drivers, who were recently allowed to drive unsupervised

16-year-old, he said.

"I think

15-year-olds are getting a bad rap here," Rapson said.

But Councilwoman

Annie McMenamin said she thought allowing the 15-year-olds to drive golf

carts on their own "was a privilege ... so we're expecting a lot

out of the 15-year-olds."

McMenamin suggested

council wait six months to allow the department to conduct its education

program before taking any action. Police Chief James Murray is also supportive

of the six-month grace period, Lt. Anderegg said.

Lt. Anderegg

told council that in his opinion, golf carts can be less safe than cars

because they don't have seat belts or crumple zones to minimize injuries.

"There

are a lot of serious accidents," Anderegg said, specifically citing

a stretch of hilly path "that the kids appropriately call suicide

hill."

In some golf

cart accidents, occupants have been trapped in the golf cart or injured