By Jerry Rousseau
Last October, WorkSafeBC (somewhat silently) proposed amendments to Part 16 of the worker safety regulation, ‘Mobile Equipment’ that would make roll-over protection and seat belts mandatory on golf carts.
Based on preliminary estimates of $1,500 to $2,000 for upgrades to each cart and an average of 60-75 golf carts per 18-hole golf course, cost could easily range from $90,000 to $150,000 per course with the total expense to the BC Golf Industry estimated between $15m and $20m!
Previously, golf carts were exempt from needing roll-bars and seatbelts. Proposed changes apply to work carts and beverage carts, marshal carts and even carts driven by a golf professional during a lesson. All employees operating a golf cart at any time during work are protected by the proposed new rules and there may be other scenarios where new rules would apply, ie. a golf pro or other staff employed at Golf Course A playing golf at Course B.
A far greater concern however, is Worksafe’s determination that non-golf course workers are captured under this provision. Specifically, employees playing in a corporate or charity event are considered workers under this policy and the rules would apply. This bears repeating / restating. If your golf course’s business model includes corporate and/or charity events, patrons playing in the event are considered to be working. If operating golf carts, those carts will require seatbelts and roll-bars (if the new rules pass).
