Golf Cart ID's
 

The above two quotes were taken from another thread ("golf cart rage"). I didn't want the subject to get lost and I believe it is worth a dedicated thread.

I am in agreement with Kahuna and rubicon. We need some way to identify golf cart ownership for a number of reasons. The positives far out rank the negatives.

I believe it's a great idea. Illegally parked carts have no fear because it can't be enforced.
Carts taking down the gates would be identifiable. The idiots that drive as such would also be known.

If this could be done in such a way as our ID cards are given out, and required for all carts...which would be a tuffy.(There would always be some that refused) WITHOUT being a big expense and hassle,,,,,


Then what would happen when carts would be sold and transferred? Maybe our picture ID on them?


It looks easy, but probably would be very challenging and some would abuse the system, etc.etc. I certainly don't want an expensive "government" even if it is CDD government, program.


Gracie, the fiscal conservative.


Some call me tight.

I would also vote for this concept - even if 'we' had to fund it by purchasing a tag or sticker.

you forget the biggest offenders are typically those that rent carts - now whom is responsible the renter or the rentee.... I think the problem can be fixed very easily - before someone can rent a cart - they are give a two or three page list of rules and regulations of cart-men-ship - that they must read and then take a 10 question test on this reading - if below seventy no cart that day!!! -- it is not so much the carts as it is the ignorance of basic rules - ie driving on the major highways here, using the rotaries, blowing off stop signs, and a big one making a left hand turn from right cart lane, etc.

Our cars, boats, even our dogs have licenses. If it becomes too much of a problem for the government, they will implement cart registration. Renting a cart will be like renting a car; the powers that be will have no problem tracking you down. I'd like to see an EZ Pass type of system replace gate cards. The same type of transponder could be used in golf carts for both identification and easy access through the gates. Considering how huge the Villages will be in the not so distant future, it would be a real convenience, worth the cost of implementation.

Yes, there are some advantages, but it is also a bureaucrat's dream - a whole new entity for more fees, more rules, more paperwork, more bureaucrats, more restrictions, more regulations, more telling you what you can and can't do, ----!!!

Exactly!

pathways
 

someone from the villages dahhhhhhhh

Couple of years ago...
 

Friends here reported on this forum that their expensive car was run into by a golf cart, sideswiped and the culprit hit them and ran.


Left them with expensive damage.


Also if we had tags of some kind we could identify those who might be here and up to no good. The fellow who stole the cart from in front of the Publix at Mulberry lived off campus in a trailer park nearby but he was able to get in somehow and rob places here.


Not failsafe but a start. And perhaps being easily identifiable would give pause to some grandparents handing the cart keys over to some of their grandkids who aren't good drivers and a little wild and reckless.


P.S. I meant NO harm by saying trailer park. A lot of happy and wonderful people enjoy modular homes all over Florida.

Tear down this wall. !!!! :doh:

Me too. All we need is a license plate big enough that a camera can read, or a person can read and write down. Even rental carts should have them if they're rented to people in TV. that way the idiots mowing down the gates who get photographed but never caught could be made to pay for the repairs, and the people causing road hazards could be reported. I would be happy to pay for such a tag. Of course, I don't have a golf cart... heh-heh:o

But I still pay amentity fees.

Thank you for your contribution.

I would love if the Villages required a LARGE easily seen tag of some sort to be placed on all carts. I can't believe it would be very expensive to manage it. There would be so many great reasons to know who is in the golf carts if you have a reason to know. However, there would have to be someone who has the authority to actually do something about problems if any issues came up. One of the hardest thing in the Villages is to find someone who has the authority, everyone I have ever asked says 'I am not allowed to actually do anything." ie keep people from saving seats, make people obey any guidelines, etc. There was a guy one day at one of the pools who jumped into the pool in his underwear---the community watch person was there--but when some of the residents told the person about what was happening, his reply was that we would have to call 911, that the CW people aren't allowed to get involved. I personally observed a fight getting ready to happen at the square one night, walked all around the square, found one of the "events people" and told them about it. Their response was to call 911. Now I don't blame them if that is what they are told to do, but we need "someone" who has the authority to act when needed other than the police.

You are so right...more BIG BROTHER.

2nd largest golf cart community in the U.S. registers all carts
 

Below is an excerpt from the Peachtree City, GA government website. Peachtree City has 90+ miles of cart path. It's the 2nd largest golf cart community in the United States. The Villages is the largest. P'tree City requires owners to register carts and they have a mechanism for owner sale/transfer also. I'm guessing our District governments would have the legal authority to require cart registration too.

NOTICE:
All carts must have the new WHITE Peachtree City decals issued in 2011 (or current Tyrone decals) and have the correct owner information on file. The white decals are valid until 2016. Cart owners must register within 10 days of cart purchase and notify the City of any changes in ownership or owner contact information within 10 business days.

I lived in Peachtree City for many years. Those stickers were helpful for identification, but were large and ugly, stuck to both sides of the cart, often crooked or wrinkled due to the difficulty of application. Hopefully, if they do that here, they'll find a more attractive version.

We had those also, and you could not miss it.

Looking at their website it appears they have a very large police force.

Personally I believe all Golf Carts that will be driven on a public street should be licensed and have proof of insurance. Just because a vehicle is limited in speed does not mean it is limited in its ability to cause a problem. Put a license plate on it even if its a Motor Cycle Tag. I would bet that most of the carts now are illegal anyway. To be classified as a Golf Cart it must not be capable of exceeding a maximum speed. I've clocked plenty that were well over the 19 MPH and no plate on the back of the cart. Insure it and license it if it goes on any street.

Is this a free service or did it come with a cost that has risen a few times or maybe even every year. We've all been down this path before but I guess a lot of us can't remember it.

Who do you propose to be the licenseing agency?

I agree with that Big O. (Go Bucks)


And I am not interested in having them registered for revenue or insurance...just identifiable.


But that path is fraught (Cyndy used that word yesterday) with bureaucratic difficulties. Only the naïve would think otherwise.

Maybe this is something the districts could do like Visitor ID's.

I think the benefits would be two-fold: one, identifying the people who break the gate arms and having them pay for repairs, and two, being able to I.D. and track down anyone doing anything illegal so the police can apprehend them.

Yes, you would have to call 911, but if you do that now and the cart leaves the scene, you have no way to track them down.

Maybe a small one-time registration fee to cover the cost of the license plate.

You are on the right path.........BUT...I read this forum and there is such hue and cry over the cost of sharing a meal. omigosh...eight dollars for a golf cart tag? I can hear it now.

I hear ya, Gracie. But if it took place upon the purchasing of a golf cart and you knew about the requirement when you became a homeowner, and it was just a one-time charge, maybe it would fly...?

Another benefit... identifying a stolen cart, although cart theft is rare.

Last estimate I heard regarding carts in TV was 50,000. Theft is rare and so is hit and run etc. when you consider the number of carts here. You can't consider registering 50,000 carts for the small number of incidents. So if somebody didn't want to "register" one then what?

Want to do something illegal, take it off, cover it up or steal a sticker from somebody else and put in on your cart.

On the other hand, at $8 a cart it comes to $400,000. I'll provide the stickers!

For me, I see very little [if any] upside to registering golf carts...

As for broken gates, we have cars breaking gates every day at all the resident entrances. They all have tags, but I suspect none are caught or made to pay for the damages. Certainly, some gates are damaged by golf carts, but putting a tag or some sort of identifying sticker on a cart would not stop that.

As for speeding carts....who really cares? Somehow, someone driving a cart at 25mph doesn't get my blood pressure up. We already have laws for that and the Sheriff is in charge of enforcing the laws.

Who would administer such a program? This would be a huge administrative nightmare. I don't believe The Villages would touch this with a 10ft. pole! The districts would never be able to agree on anything of this magnitude. They can't even agree to stripping the cart paths for increased safety.

Resident infraction reporting...to whom would you report? The Sheriff? I'm sure they would like that... This would be similar to the deed restriction, which are complaint driven. No one really wants to report their neighbor, unless it's really bad.

So, this is one of those things I see as not broken; therefore, no fix required.

Just an opinion and not something I would be willing to pay [or vote] for, given the choice.

Very good thoughts.

Why are you saying I've proposed to be the licensing agency? I said if it runs on a public road the state should require it have a license. Now you have tracking of who owns the vehicle. Where do you see a problem?

If Peachtree City has a police force, then Peachtree is a true city. They have the authority to issue regulations and laws. The Villages is a CDD. They do not have the same authority as a city or county. I do not believe The Villages would be able to do what Peachtree has done.

There have been a few posts about Peachtree City so I went up and checked out their website. They are in fact a real city. Therefore they can issue such requirements as the Golf Cart sticker. The sticker is $12 per year with a $5 transfer fee. Evidently there are also people who do not live in Peachtree City but do have access to the Golf Cart Paths. Their fee is $60 per year since they do not pay Peachtree City Property taxes. So the Peachtree City Golf Cart paths are open to all.

Who would enforce this sort of thing? Not Community watch, they have no enforcement authority. Not the State Police, Florida doesn't require golf cart registration or identification. Not the Sheriff, there's no county law requiring this and we have three counties to convince of the necessity. Not the local police departments for the same reasons above. Any local requirement would be a farce without any means of enforcement. Further, despite "The Gate" there are many carts from outside TV on our local streets. Also, there are many cart rental businesses in the area who routinely drop off rentals in TV. I really don't see cart registration or a cart I.D. requirement ever happening.

Just wondering who would issue these license plates?
Don't see a problem yet.

Who issues your plate for your automobile?

Is that who you think should issue the plates?

Steve, How would you do it in Stonecrest?

Ok, so we pay 8 bucks for a sticker and hire a police force to enforce the golf cart laws. Then we find out that that 8 bucks is not enough to pay for the police force since we began allowing double dip pensions. The politicians start looking at bicycles, since they use the roadways too. So we then start charging 25 bucks for golf carts and eight for bicycles. Then of course we need more law enforcement. By this time a new contract is negotiated increasing......ad infinitum.

Perhaps the genesis for speaking with the district and eventually Community Watch concerning identification of cart/cart owners started when I learned that a guy from Oxford who could not drive a car because he was legally blind switched to a golf cart and began using our multi-modal pathways until he ran down a pedestrian.

I believe this issue should be explored for its administration, costs, etc

It can be managed and I know that personally for me if I am in an accident with another cart I want to know who it is and an exchange of information including a golf cart ID would be beneficial. This program can be managed and I do not believe it has to cost that much.

I have to stop my wife says dinner is ready