Dan Russell, Chief of Patrol
We at the Patrol hope that everybody had a great holiday season and a great start to a new year.
We had a question about golf carts driving on roads outside of SunBird Golf Resort. After doing some research, here are a few things I found:
Arizona law requires motor vehicle operators, including golf cart operators, to carry liability insurance on their vehicles. Arizona law states that a person shall not drive a motor vehicle (golf cart) on a roadway without a valid driver’s license and proper endorsement. State law does require that cart owners upgrade their vehicles in various ways to make them “road-ready.” For example, all golf carts being driven on surface streets must have working headlights, brake lights, and horns. The state restricts golf carts to a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour on any road on which they travel, and travel is restricted to roads that have a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour. As a result, golf carts cannot travel on many state roads (this would include Hunt Highway and Riggs Road). It is also not legal to drive your golf cart on sidewalks. So, all traffic laws (stop signs, speed limits, etc.) apply to golf carts in/out of SunBird. Lastly, and most importantly, cars and trucks weigh more and have a lot more protection for occupants than what is provided by your golf cart.
Hopefully, this has answered a few of your questions about golf carts in/out of SunBird Golf Resort.
Be mindful of your speed when traveling around SunBird and make complete stops at all stop signs. They are there for your safety. The speed limit around the clubhouse is only 10 mph, and on side streets, it is only 15 mph. We all want to enjoy all that this great community has to offer, so let’s be safe.
Please take your time coming in the gates, as it is one car at a time, as the signage states at the gates. When you tailgate another resident through the gate, you take the chance of getting hit by the barrier arm as it is coming down. Not only will this damage your vehicle, but it creates an expense for the HOA in the cost of replacing the arm.
As always, if there are any questions, please feel free to contact SunBird Patrol at 480-797-8605 or [email protected].