Golf cart tied with a car
 

A golf cart ran a stop sign & ran into the side of a Toyota--Guess who won ? Guess who lost ? If you drive a golf cart--get seat belts ASAP--you may have saved your life and $25K helicopter flight that's not covered by insurance

Part of the Allure of The Villages is The Golf Cart Lifestyle. There is no way that any sane person could deny that it is dangerous. It's dangerous to come out of your house, ride a bicycle, walk, Etc. Etc. Etc. We all have decisions to make about how much risk we want to take. Obviously many many people see the risk to be one worth taking. That includes me. I don't discount yours and other posters warning about the danger but have made a decision to roll the dice and live in the slow lane so to speak. The only time I'm really concerned big time is between 466 & the gate near the Hospital on Morse. You are just a sitting duck to car & truck traffic ruining your life.

There is no way that either person involved in this unfortunate ACCIDENT chose to be involved. It wasn't an on PURPOSE. It was a terrible accident. I feel for all involved and take it as a lesson to be a little more careful and to take the available driver improvement class that I've been threatening to do for the past year. I've seen some driving antics lately that were just remarkable.

I have now stopped taking calls over the cars speaker system while we're moving or engaging in any conversation of substance that would distract me. I have to be my first line of defense against a preventable mistake.

Two good posts. One that goes to protecting yourself. One that goes to preventing harm to others.

The OP stated the golf cart ran a stop sign. That person chose to break the law and caused this unfortunate accident. This accident could have been avoided if the rules of the road were obeyed.

From where I sit, the OP was trying to make a point to add seat belts to your golf cart if you don't already have them. That is excellent advice and that is what I came away with from the original post.

Why did insurance not cover the helicopter flight?

Don

Medicare only covers a portion of the flight, same goes for ambulance costs--check your coverage

When we were on our Lifestyle visit, we came across a golf cart with 2 occupants inside lying on its side on the road. My husband stopped the car and with the help of a couple of passing pedestrians turned the cart right side up with the occupants still inside. They said thank you, and drove off like nothing had happened. They were both wearing seat belts.

It was an accident as far as I've read about it. Nowhere did I see it said that the person wanted to or planned to break the law. Everybody wants to obey the rules unfortunately mistakes happen. I wouldn't move my car or any truck I did drive several years back without my seatbelt but choose to not wear the seatbelt in the Golf Cart. I am over the age of 21 and it's my decision and I don't have to explain it to nobody for any reason. It is my personal preference. If you question my judgement hooray for you. It will feel good for a couple of minutes. I wanna be able to bail out if necessary or if we drove into or were force into a pond. Golf Cart Seat Belts aren't for everyone. :popcorn: I had the belts installed for other adults who use my cart.

If you feel like this about my post :ohdear::ohdear::ohdear: I don't give a Fig Newton! :1rotfl:

Medicare Part B only covers 80 percent of any covered expense. Most people have a Medicare supplement to cover the other 20 percent. Is a helicopter transport charge treated differently?

I know what I Googled,

Maybe it depends on if you broke the law on purpose or if you didn't have your seatbelt on you have to pay the entire tab. :boxing2:

Taken from Medicare-what’s covered:
Medicare may pay for emergency ambulance transportation in an airplane or helicopter to a hospital if you need immediate and rapid ambulance transportation that ground transportation can’t provide.

As noted above, Medicare would pay 80%, supplement would pay rest. Nothing is stated about an “at fault” accident.

:bigbow: Gingersnap! :coolsmiley:

My first month here in Tamarind Grove on my street, Southern Star Way which connects to St. Charles, a very busy two lane road a golf cart driver was killed. That golf cart driver was headed up St. Charles doing what was legal, driving in his golf cart lane, going under 20 mph. A landscaper in pickup truck pulling a trailer of lawn equipment pulled through the stop sign and pulled out right in front of that golf cart.

On the otherhand, too many cart drivers drive too fast. In parking lots especially. I always consider a person, a dog, a child running out from between parked cars, can I stop my cart quickly at 15 or 20 mph, the answer is no. I try and drive 5 to 10 mph and also through my CYV neighborhood, same thing, people, kids, a ball, a dog can run out of a driveway without you seeing until it's too late. Take it down to 10 mph or less when in parking lots or villa communities. I see drivers fly through our villas almost going around corners on 2 wheels, and it's not the kids, seniors driving like that.

As far as the roadways, the biggest problem is carts in a golf cart lane on a busy street, such as St. Charles, Pinellas or Hillsborough and someone pulls out of a side street and the cart hits the side of the vehicle, just like in the event I described above when a man was killed. I stare at the driver's faces, eyes, and make they see if they see me, and if I'm not sure, I slow down even though I'm in the right and in my lane, 20 mph into the side of a car is bad. It's called defensive driving and I do it in my car as well, that why I've never had an accident and I've been driving since 1965.

I learned to drive in St. Petersburg, the town Johnny Carson called "the city of the walking dead". I even drove a motorcycle for a year so, when you learn to drive in an atmosphere of retirees, you learn quickly that defensive driving will keep you safer.

That would depend on your insurance coverage. NOT THAT I WANT TO TEST IT OUT but ours covers any/all **NECESSARY** transportation and it specifically INCLUDES air evac.

Plus slow down, follow driving rules.. traffic signs..remember a car is first and bigger then you..car drivers watch out for gift cars..gee new concept everyone pay attention..period.

And if you don't have long term health care, end up in a vegetative state, you may have to go bankrupt and burden the state with your care--so if you don't wear a seat belt, hope you think out all the consequences

How do I know this, it happened to the Admiral's nephew--has 2% memory capability

Safety Belts Are a Must
 

[QUOTE=Velvet;1708302]When we were on our Lifestyle visit, we came across a golf cart with 2 occupants inside lying on its side on the road. My husband stopped the car and with the help of a couple of passing pedestrians turned the cart right side up with the occupants still inside. They said thank you, and drove off like nothing had happened. They were both wearing seat belts.[/QUOTE

Having been a state trooper for 28 years in Ohio, and conducting countless crashes involving property damage, injury, and fatal's - I can honestly say that I had never unbuckled a dead person. Your chances of surviving a crash, are a hundred times more in your favor if you wear belts. Any argument to the contrary i.e. "belts make me uncomfortable", "I'd rather be thrown from the car instead of being trapped", or any other excuse is just that - an excuse. Wear your belts, your head is no match for concrete.

I can Not agree more. More importantly get a car seat for your toddler grandchildren!!! You may have seen my husband and I riding with a full car seat in the front. I have not seen anybody else do this. We would not do it any other way. Toddlers being held by their parents/grandparents is NOT safe. Invest in a car seat and Use it. Our now four year old grandson (he was 3 last time he visited) Knows the golf cart is Not moving until he is buckled in his car seat! Kids don’t have a choice.(like adults so) It should be a law. This is a topic which arouses great emotion in me. A child is More likely to get injured in a golf cart accident if there is one. Please strap them in, at a minimum, but a car seat is BEST!!

Wouldn’t it best to not run the stop sign?

Its not just carts going fast in parking lots . car drivers are idiots too .

I have belts in my cart and use them regularly, but I’ve often wondered what would happen if my cart fell on its side. Wouldn’t my head still hit the ground? It seems to me that if we really want to be safe we should wear a helmet. There are no side-curtain air bags in golf carts.

Everyone's driving way to fast for what ever reason becoming insane around here

IF the golf cart driver ran the stop sign on purpose as the OP says, then I doubt that driver would have been wearing his seatbelt. And seatbelts won’t save you if you take those kinds of risks (running stop signs, speeding, etc). BTW, we do have seatbelts in both our carts and use them.

You got that right!

This happens when you are riding a bike or motorcycle too. It's probably safest to just assume everybody is trying to kill you and drive appropriately.

Golf cars are designed for golf course speed, not "on the road" speed. Hopping them up to 20mph + changes the handling dynamics. They were not designed for that. They are awesome and I love to drive around as much as the next guy but they aren't toys.

Unsubstantiated opinion and over generalization

In TV, in Florida, and everywhere else there are drivers going 20 over the limit and those going 20 under.
I've said this before, I'd rather deal with the guy going 20 over Either he is ahead of me and I won't catch him, or he will pass from behind and I won't see him again.
It's the bozos going 20 under that create a safety hazard---just watch the show as drivers make unsafe maneuvers to get around them, approach with caution!

Retired EMT
 

It is funny you should say that. : D.O.T. (Department of Transportation) did a Major Survey about carts with and with out seat belts. Their results of this test stated just what you said " Falling (Bale out) was better you leave the cart that to stay in it" Just maybe they should do another survey now. This is why DOT does not require seat belts in a regular golf cart. Maybe street certified should have them. Car are designed to keep people compartment safe if you stay inside it. Cart ahere found to be safer if you leave it. Just some Infor

Fig Newtons, one of my favorite cookies, I have 2 every afternoon, with my coffee.:coolsmiley:

Then I would like to give you A Fig Newton. Didn't Fig perform in Vegas for years and screw up his face after being trapped in a golf cart because of a seatbelt after an accident? He sure could sing but he was so ugly after the plastic surgery he could make a train take a dirt road. :1rotfl:

It was an ACCIDENTE!!!

If I get ejected there is gonna be some damage! Possibly a Sinkhole!:1rotfl::1rotfl:

Could you supply a reference or link please? I did a search and couldn't find this study. Though I did find a number of studies that say just the opposite, especially with children passengers.

It depends which way the cart fell.

I don’t know about golf carts but no seatbelt is safer on motorcycles especially if you wear a helmet, because you can get thrown clear. They have tested airbags for motorcycles but not seat belts. With golf carts, however, it may be different. In the case of slow speed accidents (like the one I witnessed where the golf cart just turned on its side) the seatbelts seem to keep the occupants safe and sound.

Not all policies cover a chopper, some do not cover all of bus service no matter if it’s life or death

Well it looks like we had another T-Bone tie, maybe all the good natured villagers who wave carts thru stop signs are conditioning cart drivers to believe sop signs are just a suggestion