Share the roads
 

Just looking to vent and get a feel for how others view this problem.
We are all aware of the share the road signs posted throughout the area.
I use an LSV (low speed vehicle) on the roads from time to time. I am well aware of it's speed limitations. It can't do 40-45 mph in a 35 mph zone. It can do nearly 30 mph. So as such I am constantly getting passed by every other vehicle on that particular roadway. No problem. The problem is this. On El Camino Real I know ahead of time if I am going to make a left hand turn. If I keep to the right hand side of the road, I run the risk of not being able to get over to the left to make my turn. Due to the line of cars passing me. So, if I know that I am going to be turning left I keep to the left lane so as not to be cut off when it is time to turn. There are 2 lanes of traffic in each direction. There is an entire lane open on the right to get past my vehicle. Why is it necessary for another "happy villager" to tailgate me and blow the horn?? Then after my gesturing for him to pass me, I am presented with the finger. Unfortunately I lowered myself to his level and retaliated. I am not trying to impede traffic or be a road hog. I have taken to doing this from time to time as a defensive measure. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Drive an:confused: LSV on some of the roads here and drive a mile in my shoes. Can't we all just slow down and have some understanding of what others might be experiencing?? Enough said. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...s/confused.gif

Sorry, but I firmly believe that LSVs don't belong on roads where the speed limit is 35 mph (Morse, BV, El Camino). You should not be going faster than 25 mph and, thus, impeding traffic regardless of your intentions (or speeding). Unlike a bicycle, you have to move all the way over to pass a golf cart. Take the golf cart paths. They're wide enough.

What is an lsv? Is it street legal or some form of bike? If so... I have to disagree with redwitch. If you were on a bicycle, you are perfectly within your rights to take up an entire lane on the street, no matter how fast you can go on the bicycle. In fact, many bicycle online sites advise cyclers to do that for safety reasons, citing among others, the exact reason you state. And it's legal.

As for lowering yourself to the flipper's level, well... sometimes it just makes you feel better!

I think having to deal with cyclers and slow-moving-vehicles when I'm driving is a pain, but it's their right to be there and my responsibility to accommodate their traffic, and I think everyone should do it carefully.

I totally agree w/ Redwitch. She said it all.

I agree as well. When I was first told LSV's or street legal cannot go faster on those roads I thought, what is the point of owning one. Having mixed maximum speed vehicles on the same road may create a dangerous situation. Isn't that why some states have eliminated that rule for tractor trailers?

Why not when you know you are going to make the left turn, travel on the golf cart path and avoid the dangerous situation for all of us?.

If you are going over 25mph in your low speed vehicle (street legal cart), you are SPEEDING on any of the roads in The Villages. Big fine for that!

Now I'm totally confused. I am looking forward to driving our golf cart for the first time in July and plan to scoot around the neighborhood. At some point, I will venture out. There are areas where the golf cart path is on the street, like a bike lane. Are golf carts permitted in the road?

I know this is off topic, but hope someone can help this newbie again. Thanks.

Unless someone changes the law....
 

Unless someone changes the law you have as much right to be on that road as "the tailgater".

My only opinion is that tailgaters, whether in a car or golf cart are vile people. Vile too strong? Hmmm.... nah I am ok with that.

Install a nice camera on the back of your cart. The sign on mine will read in small print:

If you can read this, smile, you are on Alan's camera!

The only other thing I would say is never return aggressive behavior to an aggressive driver. Although, it is not easy, these folks are not stable IMO and it is not worth the risk.

PS. Actually, I guess I better heed my own words and not attach that sign....:evil6:

No problem, bro.

1. You can drive your cart on the multi-modal trails.

2. On streets that have a speed limit of 30mph or lower, you can drive your cart in the "diamond" lane. If there is no diamond lane, you can still take your cart on those roads. You cannot go faster than 20 mph on these streets or you can get a ticket for around $300.

3. If you have a cart that is modified AND insured AND licensed (street legal)you may take it on streets that have up to a 35 mph limit (Morse, Buena Vista) and drive in the regular lanes, but you cannot exceed 25 mph or you will get a huge fine. You cannot take your cart on streets having a speed limit over 35 mph such as 466.

Liability insurance is not mandatory on carts that are not street legal BUT you would be foolish not to have liability insurance on it.

Hope this helps.

Redwitch: I disagree with you....I believe LSV's should be allowed on the roads, the problem as you say of "impeding traffic" are not the LSV's... which BTW are not that many, it's the slow moving vehicles that refuse to leave the left lane. As for the original question of left hand turns I've driven an LSV for almost 4 years now and have never had a problem with changing lanes to make a left turn....I have never gone into the left lane more than 40/50 yards before the turn. Even if busy I turn my directional signal on and stick out my left arm to indicate my turn and then start edging over. I have on quite a few occasions seen LSV's change into the left lane 100/200 yds before a turn which I think is wayyyy to soon, but then again I have also seen slowwwww moving cars do the same miles before they turn.

Helps a LOT. Thanks, but I'm a Nana and not a bro! :laugh:

I'm with Redwitch on this one - stay on the cart parts if you can't keep up with the other traffic. Thought I would lose my mind one day with a "street legal" puttering across the Lake Sumter bridge. That is an accident waiting to happen. And please don't tell me I'm retired what's the rush. No rush just want the flow to move as it should.

Exactly, :agree:

Drive Defensively
 

Redwitch may not like LSVs operating on the streets (nor do I) BUT it is entirely legal. The Florida Legislature wrote the rules.

One possible solution to the dilemma of the OP is to shorten the distance when he moves into the left lane before the turn, as suggested by ureout.

Those who become impatient with an LSV in the left lane, and who refuse to move into the right lane to pass may have moved here from a jurisdiction where "passing on the right" is a traffic violation.

I would not exchange derogatory gestures with other drivers. Road Rage is alive and well; even here in The Villages. And, as we know from other posters, a lot of people carry guns, even in here.

You will always encounter the impatient and the idiotic on the roads. Resign yourself to it.

I think we could look at these times (behind someone slow and building anxiety and anger)
as an exercise in patience….most of us, most of the time, don't have appts. that are critical…and if we are not actually in a big hurry why do we get sooooo upset if the LSV is going a bit slower that us? Good time to relax and work on patience….and to me the best response to 'the finger' is a big smile and a wave! Sorry if I sound like Pollyanna, but it seems to me to be much less aggravating.

Don't think anyone ever said it was illegal but being legal doesn't make it right, sane or safe. I've driven street legal carts many times and thoroughly enjoy going a little faster and being able to cross streets I can't in my golf cart and, yes, being in the middle of the road rather than right by the gutter. However, there is no way I would travel on the car portion on Morse, BV or El Camino (other than to get to the other side). It's not fair to cars that have a speed limit of 35 mph; it's not worth the ire evoked by my being in front of those faster cars and it just ain't safe. Just because something is legal doesn't make it the right, safe or sane thing to do.

Very well said, redwitch. Especially the part highlighted.

You are NOT impeding traffic because here is another lane available for faster traffic. It is no different than a bicycle or slow scooter, there is not enough room for a car and a slower vehicle in the same lane on Morse, Stillwater, El Comino, or Buena Vista.
Share the road, it's the law!

LSV are in their right to travel the roads. I suspect the same people exhibiting impatience with LSV are doing the same with cars they believe are going too slow. in other words the problem isn't the type vehicle. Further yet many of these drivers have little or no regard got golf carts merging from a diamond lane onto the road. A few days ago a small blue GM vehicle would have run me down in order to skirt in front of me, had I not been alert. This even when I gave ample mechanical and hand signals that I was merging.
Yesterday a cart cut off another cart on Morse Blvd by pulling left of this cart into the left lane and forcing the cart to the right and a car on Morse to the left. The point I am trying to male is that there are some very inconsiderate and impatience drivers here

I can't agree with the posts that advise the street legal cart owners to stick to the cart paths. Would you have the same advice for bicyclists, or scooters? The only difference is the size of the vehicle, and the LSV is actually larger.

In reading the OP's account, the one part that stands out to me is the admission that he moved into the left lane early in order to be certain he could make the desired left turn. This, to me, is the primary source of the conflict. The driver who came up behind likely felt he had a left lane thief in front. He certainly could have handled it better, but I understand the frustration. At this time of year there is not so much traffic that access to the left lane is difficult. If there is a car to your left, they will be going faster than the LSV so the lane will open up. Or the LSV can slow a bit to let traffic pass before moving left.

Whether anyone thinks it is right or safe or sane, the LSV operator has permission to operate on those roads. It is the responsibility of all other vehicles on the same road to respect that. And for the LSV operator to understand the potential difficulty his speed differential can cause.

No, I don't have a street legal.

Interesting discussion, thanks.

If I had a street legal cart, would I be able to cross 27 at one of the lights at Morse or Bella Cruz? I mean, a person could walk across those intersections, or ride a bike, or walk their bike, or skateboard, or use a motorized wheelchair or boing boing along on a pogo stick.

Yes, LSV's have a legal right to travel the roads. Yes, there are "some very inconsiderate and impatience drivers here" (and I would add dangerous). That is why I feel it is unwise for LSV's to travel on the roads with 35MPH speed limits, especially when the MM paths are an option. They are very vulnerable.

A lot of LSV drivers must agree as I see very few on the subject roads.

Like

Has anyone thought of the 35 MPH speed limit really means 40 or 45 mph. 35MPH speed limit is the FASTEST you can go. Is there minimum speed limit posted, you know like on interstate or toll roads. I think not so anybody can drive 20 MPH in 35 mph speed limit.

the people that are inpatient will be inpatient if you going 40. majority don't drive 35 MPH on Morse, Stillwater, El Camino, or Buena Vista anyway. That the problem SPEEDER's. :pepper2:

What the Villages need are the automatic camera ticket devise. You know the one's that take the picture of license plates, records the speed, and send you nice HELLO in the mail. This would be wonderful money maker for the county and just might SLOW people down after few hundred dollar fines. :beer3::eclipsee_gold_cup:

Golf cart vs cars
 

I have lived here four years now and i have always been told that when on a street with no designated golf cart lane, a car and a golf cart are to be considered equal vehicles. Is this true?

Why sure!

:agree:....Don't be DEAD right!!

Thank You
 

Thank You for your reply. I was having a chat with a man the other night and we were discussing this very subject. The man told me a car always has preference over a golf cart. When I disagreed with him, he started calling me profane names and said how wrong I was. I tried to defend my position but he just kept calling me names that I can not repeat here. Again Thank You.

I am concerned for your safety and that of everyone who is traveling around you. El Camino is busy, and having half the traffic pass you creates chaos. Nobody is going to change their driving habits because you are out there driving slowly.

Sharing the road requires all of us to be considerate, and frankly, it sounds like you do not mind backing up traffic behind you and causing many, many people to pass around you.

Traffic is like water, when you interrupt the flow, turbulence happens.
I wish you would stop doing that, before an accident happens.

Other than the "finger" issue, you are probably doing the right thing. You have to assess the safety of the conditions that will dictate when it is necessary to move over to the left lane. To be courteous, you don't want to move over too soon. To be safe, you don't want to move over too late. When in doubt, safety trumps courtesy. Hopefully, both can be accomplished most of the time. Don't worry about the finger flippers. There will always be someone that doesn't want you to be in their way, whatever you're driving and wherever you go. In general, whatever vehicle you are driving follow the rules of the road and drive defensively. Most Villagers are safe non-aggressive drivers who accept alternative types of vehicles sharing their roads, despite what some of the posters here might lead you to believe.

I have often wondered why the LSVs don't have large, reflective, cautionary triangle signs on the backs of their vehicles, like the Amish buggies and the farm wagons have. It would help us to see them. :wave:

Good suggestion!

They have taillights, turn signal lights and brake lights for visibility. If a driver of a car doesn't see them, it is likely he/she is not paying attention.

Share the road...it's the law! Seems simple to me.

New Florida law could prove costly to slow drivers that don't move over: http://http://www.tcpalm.com/news/new-florida-law-could-prove-costly-slow-drivers-wh

Made my day. Thanks.

Not a New Law
 

The article that you quoted is over a year old - July 15 2013.

You are correct, it has been the Law for OVER a year.

Article was published June, 15, 2013.
Law took effect July,1,2013

By the way, this law only applies to "limited access" highways.