Residents of Santa Catalina Island in California use golf carts as their primary mode of transportation because the government essentially banned regular cars to prevent a massive traffic apocalypse.

A closer look

Residents of Santa Catalina Island in California use golf carts as their primary mode of transportation because the government essentially banned regular cars to prevent a massive traffic apocalypse. There is a rigid quota on the number of full-sized vehicles allowed in the tiny town of Avalon, resulting in a hilariously absurd waiting list that currently stretches to over twenty-five years. Instead of passing down family heirlooms like jewelry or real estate, locals literally bequeath their coveted car permits in their wills to their children. To get around, everyone simply bought electric golf carts, transforming this upscale tourist destination into a surreal retirement community fever dream where everyone drives like an aggressive caddy. You can watch intense traffic jams entirely composed of lifted, custom-painted club cars aggressively fighting for parking spots outside the local grocery store. It perfectly demonstrates how humans will always manage to recreate the miserable experience of urban gridlock, even when you forcibly strip away their massive SUVs