05-02-2025
Lawmakers consider allowing South Carolina towns to permit nighttime golf cart drives
SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — They're a staple of nearly every coastal community and large South Carolina subdivision: Golf carts as substitutes for more traditional vehicles on side streets and beaches.
Common as they may be, it's currently illegal for them to be used at night, despite recent efforts by lawmakers to relax that rule by giving local governments the option to craft rules around their use once the sun goes down.
'This is not just a coastal thing. Whether it's illegal or not, we need to figure it out and fix, but it's happening in these small towns,' state Rep. Chris Huff, R-Pelzer, said on Tuesday during a House Education and Public Works subcommittee.
Last year, a measure that would give communities the power to authorize nighttime golf cart use made it through the House 116-1, but failed to even get a hearing in the Senate.
Unlike other low-speed vehicles, golf carts typically lack basic safety features such as seatbelts, headlights and state-approved windshields — making them a greater roadway hazard, critics say.
'Even with lights they're small. If a golf cart is hit by whatever kind of vehicle, it provides no protection like an automobile does,' David Wylie of Farm Bureau Insurance told lawmakers.
State Rep. Jeff Bradley, R-Hilton Head Island, said he couldn't support broadening the law.
'I'm all about personal freedom, but I think there are times we are obligated to govern,' he said. After dark … I'm not so sure I want to be in a car sometimes with 6,000 pounds of steel around me, much less 400 pounds of fiberglass.'
In Surfside Beach for instance, golf carts are only allowed during daylight hours. In February, that means between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Rod Schilling, founder of Surfside Beach-based S2 Golf Cart Solutions, said operating the vehicles in ways they're not designed for can be hazardous for all.
'These are cars that were taken off the golf course and then brought out and became street vehicles,' he said. 'So somebody driving a cart late at night, coming up on a vehicle that's only going 12 or 14 miles an hour can become an issue.'
Both the Municipal Association of South Carolina and South Carolina Association of Counties support giving local jurisdictions the power to set their own rules. So too do lawmakers like Rep. Bill Hixon, a North Augusta Republican who's sponsoring the measure.
Part of the reason why, he said, is because for a number of years nighttime golf care use was permitted in counties with more than 150,000 people and barrier island areas. That law lapsed in 2021, but could be revived as well.
Hixon said using golf carts to short distances such as to festivals, parks and recreational areas could be a convenient alternative to cars.
'I feel like we're discriminating when you can already do it at the beach, and the beach has a whole lot more traffic than my little town,' he said.
Schilling, who's also a member of Surfside Beach's parking and business committees, said officials have discussed the potential bill.
Mayor Robert Krouse told News13 said if the General Assembly approves the legislation, town leaders will 'review it in detail to determine what is mandated versus what is allowable.'
The full House Education and Public Works Committee is expected to take up the bill shortly.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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