Skip to main content

Richard Allen Kell must have thought a golf cart was the perfect loophole. Small, slow, no big deal, right? Wrong. Turns out, DUI laws don’t care what you’re driving, and golf carts don’t come with seat belts. Now, one woman is dead, and Kell is looking at a manslaughter charge.

Golf carts aren’t built for safety

According to police, Kell was driving his golf cart through The Villages, Florida, just before 1 a.m. That’s already a bad sign. He swerved to avoid a parked car, and his passenger, a 60-year-old woman from Illinois, tumbled out. She hit the pavement hard and later died in the hospital. Truly tragic.

Driving drunk at 1 AM is always a bad idea, in any vehicle. But a golf cart? They don’t have airbags. Many don’t have doors or seat belts. They barely have headlights. They’re designed for a leisurely ride on a golf course—not a midnight cruise down public roads.

DUI charges don’t care what you’re driving

Maybe Kell thought he was playing it safe. Maybe he figured a golf cart was less dangerous than a car. But Florida law doesn’t make that distinction. DUI charges apply whether you’re behind the wheel of a pickup, a lawnmower, or a Power Wheels Jeep.

As I previously reported, a man in Indiana thought he could dodge a DUI by driving a toy car. Another guy in Ohio built a motorized bar stool and still got charged. Kell isn’t the first person to test this loophole, but he’s the first I’ve reported to face manslaughter charges for it.

A preventable tragedy

The worst part? This never had to happen. If Kell had stayed sober or taken a taxi, his passenger would still be alive. Golf carts aren’t meant for the road, and they definitely aren’t meant for drunk driving.

A golf cart may not be a car, but it’s still a bad place to make bad decisions. Richard Allen Kell swerved, lost a passenger, and lost his freedom in the process. Now, he’s looking at manslaughter charges for a ride that never should have happened.

Best in News
Avatar photo
Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.