Cape Charles Police Chief Jim Pruitt published this message in the CC Gazette:
The 2021 season has arrived, and after a year like 2020, we’re all gearing up for a lot of visitors in town this summer. And with the return of all these guests, the Cape Charles Police Department wants to ensure a safe experience for everyone, visitors and residents alike.
One of the things that makes our town a fun and unique experience is the ever-growing use of golf carts. Yet it is important for all of us to do our part to make sure our golf cart culture here remains a safe one. Unfortunately, the Police Department has been seeing an increase of inappropriate and unsafe behavior when it comes to golf carts.
This bad behavior tends to threaten the overall golf cart culture we’ve all come to enjoy. So, the town will be stepping up enforcement of these violations this year.
Please do not operate a golf cart on any road with a speed limit greater than 25 mph (use designated paths in these areas). You cannot drive golf carts in Central Park or on any sidewalk. You must obey all rules of the road, and it is especially important to prevent anyone from operating a golf cart who is underaged or who does not have a valid driver’s license.
New fines will be assessed for these violations. For example, underaged drivers will now be fined $100 for a first offense, and $250for a second offense. We really do not want anyone to have a bad experience here, so please help us spread the word to follow therules and to help keep Cape Charles a safe and enjoyable golf cart town for everyone.
NOTE: Should you observe a violation and do not see a police officer in the vicinity, please call dispatch at (757) 678-0458 to report
the violation
How soon now are we going to hear the screeches and howls about police brutality in Cape Charles when they start stopping golf carts with out of town children in them?
I believe by now most people in Cape Charles are aware of golf cart rules and regulations. Most problems seem to be with visitors from out of town. When they rent a golf cart as far as I know the do’s and don’ts of operating a golf cart in the town of Cape Charles are not given verbally or written. Most rules and regulations are common sense but all rules and regulations need to be in print and issued when a golf cart is rented.
When tourists go somewhere on vacation, oftentimes they will flaunt rules with the idea that in a tourist-friendly town like Cape Charles, there really aren’t rules like there are back home, which is why you go there, to get away from having to follow rules for a week or so.
Maybe I should have said laws instead of rules, if you break the law the police take over and you face fines and possible jail time. People must respect the law no matter where they go. Just because you want to get out of the big city and relax does not mean you can go else where and break the law.
People from out of town or out of state aren’t going to know what the laws of Cape Charles are, unless all of those laws are prominently posted somewhere where people are forced to have to see them and read them before going further into Cape Charles, nor are they likely to bother about them.
Laws are no different from rules in that regard.
Yesterday, I saw a family driving down Mason backward. They started at Strawberry and parked in front of Watsons. I said: Sir, you do realize that you could get killed driving backward, and besides that, it’s against the law. He told me to mind my own business and flicked me off.