A swanky Miami-area municipality is toughening its golf car rules – while also finding space for lieniency and learning.
The village council of Key Biscayne, a community of multi-million dollar homes on Miami’s Biscayne Bay, recently approved Police Chief Frank Sousa’s golf car regulations, according to the Islander News. Councillors had initially favored harsher penalties and stricter regulations, but in the end decided on the chief’s recommendations.
“This is not perfect, but it’s progress,” council member Louis Lauredo said, according to the News.
Councilman Ignacio Segurola motioned to have golf cars banned from dusk to dawn. That motion did not go through, but Segurola was also pleased that the community was able to bring in some regulations.
“I appreciate the effort and it could be a step in the right direction,” he said.
Changes to the village code include penalties for driving without a valid driver’s license, driving without a village-issued permit and carrying more passengers than the golf car was designed for. Yearly inspections are also required. Equipment violations are to be enforced by Uniform Traffic Citation under Florida State Statute, according to the News, with a $75 first-offense violation and a $175 second-offense violation.
Council member Ed London cast the lone no vote, saying it’s a waste of money to require yearly inspections. Chief Sousa called it a “matter of safety” to make sure equipment such as headlights and tail lights are working.
Sousa, the News said, had been working on the regulations since coming into the job last fall. The new regulations, he said, “gives us the ability to enforce the village ordinance, rather than state statutes” and that he preferred “not to rule our youth with iron fists.” He gave one example of a 16-year-old who was stopped for driving without a license. The state ticket would be $185, while the village could fine him $75 instead.
“I want to collaborate with our youth,” he said. “There’s always ramifications for your actions.”
