[DonH57]

Actually Gracie I never think of myself as the sharpest knife in the drawer and I try my best never to call other people stupid. I 'm concerned about where she got the information about the larger tires. At most you might achieve a one mph out of larger tires. It's the tinkering of the carts that's the problem.

[twoplanekid]

Originally Posted by DonH57

It's the people who've modified their carts governor or speed controller so they lead foot it on the paths, not tire size. Did she do any research or grab her speculations out of the air? The only problem I've had with speeding golf carts are the ones that pass you on a blind curve without regard to what's ahead.

Some of the attachments at the bottom of the PDF in comments - part 2
list her sources. Please read everything.

Coversheet

[DonH57]

Actually I did read everything. If I increase the size of my tires I would still have to change governor or speed control setting to prevent my cart from slowing back down. True I would get a very temporary speed gain but not long. I believe if every one were made to have 8 inch tires it wouldn't solve the problem and would be just as enforceable as speeding on the paths now. I hope I didn't convey the lady was stupid. She clearly isn't or she wouldn't be on the board. The biggest problem is the clowns treating the golf carts as toys.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Sally Moss, a Supervisor for District 6 submitted her thoughts concerning safety on the Multi-Modal paths at the District 6 meeting on April 17, 2015. One thing she said was “The Districts can do something that has been proven to reduce accidents and make driving safer for all drivers, passengers and everyone else that is on the Multi-Modal Path with them and that is reduce the speed on the Multi-Modal Paths to 15 mph which is the top speed of golf cart models off the assembly line.”

For a complete text of what she said, please follow this link to download and read the PDF of the 04/17/15 VCDD 6 meeting found on the districtgov web site. Her comments are found towards the end of the pdf.

VCDD Meetings/Agendas

Sally Moss again

[Chi-Town]

My house came with a Par Car. It went 17.5 mph. Had a cart guy servuce it and asked him to jack up the speed as I was always leading the parade. He said that was the flat out speed due to the motor size. He gave me two options, new motor or 10 inch tires on the back. Changed the back tires from 8 to 10 inch and increased my speed by 2 mph. That was over two years ago and am still zipping along.

[DonH57]

Changing the golf cart speed limit to 15 mph won't fix stupid. Trying not to be political but changing the speed limit would be like adding gun laws to existing laws that are not enforced to keep people from shooting each other. There is nothing wrong with the existing cart speed limit now. I personally feel education is the biggest problem. The only briefing for new residents in regard to navigating the villages is not a mandatory one. Ignorance is no excuse but it's happening.

[twoplanekid]

Well, here it is and you get what you pay for. As the study does not address the current or future numbers of golf carts, walkers, joggers, bicyclists, Segway users, or roller bladders, there certainly was no need to factor in the lower use of these pathways during summer months to adjust this analysis.

As The Villages grows, the existing multi-modal roads will incur greater use and more chances for accidents. Where is the forward thinking?

I wanted to see traffic counts and speed data. I thought that some data was to be collected? The VPSD accident data collected to date is very limited in scope and thus not too useful in developing safety solutions for current and future increased use on the multi-modal paths.

This new study is very, very limited in scope. I am not impressed and must hope for the best. I know that you must drive defensively and nothing should change and remember that fate is the hunter.

http://www.**************.com/wp-con...ing.pdf?f3185a

Sorry, my link will not work as it goes to that other news web site. It should be up on districtgov soon I hope

[Vinny]

I just sold my golf cart. I do not golf and my car is much safer and more comfortable to get around in. We put very little mileage on it for what we do.

We had seatbelts and they once prevented my wife from flying out of the cart when I hit a curb during turn. I think they should be mandatory given all the reports of people being thrown from their carts during accidents. I still see people driving carts with little kids on their laps or dogs on the empty seat next to them. I have seen a cart with a young man standing on the rear well where the golf bag goes. There still seems to be an attitude that golf carts are not real vehicles and safer than cars even though they go 20 mph.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by DonH57

Changing the golf cart speed limit to 15 mph won't fix stupid. Trying not to be political but changing the speed limit would be like adding gun laws to existing laws that are not enforced to keep people from shooting each other. There is nothing wrong with the existing cart speed limit now. I personally feel education is the biggest problem. The only briefing for new residents in regard to navigating the villages is not a mandatory one. Ignorance is no excuse but it's happening.

Common sense and being careful at all times and not drinking and driving will help. I doubt lines are going to do it. And no one says you have to drive a golf cart if you are not comfortable doing so. More rules and regulations will not fix stupid driving.

[twoplanekid]

Safety should always be a concern when using machinery. The Villages is unique in that no other place in the world has as many golf carts being used as cars. Thus, we must take the initiative to insure the safe operation of our traveling machines. We can’t look to others as no one else is like us in this regard.

It’s time to gather the necessary data to assess Village golf cart safety. A rational analysis of this Village phenomenon may lead to changes that will increase safety for all. To suggest doing nothing will result in a delay of finding a solution.

I find it interesting that a community that has more rules on the books for what is allowed or not as far as looks is so adverse to changes that might increase safety.

So, please try to rethink your attitude to an extensive study of golf cart safety in The Villages. We can argue about what changes might be requested at a later time.

[twoplanekid]

Another look at the future maybe sooner than you think->

Self-driving golf carts share sidewalk space with pedestrians

[biker1]

This is a pretty broad statement. Exactly what data are you suggesting be gathered, who should collect the data, who should pay for the data collection, and who should analyze it? I remain unconvinced that there is a problem. There are golf cart accidents but there are also car accidents. Almost all can be attributed to driver error. You can not analyze away human error and you cannot analyze away poor judgement and poor choices.

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Safety should always be a concern when using machinery. The Villages is unique in that no other place in the world has as many golf carts being used as cars. Thus, we must take the initiative to insure the safe operation of our traveling machines. We can’t look to others as no one else is like us in this regard.

It’s time to gather the necessary data to assess Village golf cart safety. A rational analysis of this Village phenomenon may lead to changes that will increase safety for all. To suggest doing nothing will result in a delay of finding a solution.

I find it interesting that a community that has more rules on the books for what is allowed or not as far as looks is so adverse to changes that might increase safety.

So, please try to rethink your attitude to an extensive study of golf cart safety in The Villages. We can argue about what changes might be requested at a later time.

[twoplanekid]

Is driver error caused by speeding or other factors? As an example, are golf cart drivers speeding on the multi-modal trails and how busy are some sections of these trails? I don’t believe anyone can say for sure because a traffic/ speed count hasn’t been taken. It would not cost the SLCDD or PWAC that much to collect this kind of data.

Golf cart accident data collection should be as comprehensive as car accident analysis to help present a clearer picture as to the cause of these accidents. I would suggest doing these things as a start until we have self-driving golf carts.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Is driver error caused by speeding or other factors? As an example, are golf cart drivers speeding on the multi-modal trails and how busy are some sections of these trails? I don’t believe anyone can say for sure because a traffic/ speed count hasn’t been taken. It would not cost the SLCDD or PWAC that much to collect this kind of data.

Golf cart accident data collection should be as comprehensive as car accident analysis to help present a clearer picture as to the cause of these accidents. I would suggest doing these things as a start until we have self-driving golf carts.

Once you have a few hundred hours under your belt driving a golf cart than people will listen more carefully to what you have to say. Many of us have been driving around here for upwards of a dozen years and have had nothing bad happen. I think anyone can tell you that drinking and driving does not mix and driving with a vision problem is chancy too. Perhaps we should all have our reaction time tested, but I don't think that will be a popular solution.


You haven't had a chance yet to drive a cart for more than a month...allow your own self to have some experience before you try to make changes to the system.

[twoplanekid]

Hi gracie