Pontiac council adopts ordinance to allow properly equipped golf carts and recreational off-highway vehicles on low-speed streets

The Pontiac City Council on a vote adopted an ordinance to allow properly equipped golf carts and defined recreational off-highway vehicles to operate on city streets with posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less.

City staff described the ordinance as updating local rules to match recent changes in state law and to add a category defined in the statute as recreational off-highway vehicles (ROHVs). “A recreational off highway vehicle is a motorized off highway device designed to travel primarily off highway,” staff said, and added size and weight limits included in the draft ordinance.

The ordinance requires golf carts and ROHVs to meet equipment standards similar to current golf-cart rules — turn signals, brakes, a windshield meeting ANSI standards, and seat belts at all positions — and mandates insurance and compliance with the Illinois vehicle code. Staff told the council that golf-cart registration will move to a calendar year…