Can you drive a golf cart on a US highway like Main Street (US 178) in South Carolina?

Official title

Opinion addressing the operation of a golf cart pursuant to Section 56-2-105 of the South Carolina Code on a municipal street and is also part of a primary highway under the state highway system.

Requester

Requested by Christopher Mooney, Chief of Police, Town of Harleyville.

Plain-English summary

The police chief in Harleyville asked the South Carolina Attorney General to settle a dispute about where golf carts can legally drive. South Carolina's golf-cart statute, § 56-2-105, lets a permitted golf cart operate during daylight, within set distance limits, only on "a secondary highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or less." Some residents read that to mean any street posted at 35 mph or less qualifies, including the town's Main Street. But Main Street in Harleyville is also part of US Highway 178, a primary highway maintained by the state.

The AG concluded golf carts cannot be driven on that road. The reasoning turns on what "secondary highway" means. Chapter 5 of Title 57 sets up three classes of roads in the state highway system: the interstate system, the state highway primary system, and the state highway secondary system (§§ 57-5-10 through 57-5-40). The AG read § 56-2-105's reference to "secondary highways" as pointing to the state highway secondary system. Using the interpretive canon that listing one thing implies excluding the alternatives (the AG cited Hodges v. Rainey), the opinion concluded that by allowing golf carts on secondary highways, the Legislature meant to keep them off interstate and primary highways. Since US 178 is a primary highway, golf carts may not operate on the Main Street portion of it.

The opinion also notes that a typical "Main Street" that is just a locally maintained road, posted at 35 mph or less, would generally be fine for golf carts if the statute's other conditions are met. The problem in Harleyville is specifically that this stretch of Main Street doubles as a state primary highway.

What this means for you

Local police and town officials

The opinion gives a road-classification test rather than a speed-limit test. A street posted at 35 mph or less is not automatically open to golf carts; if it is part of the state primary highway system (like a US route), the AG's view is that golf carts are barred even at low speeds. Officials enforcing or writing local golf-cart rules should check a road's classification in the state highway system, not just its speed limit.

Golf-cart owners and drivers

The opinion describes the limits in § 56-2-105: daylight only, within four miles of your registered address (or a gated-community access point), and only on a secondary highway or street posted at 35 mph or less. A road that carries a US or state primary highway designation does not qualify, even where the local name is "Main Street," and even if the posted limit is 35 mph or less.

Communities that rely on golf-cart traffic

For coastal and small towns where golf carts are common, the opinion signals that a shared roadway carrying a state primary route is off-limits to golf carts under current law. Changing that would be a matter for the Legislature, not local interpretation.

Common questions

Can I drive my golf cart on any street posted 35 mph or less?
Not necessarily. The opinion reads § 56-2-105 to allow golf carts only on local streets and roads in the state highway secondary system that are posted at 35 mph or less. A road in the interstate or primary highway system does not qualify, regardless of its speed limit.

Why does it matter that Main Street is also US 178?
Because US 178 is a primary highway in the state highway system. The AG concluded that the statute's reference to "secondary highways" implies golf carts are excluded from primary and interstate highways, so the part of Main Street that is US 178 is off-limits.

What are the other limits on golf carts under this statute?
Section 56-2-105 allows operation only during daylight, generally within four miles of the address on the registration certificate (or within four miles of a gated community's access point), and on a qualifying secondary highway or street posted at 35 mph or less.

Is a regular local "Main Street" okay for golf carts?
The opinion suggests yes, if it is simply a locally established and maintained road posted at 35 mph or less and the statute's other conditions are met. The issue in Harleyville was that Main Street there is also a state primary highway.

Background and statutory framework

Section 56-2-105 governs permitting and operation of golf carts on South Carolina roadways. Subsection (C) allows daylight operation, within four miles of the registered address or a gated community's ingress and egress point, "only on a secondary highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or less," and permits crossing a higher-speed highway at an intersection.

To interpret "secondary highway," the opinion turns to Chapter 5 of Title 57, which defines the state highway system. Section 57-5-10 sets out three classifications: the interstate system, the state highway primary system, and the state highway secondary system. Section 57-5-20 defines the interstate system, § 57-5-30 defines the primary system (a connected system of principal state highways), and § 57-5-40 defines the secondary system as all roads in the state highway system not otherwise designated interstate or primary. Reading § 56-2-105 against these definitions, and applying the canon expressio unius est exclusio alterius as stated in Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 533 S.E.2d 578 (2000), the AG concluded the Legislature meant to confine golf carts to the secondary system and local streets, excluding interstate and primary highways. Because US Highway 178 is a primary highway, the opinion concluded golf carts may not operate on the Main Street portion of it.

Citations

Statutes:

• S.C. Code Ann. § 56-2-105 (golf-cart operation)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-10 (2018) (state highway system classifications)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-20 (2018) (interstate system)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-30 (2018) (state highway primary system)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-40 (2018) (state highway secondary system)

Cases:

• Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 86, 533 S.E.2d 578, 582 (2000)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/opinion-addressing-the-operation-of-a-golf-cart-pursuant-to-section-56-2-105-of-the-south-carolina-code-on-a-municipal-street-and-is-also-part-of-a-primary-highway-under-the-state-highway-system/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/media/vt4lkudl/mooneyc-os-10972-final-opinion-12-16-2024.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 16, 2024

Christoper Mooney
Chief of Police

Town of Harleyville
Post Office Box 35
Harleyville, SC 129448

Dear Chief Mooney:

We received your letter requesting an opinion from this Office concerning section 56-2-105 of the
South Carolina Code (2018). In your letter, you state:

We understand the statute as golf carts are only allowed on “secondary
highways or streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.” However, we have
received challenges from the public interpreting the law as “secondary
highways or streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.” The issue at hand is
golf carts being operated on Main Street (US 178). We understand the statute
as prohibiting this, due to Main Street being a US Primary Highway.

(emphasis in original). As such, you request “clarification from the Attorney General, rather than
having differing interpretations of the Statute.”

Law/Analysis

Section 56-2-105 of the South Carolina Code pertains to the permitting and operation of golf carts
on certain roadways in South Carolina. Subsection (C) of this statute provides when and where
golf carts may be operated.

(C) During daylight hours only:

(1) A permitted golf cart may be operated within four miles of the
address on the registration certificate and only on a secondary highway
or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or
less.

(2) A permitted golf cart may be operated within four miles of a point
of ingress and egress to a gated community and only on a secondary
highway or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an
hour or less.

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Christoper Mooney
Page 2
December 16, 2024

(3) Within four miles of the registration holder’s address, and while
traveling along a secondary highway or street for which the posted speed
limit is thirty-five miles an hour or less, a permitted golf cart may cross
a highway or street at an intersection where the highway has a posted
speed limit of more than thirty-five miles an hour.

(4) A permitted golf cart may be operated along a secondary highway
or street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or
less on an island not accessible by a bridge designed for use by
automobiles.

S.C. Code Ann. § 56-2-105 (emphasis added), Thus, this provision limits where a permitted golf
cart can be operated to four permissible areas. Within those areas, the roadway on which the golf
cart can be operated is further limited to secondary highways or streets with posted speed limits of
thirty-five miles an hour or less. As such, whether a golf cart may be operated on Main Street in
the Town of Harleyville depends on whether Main Street is a “secondary highway” or street with
a speed limit of thirty-five miles an hour or less.

Based upon your letter, it sounds like members of the public take the position that Main Street is
a “street for which the posted speed limit is thirty-five miles an hour or less,” allowing for the
operation of permitted golf carts pursuant to section 56-2-105. “Main Street” in many towns is
simply a local roadway established and maintained by the local governing body, whether it be a
municipality or perhaps a county. In such case, assuming the speed limit is thirty-five miles an
hour or less, operation of a golf cart likely would be permissible assuming the other criteria under
section 56-2-105 are met. However, you explain that the road referred to as Main Street in
Harleyville is also part of U.S. Highway 178. It is our understand that U.S. Highway 178 is a
primary highway under the state highway system and is maintained by the South Carolina
Department of Transportation.

Chapter 5 of title 57 of the South Carolina Code sets forth the structure of the State Highway
System and specifies three classifications of roads and highways included in the state highway
system: interstate system of highways; state highway primary system; and state highway secondary
system. 8.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-10 (2018). The Legislature further explains these classifications
in sections 57-5-20, 57-5-30, and 57-5-40 as follows:

The interstate system of highways shall consist of the segments of highways in
South Carolina in the officially designated national system of interstate and
defense highways.

S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-20 (2018).

Christoper Mooney
Page 3
December 16, 2024

The state highway primary system shall consist of a connected system of
principal state highways, not to exceed ten thousand miles, connecting centers
of population, as determined by the Commission of the Department of
Transportation.

S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-30 (2018).

The state highway secondary system shall consist of all roads, streets and
highways in the state highway system not otherwise designated as highways in
the interstate system or the state highway primary system.

S.C. Code Ann. § 57-5-40 (2018).

Accordingly, we believe section 56-2-105’s reference to “secondary highways” indicates golf
carts, under the specified circumstances, may be operated on the “state highway secondary
system.” However, “[t]he canon of construction ‘expressio unius est exclusio alterius’ or ‘inclusio
unius est exclusio alterius’ holds that ‘to express or include one thing implies the exclusion of
another, or of the alternative.” Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 86, 533 S.E.2d 578, 582 (2000)
(quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 602 (7th ed. 1999)). By specifically including secondary
highways as a permissible roadway upon which golf carts may travel in section 56-2-105, we
believe the Legislature intended to prohibit golf carts from traveling on interstate and primary
highways. As we previously noted, U.S. Highway 178 is designated as a primary highway under
the state highway system. Therefore, we do not believe that golf carts may travel on U.S. Highway
178, including the portion of U.S. Highway 178 referred to as “Main Street” in the Town of
Harleyville.

Conclusion

Section 56-2-105 of the South Carolina Code specifies where and when permitted golf carts can
operate on roadways in South Carolina. While the statute allows for their operation, under certain
specified circumstances, on local streets and secondary highways within the state highway system,
we believe the Legislature intended to exclude their operation on primary highways within the
state highway system. Because Main Street in the Town of Harleyville occupies a portion of U.S.
Highway 178, which we understand to be a primary highway under the state highway system, we
do not believe it is permissible to operate a golf cart on this roadway pursuant to section 56-2-105,

Sincerely,

Cydhey Milling
Assistant Attorney General

Christoper Mooney
Page 4
December 16, 2024

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

bin ©. 22

Robert D. Cook
Solicitor General