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I agree with others, its is not something a teenager needs to run around the community with. Its illegal for them to drive it, it seems like they'd be spoiled with it (IMO). Why not get a bicycle, get em a Trek or Gary Fisher bike. Those thing are awesome. Otherwise an electric golf cart (club car) if you need one of those.
Not a good idea... No matter how slow you limit a Smart Car it is still a Smart CAR on a city or county roadway. Now about the golf cart. A few months ago a customer of mine (Very weathly and lives in a gated comunity) was out for a ride in their golfcart with his 12 year old son as they did so every night. The dad was driving when they came around a corner and right in front of them was a parked boat, the dad swerved hard and the were both ejected from the cart. The 12 yr old boy landed on his head and died. I'm only telling you this so you can have a talk with your kids, a serious talk, before you get them a golf cart. Nobody really ever thinks to wear a helmet while driving a golf cart but had this kid had one that night he would still be alive today.
Here is the story as the news paper reported it... 12-Year-Old Dies After Cart Clips Boat, Police Say
POSTED: 3:28 pm PDT September 8, 2008
UPDATED: 3:49 pm PDT September 8, 2008
ANTHEM, Nev. -- A 12-year-old Anthem boy was killed in a golf cart crash, police said.
The child was on the golf cart with his father at about 10 p.m. Friday.
The cart clipped a boat connected to a parked trailer, causing the cart to tip over, police said.
The child died from injuries he sustained in the crash, but his father wasn't seriously hurt.
I knew this kid, he had a bright future only to get cut short for a ride in a golfcart... Be Careful, Be safe, and have that talk ... In Memory Of Josh Stevens
I've never been rich, and I'm actually glad about that. Growing up in inner city San Francisco, and spending summers with my grandmother in a small northern Cal. town, I either walked or took a bus. (A neighbor kid had a pedal-car, a bright red fire engine with a 'ladder,' and a bell we could clang by pulling the little rope. Pedalpedalclangclang.)
Walking/running/skipping/jumping - these are kid activities that help to build strong bodies. I didn't own a bike until I went to college.
At the risk of sounding, oh, I don't know, ~old,~ and perhaps even judgmental, I'm floored someone would even *consider* buying children (11-13) a real car - which, would need booster seats and blocks taped to the pedals to operate - er, that is, to point and zoom.
Since you appear to have so much cash to spend, a better idea may be to find a working stiff who needs some wheels to get to a job to support a family rather than to children who would be better served by exercising their growing, developing bodies with youthful activities.
Personally, if I lived in your gated community, and saw your 11 year old behind the wheel of *any* bona-fide car, I'd be moving to a saner (and safer) environment.
Sorry, Dave, it just makes no sense to me whatsoever -but then, I'm nobody, who, happens to think driving is a privilege earned with age, training, experience, license, and responsibility.
As an aside, when I worked as a claims adjuster, our elderly insured ran over an 8 year old with his golf cart. The little girl suffered burns and other injuries. The driver indignantly claimed he had the 'right of way,' and was justified...(another story.) The insurance co settled with the parents for a huge amount, and as far as I know, the idiot driver may still be out there terrorizing pedestrians.
If I were you, I'd be having a chat with my insurance agent - to beef up that liability policy...
Kids are kids, and no matter what powered vehicle you provide, they'll find some way to defeat whatever speed restriction you can employ. When I was a kid we lived on a golf course in Idaho (My parents still live there) and as a toy, we bought an old EZ-GO gas powered cart that had been retired from the golf course rental fleet. The idea was for me to fix it up for my dad to use. The manual says "Speed: governed up to 12 miles an hour" but within a few months I had modified it to where I was once paced by a neighbor at 38 miles an hour! A few months later while "showing off" I flipped the cart over and spent 6 hours in the emergency room getting a LOT of stitches and a cast on my broken left wrist.
The Smart is a well built little car, but it is still a car. It could very well protect them in an accident, but what about whatever, or whoever they ran into?
Again, from experience, theres just too much temptation there...
Bottom line - it may be the size of an EZ-Go, but it is a real car, and needs to be thought of as such. If it were possible to limit it and that failed, your kids would have access to a vehicle that obtains 90 MPH with relative ease.
I commend you on wanting your kids to have a way to get around, but a Golf Cart or GEM would probably be much better suited for them.
Our son was in collage,broke,and living with his now wife.We saw where they lived.Father died,bought 2 year old Tempo,from mom,gave it to our son.GRUBSTAKE,take it and do what you need to.Today,computer consultant , and store maneger for the big one.
300,000 plus,miles, sold the Tempo. Thats alot better than giving some snotty nose rich kid a Honnor role sticker because every one else got one. Tell the kids to walk.
what the heck is wrong with basic transport like a bike eh?
if your kids want something faster, tell them to stick an electric motor on the bikes!
simple, easy, cost effective.
what else is there to say???
oh yeah, also tell them to do it themselves, that way they'll learn a few things about math and engineering.
The Smart is a car and requires a driving license to operate. That moots the speed limiting argument. Even if the gated community constituted private property where they might get around the license requirement, does whatever constitutes the community's governing body want to take on the liability of underage, unlicensed drivers. What happens when your neighbor decides it's OK for his 11-year-old to drive his Hummer H2 - just inside the limits of the gated community?
If it's legal for an 11-year-old to drive a golf cart on private property because it's not a street-legal car, that would seem to be the limit of what you can do legally. The practical issue of what you consider safe and appropriate is your decision - once you are sure you are in compliance with the laws.
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