Could Daufuskie Island be proving ground for new night golf cart rules?

With warm spring and summer nights just around the corner, golf cart drivers on Daufuskie Island may soon become the first in the county permitted to cruise on public roads after dark.

While state lawmakers passed a bill last year permitting nighttime cart usage in certain areas, individual counties or municipalities must pass their own ordinances before the activity is legal.

So far, no government entity in Beaufort County has done so.That could change soon.

Beaufort County Council got a look earlier this week at a draft ordinance that would make Daufuskie Island a test site of sorts for carting after dark.

On the remote island, which is only accessible by ferry, “using a golf cart is a must,” Councilman Tabor Vaux said earlier this week.

Vaux, who represents the council district that includes Daufuskie Island, said for many islanders carts are “their only mode of transportation.”

Because they are very few cars and virtually no traffic, county officials say Daufuskie Island could be a relatively safe proving ground for new nighttime golf cart rules.

“Safety is paramount,” county attorney Tom Keanvey said, which is why there has been some hesitance to allow nighttime cart use in areas such as Old Town Bluffton.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner has repeatedly warned county leaders about the dangers posed by allowing carts — which he has referred to as “slow-moving hazards” — to be driven at night on the same streets as cars and trucks.

Vaux said carting after dark on Daufuskie Island is “obviously happening now, but what we are doing is looking at ways to make it as safe as possible.”

The county’s draft ordinance, which has the support of the County Council’s Public Facilities Committee and is expected to be formally introduced to the full council later this month, would require nighttime cart operators to have a drivers license and ensure that carts are equipped with specific types of safety features.

Violators of the regulations could face up to a $500 fine or as many as 30 days in jail, according to the draft ordinance.

The county’s current plan is to pass “an ordinance that is unique (to Daufuskie) and see how it goes, and then extend it” to other portions of the county if it proves successful, Councilman Stu Rodman said earlier this week.

“We can experiment with it … and then consider modifying it” to fit the individual needs of other parts of the county, he said.

While state law allows certain towns and cities — including Beaufort and Hilton Head Island — to pass their own nighttime cart usage regulations, Beaufort County deputy administrator Josh Gruber said municipal leaders are “are looking (to the county) to take the first step.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Could Daufuskie Island be proving ground for new night golf cart rules?."