Golf carts are more popular than ever before. Where once these little car-shaped vehicles would only populate country clubs, they now buzz around Suburban neighborhoods in flocks. When golf carts stuck to links and retirement communities, their crash safety wasn’t all that important. However, since people regularly drive them on public roads now, their crash-testing videos are pretty disturbing. Watch these brutal golf cart crash tests and see if you feel like golf carts are safe. 

Are golf carts safe? 

Simply put: no. 

While golf carts might have four wheels, headlights, seats, and even seat belts, they are not cars. Given their status as recreation vehicles, golf carts aren’t beholden to any of the safety standards of cars and trucks. So what happens when they get crash-tested like cars? 

According to The Drive, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), the equivalent of the NHTSA in the United States, just ran full crash testing measures on a Club Car Villager, and the results are grim. 

The group ran two tests on the cart, both 50 kph (31 mph) impact tests, one head-on and another from the side. Take a look if you dare. 

What happens if you crash a golf cart? 

The crash test dummy showed a pretty bleak result for a 30-mph crash. Cars, trucks, and SUVs have special designs like crumple zones and collapsable steering columns to absorb some of the impact of a collision. Golf carts get none of that. 

In the front impact, the dummy’s upper half gets completely thrashed by the golf cart’s steering wheel and column. It is quite a violent impact. Meanwhile, the dummy’s lower half gets sandwiched between the dash and the seat. Although the cart has seatbelts, they seem to have little effect on the dummy. 

The side impact is equally as catastrophic. There is virtually no protection for the driver’s legs, hands, or torso. The impacting force slams directly into the side of the driver’s body. The cart gets thrown asunder, and the driver’s unprotected body takes a brutal amount of the impact. 

Although I’m no doctor, it’s hard to believe that anyone in either crash scenario would survive. But even if they did, the remains would be in dire condition. 

You should reconsider driving golf carts on the road

In the US, many neighborhood communities allow golf carts to drive on public roads where the speed limit is under 35 mph. It is important to reiterate that these crashes happened at only 31 mph. 

For what it’s worth, Euro NCAP said the cart performed “very poorly and showed serious risks of life-threatening injuries.”