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Posted on March 29, 2026 in DUI
In Arizona, you can be charged with driving under the influence (DUI) if you are driving or are in actual physical control of a vehicle in the state and meet the statutory definition of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A “vehicle” for purposes of Arizona DUI laws includes a golf cart.
Conviction for DUI in Arizona is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The Rosenstein Law Group represents Arizona residents charged with a DUI, no matter what kind of vehicle is involved. If you are facing a DUI charge, call us at (480) 248-7666 or contact us online to speak with an experienced Arizona DUI lawyer in a free consultation.
In this post, we consider how you can be charged with DUI if you are driving a golf cart or are in actual physical control of one, the penalties you may face if convicted, and some possible defenses to a DUI prosecution involving a golf cart.
To understand how you can be charged with a DUI in connection with a golf cart, it is important to be familiar with key legal definitions under Arizona’s DUI laws.
Under Arizona’s DUI law, Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS)Section 28-1381, to be charged with DUI, you must be driving or be in actual physical control of a vehicle, and any of the following apply:
ARS 28-101(89) defines a vehicle as “a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a public highway.”
Under ARS 28-101(52), a motor vehicle includes a self-propelled vehicle.
ARS 28-101(79) defines a “street” and/or “highway” as a way that is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. A highway is any way open to public vehicular travel; DUI liability is not limited to publicly maintained roads.
ARS 28-101(24) defines driving a vehicle as operating or being in actual physical control of it.
No Arizona statute defines what actual physical control means. Instead, Arizona courts have defined actual physical control as a matter of the totality of the facts and circumstances: under this test, if your current or imminent control of the vehicle presents a real danger to yourself or others at the time, it may constitute actual physical control.
Some factors a police officer may consider when deciding whether you are in actual physical control of a golf cart include:
When we take all the relevant definitions into account:
So, in Arizona, you can be charged with DUI if the vehicle is a golf cart.
You do not have to be driving the golf cart on a public road or highway to be charged with DUI in Arizona. ARS 28‑1381 makes it an offense to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle anywhere in Arizona, including certain private property. In practice, courts interpret this to mean that if you are operating or in actual physical control of a golf cart in an area accessible to the public, you can be charged with DUI even if you are on private property.
Examples of private property accessible to the public where you might operate a golf cart include:
Arizona law makes no vehicle-based distinction when applying the penalties for a DUI conviction. The state’s DUI laws apply to being DUI on a golf cart as you would if you were driving a car or a truck.
Here are the penalties you may receive if you are convicted of DUI in Arizona:
For a first offense standard DUI, the mandatory minimum sentence includes:
In addition to the court sentence, the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division may suspend your Arizona driver’s license for 90 days (you may be eligible to apply for a restricted license during this 90-day period), and you will be required to install and maintain an ignition interlock device on any vehicle you drive for up to 12 months.
Penalties are higher if you are convicted of Extreme DUI under ARS 28-1382 (a BAC of at least 0.15% but less than 0.20%) or Super extreme DUI (a BAC of 0.20% or greater).
Note that if you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test at the station or DUI processing van into the Intoxilyzer machine (I.e., not the handheld Portable Breath Testing device often used while still on the side of the road – you can and should refuse this test) and/or blood and/or urine testing after being arrested for DUI on a golf cart, you will face a 12-month license suspension for a first-time refusal. This will apply even if the DUI case does not result in a conviction.
If your golf cart DUI is your second offense (meaning that you have another DUI that occurred within an 84 month period), if you are convicted, the mandatory penalties increase:
Similar to a first offense, if your BAC level qualifies the charge against you as Extreme or Super extreme DUI, you will be subject to even more severe penalties.
In addition, a second-offense DUI conviction within 84-months will result in a one-year revocation of your Arizona driving privileges, an ignition interlock device requirement for up to 24 months, and an SR-22 insurance certificate requirement.
If you refuse to consent to a blood, breath, and/or urine test, and you have refused to consent to such test(s) on another occasion within an 84-month period you will receive a 24-month license suspension (this applies separately regardless of the outcome of the DUI case).
If your golf cart DUI charge is your third DUI charge within 84 months, this is an aggravated DUI under ARS 28-1383. This type of aggravated DUI conviction is a Class 4 felony in Arizona.
A golf cart DUI can also be charged as aggravated DUI if a child under 15 is a passenger in the golf cart at the time of the offense – this would be charged as a Class 6 felony in Arizona.
Depending on the circumstances of the arrest, you may have some defenses available to you when you have been charged with a DUI in a golf cart.
You may be able to challenge actual physical control if you can show, for example, that when the arresting officer encountered you the golf cart was turned off, where the keys are located, and/or you were asleep.
If you can show that, when you were arrested, the golf cart was not in a location accessible to the public, such as a part of a private property not accessible to the public or other people.
If you can cast a reasonable doubt as to whether you were impaired by drugs and/or alcohol is an excellent defense.
In all criminal prosecutions, the police must carefully follow procedures to ensure the legality of the arrest and the admissibility of any evidence against you.
If the police fail to observe legal procedures, this can give you an opening to attack the prosecution’s case based on lack of probable cause to arrest you, failure to properly observe your Miranda rights, failing to properly administer field sobriety tests, and/or failure to maintain proper chain of custody of the evidence in law enforcement’s possession/control.
DUI is a serious offense in Arizona, even as a Class 1 misdemeanor. If you have prior convictions, you could face significant legal consequences, including increased mandatory minimum jail time, fines, and administrative sanctions, as well as a conviction that stays on your public record.
The thought of being arrested for a DUI offense for operating a golf cart may at first seem faintly ridiculous, like the subject of a comedy movie, but, as we have shown in this post, Arizona law does not distinguish the kind of vehicle you drive. The same DUI laws apply, as well as the same severe consequences you can face from a DUI conviction.
At Rosenstein Law Group, we take all DUI defense cases for our clients, regardless of the circumstances of the arrest. When you call us, our criminal defense lawyers will put our decades of combined DUI defense experience to work for you to obtain the best results possible.
Call us at (480) 248-7666 today to speak with one of our experienced DUI defense attorneys. You can reach us at any time, day or night, to schedule a free consultation to review the DUI case against you and evaluate your legal options. Or, if you prefer, you can reach us online.