CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A common saying says, "there's safety in numbers", but some local Port Aransas residents would say the opposite is true, especially during the summer.
The high volume of visitors raises concerns about both golf carts and drunk drivers.
Friday night, there was an accident involving a suspected drunk driver and a golf cart filled with tourists. It took place at the intersection of Alister Street and Roberts Avenue in Port Aransas.
Port Aransas police charged the driver of the vehicle with intoxication assault after three people in the golf cart were injured.
The Port Aransas Chief of Police Scott Burroughs said driving under the influence has always been an issue in the city for both locals and residents.
"It's not just the tourists that drink too much. We have a lot of issues with our locals who do the same thing. This is a vacation destination, and people have too much to drink and get behind the wheel even though we have a pretty good taxi system in town that’s pretty inexpensive," Burroughs said.
Burroughs said that's why they increase the number of patrols on weekends, but police are asking both locals and tourists to do their part in educating themselves ahead of time about road rules and safety to be proactive.
Some golf cart rental companies even make sure to read drivers the rules before they hit the road.
"They did a great job over at the golf cart rentals as far as giving us safety rules. They asked if this is our first time driving and told us where we should go and where we shouldn’t, and the rules on the beach as far as where to stay and where to stay on the highway, a tourist from Austin, John Tran said.
Tourists said they want to make other drivers feel safe, and hope others can return the gesture.
"This is your town, y’all are allowing us to come and visit, so we will still abide as if it was our hometown," Tran said.
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