By: Dr. Irving Ojalvo
Tel: (800) 358-9909
Fax: (888) 358-9901
Email: Dr. Ojalvo
| There are roughly 9,000 golf cart related accidents requiring emergency room treatment in the United States each year. The majority of these accidents are related to either braking, cart rollover or passenger ejection. These problems are common to golf carts due to their open design, lack of seatbelts, poor braking capabilities and the uneven terrains they are driven on. Although industry standards prohibit golf carts from exceeding a maximum speed of 15 mph, rollovers and ejections still occur due to sharp turns, steep inclines, mechanical failures and driver error. In addition, most golf carts are equipped with mechanical rear brakes only, significantly limiting their stopping ability. |
Expertise | Questions Answered |
We have extensive experience in many aspects of golf cart accidents including:
| |
Case Examples | |
| Passenger Ejection: Two men were riding through a paved golf course parking lot when the driver made a sudden left turn and the passenger was ejected from the vehicle, sustaining severe head injuries. We demonstrated that when the cart was turned as sharply as possible at its maximum speed, the g side forces were sufficient to eject the passenger. We also faulted the manufacturer for failing to provide readily accessible hand-holds and warning labels as required in the ANSI golf cart standard. |
Dr. Irving Ojalvo is Chairman of Technology Associates (www.technology-assoc.com), a forensic engineering firm with offices in New York City and Connecticut. The firm's technical personnel, all of whom have advanced degrees, perform accident reconstruction involving issues of biomechanics, mechanical, traffic, and human factors engineering.
©Copyright - All Rights Reserved
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY AUTHOR.
8/7/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Animation
Animations are useful visual tools that can help jurors understand how an incident could, or could not, have occurred. Simply describing an event in court, or showing still pictures, may be insufficient to explain a complex sequence of events.
11/12/2018· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Ready, Set, Fly! - Understanding Another Technology for Forensic Investigations
By: Thomas J. Kelly
This is the first blog in a series on integrating new technologies into the process of forensic investigations. Documenting the scene of an incident accurately, efficiently, and safely is a key step in every investigation. Busy roadways and unstable structures present hazards to the investigator during the investigation process. The use of remote sensors can reduce these risks and provide data that otherwise could not safely be obtained.
2/14/2014· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Automated Retrieval System Failure Results in Catastrophic Fire at Storage Facility
By: Bill O'Donnell
The largest storage rack/ retrieval system, larger than two football fields and eighty feet wide was constructed to store 108 million pounds of paper products. On July, 2002, after two months of use, the facility collapsed and sparked a fire that destroyed the entire structure and 45 million pounds of paper. Nearly 50 fire departments responded to the inferno, which burned for three weeks. The owner of the facility sued a number of companies that included the contractor that designed and built the structure, a subcontractor, and the company that supplied the 110 foot steel columns.
