SC bill mandates fastened seatbelts on golf carts for children under 12

Bill H. 4906 would allow counties in the Palmetto state to decide if they want to allow golf carts, with headlights and taillights, to operate at night in designated areas. Low-speed vehicles like the ones at S2 Golf Cars are already street-legal. (Mike Owen/WPDE)

Photo: Mike Owen/WPDE

(WPDE) — A new South Carolina bill says children under 12 must wear seatbelts.

The amended bill states that: “each golf cart passenger that is under the age of twelve years old, when it is being operated on the public streets and highways of this State, must wear a fastened safety belt.”

It was signed by Governor Henry McMaster on Thursday, and is effective immediately.

Details in the bill include other golf cart rulings such as: you must be 16 with a valid driver’s license to operate a golf cart on a public highway, you can only operate a golf cart during daylight hours, you can only operate a golf cart within four miles of the address on the registration certificate, you must only operate a golf cart on roads where speeds are 35 mph or less and more.

The bill was first introduced to the house on Jan. 14, 2025, and then introduced to the Senate on Feb. 18, 2025.

There is a new state law that requires children under 12 on a golf cart to be fastened by a seat belt. The bill was signed by the governor on Thursday and is effective immediately.https://t.co/blnHsVzH2B

— Pawleys Island PD (@PawleysIslandPD) May 28, 2025