MAITLAND, Fla. — Maitland police say an education campaign aimed at keeping non-street-legal golf carts out of school pickup and drop-off lines appears to have worked.

Toward the end of last school year, the Maitland Police Department said it wanted to better enforce state guidelines on which golf carts are legal to drive on the road. Parents were told they needed to upgrade their golf carts to street-legal, low-speed vehicles or leave them at home.

During the first few days of the new school year, there were no golf carts seen at the school, only low-speed vehicles. Police said they issued one warning and no citations.

Daniel Holland, an officer with the Maitland Police Department, said the effort was focused on safety.

“We were worried about public safety,” Holland said. “It was something we noticed was becoming more popular over the school year. We saw a lot of golf carts that weren’t low-speed vehicles.”

Police said complaints about reckless driving and children driving golf carts prompted the enforcement push. Instead of writing tickets immediately, officers focused first on educating families about existing laws.

Some parents said the change has affected their school routines

“This year, it is different. We are stuck on the bikes or walking,” Maitland parent Eric Carlon said. Carlon said his golf cart is now “in the garage,” adding that driving it was “not worth the ticket, not worth the trouble.”

Maitland parent Harry Pool said converting a golf cart to meet street-legal requirements can be costly.

“Potentially in the future, it’s expensive to do,” Pool said. “I think I got quoted for another $1,800 to get it done.”

Pool said he understands concerns about children driving golf carts, but said he does not think parents using them for pickup were the issue. “I get the age limit thing. I have seen 12-13-year-olds on golf carts out there flying around. I get the safety issue, but for parents picking up kids, I don’t think there was ever an issue,” Pool said.

Holland said police hope to use a similar education-first approach for another school-zone concern: e-bikes and e-scooters.

“Obviously, it is going to be a little bit apples and oranges, but I think it is definitely something we are going to try again and hopefully replicate,” he said.

Police said they will not enforce the Orange County school ban on micromobility for students without a driver’s license or permit, but they do plan to educate children about the rules of the road. “The biggest thing with school zones specifically is that children can be unsafe road users,” Holland said.

The city of Maitland does not plan to create rules specific to micromobility and plans to follow any guidance that comes from the state level.

In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a micromobility bill that Florida lawmakers had passed. Orange County leaders wanted more time to draft their own micromobility ordinance, and rule changes are expected to be discussed at a meeting Sept. 29.