Can I drive a golf cart on Kansas City streets, highways? Here’s what the law says
Thousands of visitors standing on the sidewalks of Broadway Boulevard for Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade saw golf carts driving on the route, carrying members of businesses, community organizations or individual families who’d entered the parade.
It’s legal for drivers to ride in a golf cart on a golf course or along the parade route, but what about on the streets of Kansas City another time? What if someone was riding a golf cart on a Missouri highway?
Here’s what the law says and if you could find yourself ticketed.
Can I drive a golf on the streets of Kansas City?
Missouri state law says golf carts cannot be driven at any time on any state or federal highway unless it intersects with a municipal street. If it does, the speed limit must be less than 45 mph at the intersection for the golf cart to be legally driven.
“No golf cart or motorized wheelchair shall cross any highway at an intersection where the highway being crossed has a posted speed limit of more than forty-five miles per hour,” the statute says.
Drivers caught could be given an infraction for driving too slow, said Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson Corporal Justin Ewing in 2023. Missouri has minimum speed limits on its highways, and Ewing said you could be cited for impeding traffic if an officer pulls you over for your speed
The state statute also says municipalities can set the laws on whether residents can drive golf carts on streets and highways within their jurisdictions. So, the law in Kansas City will differ from the law in Independence or Blue Springs.
Kansas City prohibits driving all-terrain vehicles on city streets, highways, sidewalks, parks and other public property under ordinance 70-749 in the city’s code, but the definition of “All-Terrain Vehicle” does not include golf carts.
Adults and kids over the age of 15 can be charged with illegally operating a golf cart on a city street under section 70-137, which requires that every motor vehicle operated on city streets have valid license plates issued by the Missouri Department of Revenue, then Kansas City Police Department officer Rick Cartwright said on Nextdoor in 2016.
Owners don’t have to show proof of financial responsibility since golf carts aren’t registered, he said. But drivers can still receive a ticket for violating section 70-137, in addition to any other laws they broke, like running a red light or speeding.
“A juvenile under the age of 15 cannot be prosecuted in Municipal Court for a traffic violation (231.031.1(3) RSMo),” Cartwright said on the website. “However, any adult owner of a golf cart can be charged under 70-134 for allowing an unlicensed minor to operate the vehicle on a city street.”
