Questions Raised About Golf Buggies

Perhaps as part of plans for Easter, as a usual indicator for summer, we have received several questions about one particular type of vehicles, golf buggies, and whether they are allowed on the roads, as well as other doubts.

The answer to the question regarding golf buggies on the road, the short answer is both yes, and no, but given the majority of these vehicles are of a particular type, in the majority of cases, the answer if definitely no, golf buggies are not permitted on the roads outside the boundaries of the golf course, and, sometimes, even within.

The reason for this is that all vehicles are constructed for the purpose they are intended to serve, and for that purpose to be on the road, they must satisfy rigorous minimum safety requirements.

Golf buggies, generally, are for use on the grass part of the course to take players from hole to hole.

For a vehicle of any type to be considered roadworthy in the first instance, as in not during the life of the vehicle, it must undergo rigorous testing at the manufacturing stage, and is rated on various aspects of safety.

Most golf buggies do not undergo this type of test because they are not intended for road use.

There are, however, some makes and models of golf buggies which have undergone this process. As part of that certification protocol, they must also therefore be fitted with several standard features, in addition to satisfying crash testing, such as lights, rearview mirrors, seat belts, to name but a few, and these elements must be either factory fitted, or approved by the vehicle manufacturer.

Moreover, once the vehicle satisfies those standards, it must undergo ITV certification in Spain, and have an ITV card issued. You can theoretically do this for any vehicle, but only if it satisfies the minimum standards and is certifiable and has all of the elements mentioned.

Assuming your golf buggy does satisfy those standards mentioned (and more), it still doesn’t mean it can be used on the road, because as a vehicle, it must also be registered. That then means it must display a number plate (in most cases of the few that would qualify it is likely to be comparable to a moped, or microcar, and so a yellow number plate would be the norm).

The vehicle also requires insurance, like all vehicles on the road, and the driver must hold an appropriate licence (AM being the minimum, although a B car licence automatically qualifies that). Driving without a licence is a criminal offence.

Only if or when a golf buggy has gone through the testing and registration process, and is registered and displaying the number plate, and if the vehicle is insured and the driver has the appropriate licence, can the golf buggy be considered road-legal and allowed to drive on the road. There are other requirements for driving once you reach this point.

And, to clarify another point, in golf courses which operate behind gates or in enclosed areas, the same rules apply if the area is open to the public, and so golf buggies which are not licenced and registered are also not even permitted on these roads within the enclosed golf complex in that case.

Finally, to answer questions raised about one of the golf courses on the Orihuela Costa, where the golf course is divided by a public road, so the fenced off course is on both sides, you are not permitted to cross the road from one side to the other, which includes on the pedestrian crossing, as this is still on the road and is a crossing for pedestrians only. Most of the golf buggies are neither road-worthy vehicles, nor pedestrians, and so they are restricted to operating exclusively on one side of that golf course or the other, not crossing between the two.