U.S.golf cart injuries have soared

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 11 (UPI) -- With more and more golfers choosing to ride carts to navigate the course, cart-related injuries are up 132 percent in 17 years U.S. researchers say.

Researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found there were an estimated 148,000 golf cart-related injuries between 1990 and 2006, ranging from an estimated 5,770 cases in 1990 to about 13,411 cases in 2006.

Study co-author Dr. Gary Smith said that as golf carts have become faster and more powerful, they are no longer limited to golf courses. Golf carts are now routinely being used at sporting events, hospitals, airports, national parks, college campuses, business parks and military bases.

Although 70 percent of golf cart-related injuries took place at sports or recreational facilities, individuals injured in carts on municipal streets had an increased risk of concussions and were more likely to require hospitalization than those injured in other locations.

The study, published in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found the most common cause of injury for all ages was falling or jumping from the car with 30 percent of golf cart-related injuries involved children under the age of 16.