Pediatric golf cart injuries on the rise

DENVER — Pediatric golf cart injuries have steadily increased over the past three years, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2025 National Conference & Exhibition at the Colorado Convention Center from Sept. 26-30.

Researchers found that children under the age of 12 represented nearly half of all reports of pediatric golf cart injuries with a majority (53%) being white and an overwhelming majority (90%) being males.

Author Theodore Ganley, MD, FAAP of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Orthopedic Center said as golf carts become more common the impact on children grows.

"The growing trend of golf cart use in residential areas, alongside the increased frequency of children driving and riding these vehicles, correlates with a concerning rise in both the number and variety of childhood golf cart injuries,” Dr. Ganley said.

The most common injuries reported were superficial lacerations and abrasions caused by crashes or rollover incidents. Among younger children, injuries to the head, face, and neck were more common, while adolescents typically had injuries on the lower extremities.

Authors point to deficits in golf cart design that make the vehicles prone to accidents when making sharp turns, sudden stops, or while entering and exiting the vehicle. They also point out that safety guidelines should be in place to keep users safe.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for increased awareness and attention to these injuries among children and demonstrate the crucial role of education on safe golf cart operation,” Dr. Ganley said.

The authors received financial support for this research from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Orthopedic Center.

Study author Julianna Bailey is scheduled to present the research, which is below, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. MDT on Sunday, Sept. 28 in the Colorado Convention Center, Four Seasons Ballroom 1 & 2. To request an interview with the authors, contact Dr. Ganley at GANLEY@chop.edu.

In addition, Dr. Ganley will be among highlighted abstract authors who will give a brief presentation and be available for interviews during a press conference from noon-1:30 pm MDT Saturday, Sept. 27, in the National Conference Press Room, CCC 705/707. During the meeting, you may reach AAP media relations staff at 303-228-8338.

Please note: only the abstract is being presented at the meeting. In some cases, the researcher may have more data available to share with media, or may be preparing a longer article for submission to a journal. 

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org. Reporters can access the meeting program and other relevant meeting information through the AAP meeting website at http://www.aapexperience.org/

Program Name: 2025 Call for Abstracts

Submission Type: Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness

Abstract Title: Rides and Risks: Pediatric golf cart related injuries presenting to the emergency department

Theodore Ganley

Philadelphia, PA, United States

Due to the growing adoption of golf carts as a means of recreational transport both on and off course, golf cart related accidents have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Previous studies have claimed that >25% of pediatric golf cart related injuries were severe (ISS>15). Our study aims to broaden the epidemiology and describe the golf cart related injuries among the pediatric/young adult population from a national database.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was retrospectively analyzed for pediatric/young adult golf cart related injuries (< 22 years) from 2010 to 2023. Cases were classified as children (<=12 years), adolescents (13-17 years), or young adults (18-21 years). Case narratives were utilized to categorize injury related characteristics. Bivariate analyses were performed to determine demographic and injury characteristics.

1419 cases were identified for our analysis which corresponds to the national estimates of 53855 (95% CI:51458, 56253) from 2010 to 2023 with a mean of 3846 injuries occurring per year (95% CI: 3337, 4356) by applying appropriate sample weights. The mean age of the population was 11.67(95% CI:11.40, 11.95). Fall from the golf cart (49.79%, 95% CI: 46.37%, 53.22%) was the most common mechanism of injury. Injuries to the head, face and neck regions were most common (44.29%, 95% CI:40.89%, 47.70%). On comparing the mechanism of injury across the body regions it was found that injuries to the head, face and neck were likely to be caused due to fall (52.24%, 95% CI: 47.44%, 57.04%) while lower extremity injuries were liked to be caused by impact related events (36.14%, 95%CL: 31.02%, 41.26%) (p< 0.0001). Collision and cart overturn was the most common sequence of accident (36.12%, 95% CI:32.82%, 39.42%) with a higher occurrence among adolescents (45.82%, 95% CI: 39.79%, 51.84%) than children (29.19%, 95% CI: 24.75%, 33.62%) and young adults (39.06%, 95% CI 31.77%, 47.01%) (p =0.0005). Compared to males (23.97%, 95% CI: 19.93%, 28.00%), females had a significantly higher proportion of injuries to the lower extremities (29.11%, 95% CI: 24.53%, 33.68%). Superficial injuries accounted for 47.84% (95% CL: 43.97%, 50.83%) and occurred more frequently among males (50.74%, 95% CI: 46.03%, 55.44%) than females (43.64%, 95% CI: 38.68%, 48.60%. Children (55.64%, 95% CI: 50.82%, 60.48%) were significantly more likely to be injured due to fall related events compared to adolescents (42.20%, 95% CI:36.26%,48.12%) and young adults (46.31%, 95% CI: 38.28%, 54.34%) (p=0.01).

Injuries were predominantly caused by a fall from the golf cart, particularly in children, highlighting the inadequacy of robust safety features and the deficits in standard regulations. Among adolescents, the most common sequence of accidents were golf cart collisions and cart overturns. Hence, this study emphasizes the requirement for establishing age-appropriate safety measures for golf cart usage.

Figure 1

Injury proportion based on the mechanism of injury and type of accident.

Figure 2

Injury proportion based on clinical characteristics across gender.