golf cart police

[mike234]

has anyone heard of the police, or sheriff, patrolling the golf cart paths, in marked golf carts?

[Kerry Azz]

I’ve seen them on motorcycles with radar on the golf cart path. I’ll assume they were looking for speeders

[mulligan]

Could happen up around Spanish Springs. Lady Lake has a marked cart in that area.

[eyc234]

Hopefully they do and they start ticketing speeders and people running stop signs.

[billethkid]

Hopefully they do and they start ticketing speeders and people running stop signs.

Totally agree. Book 'em Danno!!

[JoelJohnson]

Not sure they can stop you on a multimodal path, but they can get you for not stopping at a stop sign. On a public roads, they can get you for a non registered, uninsured vehicle if you go over 20mph in a golf cart or 25 in a LSV.

[Trayderjoe]

Hopefully they do and they start ticketing speeders and people running stop signs.

Totally agree. Book 'em Danno!!

Add me to the list of hoping to see this happen. The downside however, is that it might also reduce the chance for more Darwin award candidates........

[EdFNJ]

Not sure they can stop you on a multimodal path, but they can get you for not stopping at a stop sign. On a public roads, they can get you for a non registered, uninsured vehicle if you go over 20mph in a golf cart or 25 in a LSV.
Correct, they can't "PATROL" up and down the MMP's for driving violations like speeding but they can (and do) on the street diamond lanes. If someone REPORTED a DUI on the MMP's they can grab them for a drunk & disorderly but (according to a Golf Cart Cop in LSL last year) not for DUI, If on the street (road or diamond lanes) they could for DUI and just about any violation.

The "golf-cart cops" here are assigned for the purpose of crowd control at larger events. Not as golf-cart path (MMP) cops.

This was told to me by one at LSL so I am just repeating what he said to us last summer when we asked. Sounded logical but who knows?

[John_W]

Bailey's Trail from Buena Vista past Cane Garden and to the St. Charles red light is a heavily traveled road for both carts and cars, and carts must travel on the side in a golf cart lane which require them to follow state laws.

I'm surprised I didn't see mentioned, but last week three times on that street I saw County Sheriff cars and motorcycles with radar guns. That use to be normal until about four years years. Now they're back in force. I couldn't quite tell if they were looking at cars or carts or both.

I'm glad my cart is set at 19.9 mph and I don't have to worry. I had it dialed up to 25 for about four years and when I dialed it back about three years ago, I didn't find that big a difference. It might take five more minutes to get somewhere, no big deal. I did find a Yamaha gas cart operates best at 22 mph, not 25 or 20, but the law is the law.

[Two Bills]

The problem with the Police Carts, is they are restricted to 20MPH.
Most village carts do 25+
The Police can't catch the offenders!! :icon_wink:

[golfing eagles]

Hopefully they do and they start ticketing speeders and people running stop signs.

And maybe they can wear armbands with swastikas on them. Beware of creating a police state.

My cart is set to 20, so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, it is not so much about the absolute speed as it is how well the driver controls the vehicle at the speed he/she is going. There are drivers who can safely operate at double the speed limit, and then those who shouldn't be on the road at 5 mph(a LOT of them live in TV) A speed limit is simply a one size fits all rule, usually geared toward the lowest common denominator, or reactionary to a previous accident.

[ckcapaul]

Correct, they can't "PATROL" up and down the MMP's for driving violations like speeding but they can (and do) on the street diamond lanes. If someone REPORTED a DUI on the MMP's they can grab them for a drunk & disorderly but (according to a Golf Cart Cop in LSL last year) not for DUI, If on the street (road or diamond lanes) they could for DUI and just about any violation.

The "golf-cart cops" here are assigned for the purpose of crowd control at larger events. Not as golf-cart path (MMP) cops.

This was told to me by one at LSL so I am just repeating what he said to us last summer when we asked. Sounded logical but who knows?

Florida law for DUI applies to roads and private property
Statutes & Constitution
:View Statutes
:

Online Sunshine (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.193.html)

[EdFNJ]

The problem with the Police Carts, is they are restricted to 20MPH.
Most village carts do 25+
The Police can't catch the offenders!! :icon_wink: LOL! Unless they are street legal :D then they can do 25.

[EdFNJ]

Florida law for DUI applies to roads and private property Argue with the cop, not me. He said it would be D&D not DUI. That might be true with a CAR on private property not a golf cart??? You'd have to ask the cop.

[John_W]

For a while maybe five years ago, those sitting in their golf carts while parked at LSL listening to the band, but had an open container or draft beer were given DUI's. Yet, you could pull out a chair and sit in the street right next to the cart and you would be legal. I think the police realized how foolish this made them look and stopped that practice. However, start the engine and drive away, you better put the beer away.

[ckcapaul]

Argue with the cop, not me. He said it would be D&D not DUI. That might be true with a CAR on private property not a golf cart??? You'd have to ask the cop.

Was not trying to argue. Florida Statutes same as Minnesota. Was a cop 30 years.

[karostay]

Driving has become nuts around here
I'm all in favor of a police activity Being able to travel by golf cart is a convenience and a privilege its being abused .
Like many other things

[rjn5656]

Just something else to complain about on here.

[santiagobob]

There is a police focus on golf carts speeding or not stopping at stop signs. I think there is a unequal enforcement of vehicle laws. I made a mental note of how many days I saw bikers not only not stop at stop signs but pedal thru at 10-15 miles an hour. I reached 21 consecutive days. I did ask a bike rider why they don't stop at stop signs as cars and carts do. His answer is they do not want to lose their momentum and the police don't care

[GoPacers]

And maybe they can wear armbands with swastikas on them. Beware of creating a police state.

My cart is set to 20, so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, it is not so much about the absolute speed as it is how well the driver controls the vehicle at the speed he/she is going. There are drivers who can safely operate at double the speed limit, and then those who shouldn't be on the road at 5 mph(a LOT of them live in TV) A speed limit is simply a one size fits all rule, usually geared toward the lowest common denominator, or reactionary to a previous accident.

It's human nature. We can't stand to see anyone do anything better than us. If you can't beat them, complain about it!!! We were very successful training mellenials to think that way and unfortunately too many people adopted that view themselves.

That cart going 21mph is most certainly a menace to life in The Villages (for some at least). Heck, any cart that catches me MUST be speeding or else they are a maniac driver. It can't be that I am simply driving slower than everyone else. :icon_wink:

[John_W]

Personally I don't have a problem if another driver passes me doing 25 mph, that's his choice, no different than driving a car on the interstate. However, I don't like it when driver speeds through our villas, the Publix or Walmart shopping center, or anywhere when people and maybe pets are subject to be walking directly out between cars into the path of this jerk speeding.

The man driving this cart crossing Morse died

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/79683060_1467842060046988_8437645320950644736_n.jp g?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=okGvkrG1uyUAQlLIruW9GCSJrYEfMtvEZYpf9iM7gB 0u0w1Q-fQJRQ4GA&_nc_ht=scontent-mia3-1.xx&oh=5a8d7056dd3e5bfbab51dc96c93a734c&oe=5E8A93B6

The man making a U-Turn on Odell died

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/79856703_1467844530046741_222254833762041856_o.jpg ?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=FIAhRQWFJ6gAQmjGJYpx5i2NkzXu_V-HGhEHj22JWCt0QEsEIiCZXx3vg&_nc_ht=scontent-mia3-1.xx&oh=38d1e6f564168d25c4bd457351238148&oe=5E7FD72C

Driving an LSV is not safer, this Atomic Vehicle was crossing Morse in front of the hospital and this driver died

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s960x960/79255437_1467842956713565_8489094772844134400_o.jp g?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ohc=poSPxCzFsuMAQmSvQNPPQJ55zonnLy1sejWnwPwymU tD0P3vWpjpl8S8A&_nc_ht=scontent-mia3-1.xx&oh=9d30cbdeca86ee3acde3df3bb58d7806&oe=5E8B12F7

[Bjeanj]

And maybe they can wear armbands with swastikas on them. Beware of creating a police state.

That’s a bit over the top, don’t you think? I’m going to assume you’re just having a bad day.

[golfing eagles]

That’s a bit over the top, don’t you think? I’m going to assume you’re just having a bad day.

Yeah, but not by much. If you get caught going 20.1 in a golf cart, they can pretty much throw the book at you, and you have not created a single safety issue vis a vis driving the same cart at exactly 20.0. Yet, the law allows "street legal carts", which wallow around on the boulevards at 25 with cars going 35 (or more). They eventually cause accidents as drivers make careless moves to get around them. Then there are the cyclists who ride on those same roads in a pack, and blow through stop signs and yield signs as though they were a single entity. I'm sure you've come around a roundabout to encounter the equivalent of a funeral procession cutting right in front of you. I couldn't care less if someone is going 22 or 23 on a MMP or rolls through a stop sign when no one is coming (most of the stop signs on MMPs should be yield signs anyway). I do care when driving behavior creates a safety issue, and that is where the focus of enforcement should lie.

[JoMar]

And maybe they can wear armbands with swastikas on them. Beware of creating a police state.

My cart is set to 20, so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, it is not so much about the absolute speed as it is how well the driver controls the vehicle at the speed he/she is going. There are drivers who can safely operate at double the speed limit, and then those who shouldn't be on the road at 5 mph(a LOT of them live in TV) A speed limit is simply a one size fits all rule, usually geared toward the lowest common denominator, or reactionary to a previous accident.

Except most carts aren't designed for speed, they are designed for golf. We choose to make them unsafe while cars are built for safety at speed. As long as they don't interfere with those that choose to drive at the speed limit I really don't care.

[ts12755]

Yes... they were in a golf cart in my neighborhood ticketing people that did not fully stop for a stop sign

[Flflyer]

has anyone heard of the police, or sheriff, patrolling the golf cart paths, in marked golf carts?

They do not patrol the carts paths, nor do they make an effort to stop the speeding golf carts. This would not look good to the developers customers to visit and see a golf cart pulled over. Golf carts are UNSAFE at more than the 19.8 MPH they are supposed to go. Small, one ply, tires, no roll protection ( unless you believe that the thin aluminum poles holding the roof on is going to do anything ), insufficient brakes, and no seat belts are just some reasons the speed is limited to 19.8 MPH.

[karostay]

Yes... they were in a golf cart in my neighborhood ticketing people that did not fully stop for a stop sign

Please validate that assertion ?

[Craig Vernon]

LOL! Unless they are street legal :D then they can do 25.

I just hope I can get a video of the 25 against 20 high speed pursuit. :1rotfl:

[karostay]

I just hope I can get a video of the 25 against 20 high speed pursuit. :1rotfl:

Like OJ in a golf cart pursuit :22yikes:

[JoelJohnson]

They do not patrol the carts paths, nor do they make an effort to stop the speeding golf carts. This would not look good to the developers customers to visit and see a golf cart pulled over. Golf carts are UNSAFE at more than the 19.8 MPH they are supposed to go. Small, one ply, tires, no roll protection ( unless you believe that the thin aluminum poles holding the roof on is going to do anything ), insufficient brakes, and no seat belts are just some reasons the speed is limited to 19.8 MPH.

I know of someone that cost them over $900 for going over the speed limit on Morse. They didn't get him for speeding, but for an unregistered, uninsured vehicle on a public road.

[genobambino]

I saw Sheriff dept golf carts several years ago patrolling the streets, marked on the side, with lights on top. I think there street legal type that will go over 25 mph. You definitely don't want to get caught going over 20 mph..it becomes a criminal offense and mandatory court appearance, roughly $500 fine, plus having the cart detuned at a dealer, also a safe driving course.

[Muddykatchen]

Funny, Two Bills!! :) I wish someone would track speeds and driver capability. Running stop signs seems to be the norm. As one who walks, we take our lives in our hands stepping in front of a golf cart at a stop sign. Seems a lot of people have lost their common courtesy.

[golfing eagles]

Except most carts aren't designed for speed, they are designed for golf. We choose to make them unsafe while cars are built for safety at speed. As long as they don't interfere with those that choose to drive at the speed limit I really don't care.

I'm sorry, perhaps my written communication skills have waned, but I thought I wrote "operate SAFELY"

[Chatbrat]

Are the white poles with black letters "STOP" legal stop signs

[billethkid]

Are the white poles with black letters "STOP" legal stop signs

They are obviously targets based on how often they get hit!

[Bay Kid]

Are the white poles with black letters "STOP" legal stop signs

Legal? Maybe, but for safety, yes.

[EdFNJ]

Are the white poles with black letters "STOP" legal stop signs "Legal", no, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be heeded so you don't kill anyone. They must meet certain specifications: "stop signs must conform to the manual and specifications of the Department of Transportation".


http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.006.html

Their location also needs to be approved even if they are designed to official specifications by the local government. They just can't "stick" a stop sign wherever they want without approval by local government. Many people have "beaten" a stop sign ticket (or even a speeding ticket if the radar hasn't been properly or recently calibrated) if everything wasn't up to proper spec.

[Nucky]

Somebody got a ticket for blowing through the Stop Sign in front of Publix on Bichara today by two police on bicycles. It's a good thing. Very dangerous area.

Its 10 M.P.H. in front of La Hacienda Center and from time to time people get tickets there. The biggest day I ever saw was 2 years ago on Mother's Day. They had Golf Carts lined up writing tickets. Gotta be on the ball and follow those pesky rules.

[EdFNJ]

insufficient brakes, and no seat belts are just some reasons the speed is limited to 19.8 MPH. Just as only technical point of information. Golf carts are not "limited to 19.8" or 19.9 as many people state. What the law actually says is:

Golf carts are defined in section 320.01(22), Florida Statutes, as “a motor vehicle that is. designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational. purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 MPH.”

So actually 20mph is perfectly legal but even if you drove at 20mph and your cart simply WAS CAPABLE OF GOING OVER 20 (as probably 90% are) but you weren't you are still in violation. AN LSV gets an extra 5mph to 25.

[golfing eagles]

Just as only technical point of information. Golf carts are not "limited to 19.8" or 19.9 as many people state. What the law actually says is:

Golf carts are defined in section 320.01(22), Florida Statutes, as “a motor vehicle that is. designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational. purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 MPH.”

So actually 20mph is perfectly legal but even if you drove at 20mph and your cart simply WAS CAPABLE OF GOING OVER 20 (as probably 90% are) but you weren't you are still in violation. AN LSV gets an extra 5mph to 25.

To be even more technical, if you drop a golf cart from an airplane at 30,000 feet, it is CAPABLE of going 176 mph at impact. Why not just ticket every golf cart and get it over with?:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[John_W]

To be even more technical, if you drop a golf cart from an airplane at 30,000 feet, it is CAPABLE of going 176 mph at impact. Why not just ticket every golf cart and get it over with?:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

My first week in Korea back in 1970 someone asked if chickens could fly. I was standing in base ops and a pilot said, let's go see. I went along in a huey up to 1000' and we opened the doors and out went the chicken. The downdraft took him out of sight right away. By time we came down and landed and walked over to where the crowd was standing on the ramp, you can say the chicken fell like a rock.

[golfing eagles]

My first week in Korea back in 1970 someone asked if chickens could fly. I was standing in base ops and a pilot said, let's go see. I went along in a huey up to 1000' and we opened the doors and out went the chicken. The downdraft took him out of sight right away. By time we came down and landed and walked over to where the crowd was standing on the ramp, you can say the chicken fell like a rock.

Are you sure it was a chicken and not a ROCK Cornish Game Hen?:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[JSR22]

My first week in Korea back in 1970 someone asked if chickens could fly. I was standing in base ops and a pilot said, let's go see. I went along in a huey up to 1000' and we opened the doors and out went the chicken. The downdraft took him out of sight right away. By time we came down and landed and walked over to where the crowd was standing on the ramp, you can say the chicken fell like a rock.

That is really cruel.

[Nucky]

Hey GE I'm happier than a Lobster at High Tide than you are back. :mademyday: :a040:

I can't wait till you meet several posters who weren't around until lately but have belonged to TOTV'S for a while. It should be memorable!

John W what you did sounds like something from that TV show Mythbusters. How else do you find out about important stuff unless you tested the chicken on

your own?

[golfing eagles]

Hey GE I'm happier than a Lobster at High Tide than you are back. :mademyday: :a040:

I was in a coma due to starvation since you know who never paid off her lobster bet:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[John_W]

///

[wisbad1]

Add me to the list of hoping to see this happen. The downside however, is that it might also reduce the chance for more Darwin award candidates........

careful what you wish for!

[Northwoods]

Let's bring this back to the topic. I was driving down Buena Vista today just South of Sumter and I saw two police cars parked on the grass. (Both had their lights on). One of the policemen had a hand-held device. It appeared they were monitoring the speed of some type of vehicle. I was in a car, so I can't be sure, but it looked like they were clocking golf carts.
If someone drove through that area and has better information, let me know

[Bay Kid]

Let's bring this back to the topic. I was driving down Buena Vista today just South of Sumter and I saw two police cars parked on the grass. (Both had their lights on). One of the policemen had a hand-held device. It appeared they were monitoring the speed of some type of vehicle. I was in a car, so I can't be sure, but it looked like they were clocking golf carts.
If someone drove through that area and has better information, let me know

Buena Vista is a great road to pass out tickets.

[Topspinmo]

Just as only technical point of information. Golf carts are not "limited to 19.8" or 19.9 as many people state. What the law actually says is:

Golf carts are defined in section 320.01(22), Florida Statutes, as “a motor vehicle that is. designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational. purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 MPH.”

So actually 20mph is perfectly legal but even if you drove at 20mph and your cart simply WAS CAPABLE OF GOING OVER 20 (as probably 90% are) but you weren't you are still in violation. AN LSV gets an extra 5mph to 25.

Actually any calibrated radar device usually has range for error usually Plus or minus 1 or 2. If you’re going 21 or 22 I doubt they will bother. IMO most speeders are going way over the speed limit when ticketed.

[Topspinmo]

Buena Vista is a great road to pass out tickets.

Calumet Avenue even better most come down it 35 plus. Actually any street in villages is great road for ticketing law breaker’s.

[EdFNJ]

Actually any calibrated radar device usually has range for error usually Plus or minus 1 or 2. If you’re going 21 or 22 I doubt they will bother. IMO most speeders are going way over the speed limit when ticketed.
It's not so much the fact of the speed variation (I can't speak to that) but they need to be calibrated and licensed (certified maybe?) every period of time as required by law.

I received a speeding ticket which was my first ever moving violation in 50+ years of driving down in Broward County S FL 4 years ago before I moved down here. My mother was seriously ill and I rushed down from NJ, rented a car and drove too fast down Pines Blvd on the way to the hospital in Pembroke Pines and was stopped along with 20 other cars for 55 in 40. The cop wouldn't let me go but his automatic ticket printer was very fast - like a tire change at the Indy 500!. Anyway I flew back home, hired an attorney down here (Ticket Clinic) to deal with the ticket to avoid points. I was assuming he was just going to plea it down as he said they usually do successfully 90% of the time in FL. He subpoenaed the license of the radar apparatus and it was not properly certified as required by law and my ticket was fully dismissed and nothing was on my record. Attorney cost me around $500 IIRC but it saved me 5x that in insurance increases in NJ.

how accurate does police radar need to be - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=how+accurate+does+police+radar+need+to+be)

[Altavia]

At the new residents VHA meeting this evening, the Sheriff warned all of the use of radar and an un-marked golf car. Impared driving was next on his low tolerance list.

[golfing eagles]

At the new residents VHA meeting this evening, the Sheriff warned all of the use of radar and an un-marked golf car. Impared driving was next on his low tolerance list.

I'm confused by your wording----Does this mean the sheriff is more interested in golf carts going 21 mph than he is in impaired drivers? If so, it's a sad commentary on the priorities of law enforcement.

[Altavia]

I'm confused by your wording----Does this mean the sheriff is more interested in golf carts going 21 mph than he is in impaired drivers? If so, it's a sad commentary on the priorities of law enforcement.

Of course not, just the next topic discussed with strong emphasis on the very serious concequences, poor wording on my part.

[golfing eagles]

Of course not, just the next topic discussed with strong emphasis on the very serious concequences, poor wording on my part.

No problem, thank you. Sad that my first interpretation was less supportive of LEO than it should have been. Mea culpa

[tophcfa]

At the new residents VHA meeting this evening, the Sheriff warned all of the use of radar and an un-marked golf car. Impared driving was next on his low tolerance list.

I hope they are including people driving while using their phones under the definition of “impaired driving”.

[Nick75]

has anyone heard of the police, or sheriff, patrolling the golf cart paths, in marked golf carts?

No ,.but it might be a good idea
some people really race around the curves, and pass other carts, on the paths,dangerous curves to be in such a hurry going into a tunnel.accident waiting to happen

[Ben Franklin]

The cart paths are owned by The Villages. Is that correct? I'm not talking about the diamond marked paths along the roads, but in areas off of the roads, such as along Buenea Vista. How can the police issue a ticket on those cart paths that aren't on the road, and not owned by the county? Just curios.

[biker1]

If by "The Villages", you mean the Developer, that is not correct except for the newer areas where they may not have been turned over to the CDDs yet. In general, the MMPs are owned the the CDDs, at least they are in my CDD. I believe you will find that the police will only become involved with the MMPs for DUIs and accidents.

The cart paths are owned by The Villages. Is that correct? I'm not talking about the diamond marked paths along the roads, but in areas off of the roads, such as along Buenea Vista. How can the police issue a ticket on those cart paths that aren't on the road, and not owned by the county? Just curios.

[Altavia]

Advisory Legal Opinion - Enforcing of traffic laws on private property (https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/D50E0A2B15E78EDC8525657200538F2B)

"1. A municipal police department may enforce the Florida Uniform Traffic Control Law on private property where the public has the right to travel by motor vehicle and on private roads or other limited access roads owned or controlled by a special district when such roads are within municipal boundaries and a written agreement has been entered into by the parties pursuant to s. 316.006(2)(b), F.S."

[BobnBev]

Advisory Legal Opinion - Enforcing of traffic laws on private property (https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/Opinions/D50E0A2B15E78EDC8525657200538F2B)

"1. A municipal police department may enforce the Florida Uniform Traffic Control Law on private property where the public has the right to travel by motor vehicle and on private roads or other limited access roads owned or controlled by a special district when such roads are within municipal boundaries and a written agreement has been entered into by the parties pursuant to s. 316.006(2)(b), F.S."

I imagine that would also apply to Sheriffs and State Troopers