When a Golf cart is on the golf path...
 

....and a person is walking towards them, should that person or persons go up on the grass and allow the golf cart to remain on the path, or should the golf cart go into the street and allow the person or persons to remain on the golf path ? I could be mistaken , but many a time the person will remain on the golf path forcing me to go into the car lanes, often having to wait till traffic clears to do so and puts me at risk for an accident, when all can be avoided if they allowed me to continue on the golf path. What are your opinions .....

Do you mean golf cart lane?

As a pedestrian, you in the golf cart aren't reliable, you can't see, you can be distracted, you can have a medical emergency. For me, I am on the grass ready to bolt. sorry, that's the survival label I assign to all golf cart drivers while walking.

sportsguy

IMHO, I always walk FACING traffic, and if I see a cart coming, I will move out of the way. I look at it this way, if I get hit by the cart I LOSE, if I get hit by the cart that was hit by the car, we both LOSE. The only way I can WIN is to get out of the way. Now if I happen to be driving the cart, I will stop if necessary because the person did not move out of the way, or worse yet was walking WITH traffic and did not see me.

IMHO anyone who walks in the diamond lanes as you seem to be suggesting, needs their brain tested in the first place.
If I were driving I would manouvre out of the pedestrians way, rather than hope they will move off the road.
Plenty of "I know my rights" from pedestrians in TV.

It's about courtesy Some have it...sadly most here don't ...walk alert expect the unexpected

Most of the roads, not all, that have cart lanes also have sidewalks, in which case it is illegal for the pedestrian to walk in the cart lane:

Florida statute 316.130 sec 3&4:

(3) Where sidewalks are provided, no pedestrian shall, unless required by other circumstances, walk along and upon the portion of a roadway paved for vehicular traffic.
(4) Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway in relation to the pedestrian’s direction of travel, facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.

This applies even if the sidewalk is on the other side of the road. If there is no sidewalk, I would be getting out of the way of a cart, car, or truck.

As far as another poster who said "pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way, that is not always true, there are several cases of this, but here is one from 316.130 sec 10:

(10) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.

I have had to use my horn to warn pedestrians walking in the diamond lane as I come toward them in my golf cart. The cart has the right of way and pedestrians should yield to the golf cart. When I sound my golf cart horn, the pedestrians hop onto the sidewalk which is where they should have been walking in the first place. I give them plenty of time to hop out of my way!!!

For the next 30 days or so as I walk the sidewalks sometimes I enter the golf cart lanes to keep a safe distance from approaching walkers on the same walkway. While driving my golf cart, I will not be inconvenienced to move into the car lane to safely pass people temporarily walking in my golf cart lane.

Afterwards, don’t we get points for bumping people? :icon_wink:

Good grief. With everything going on, people are worried about trivial stuff. Get over yourself.

I yield to the law of physics. If I am walking I yield to a golf cart, if I am in a golf cart I yield to a car, if I am in a car I yield to trucks. I find it safer that way.

One of my pet peeves with walkers, who have literally miles of safe places to walk in the Villages, who MUST walk in the diamond lane going south on Paige Place just past St. Timothy’s Church. I’m in a golf cart watching for cars coming up from behind me on my left, may have the sun in my eyes, and you suddenly round the curve there coming at me in my lane and refuse to budge. 👹 I of course slow down, but I have no where to go. Please try to be cognizant of this when you’re out walking. Thanks.

Street cart lane with sidewalk present- Florida law requires pedestrians to use sidewalk See # 7 above.

Me too, but the main reason IMO I might be in his blind spot due to glare ( Especially early mornings and before sundown) when in doubt i step way off the path for my own safety.

IMO Not trivial, several recent accidents with death couple years ago.

~~~

Bingo.




Law this, Law that. Rule this, Rule that. Enjoy the journey, slow down, drive defensively and use a little courtesy.


Can entitled be used in this tread??

Amen bro!

Works both ways. :) One of my pet peeves with GOLF CART drivers is while walking on the MULTI-MODAL PATH crossing Stillwater in either direction (but worse going north) there is a blind curve and the carts take the turn sometimes so fast it looks like they are on 2 wheels. If you walk on the CORRECT side you can get sideswiped by the cart or side view mirror (happened to me) coming around the blind curve or if you walk on the wrong side they scream at you for not walking on the PROPER side. In any case they need to use a BRAKE coming around the curve and not accelerate and slow down as it only takes 1/4 of a brain to see it is a blind curve and JUST MAYBE someone may be "sharing the path" (especially in the mornings).

Walking...
 

I try to walk everyday - something that is in my control. I also make it a habit to walk facing the traffic so that I can see & respond to what may be coming my way. Golf car, vehicle or bike - I get out of the way regardless. Just seems to make sense to me.

Having attended 2 golf cart seminars, the answer is for the golf car to move out of the multi modal lane.

To the person thinking walkers should move out of your way when you approach in a golf cart, you are mistaken. Pedestrians have the right away when walking in a proper lane or crosswalk if no sidewalk is available. Check the Florida law. The proper and courteous thing for a cart driver to do is slow down and yield to the walker.

Otherwise, see post #7

Those so called golf cart lanes are in fact officially called multimodal paths. As implied by the name, they are to be used by many modes of transportation. Where there are no sidewalks provided walkers have the right of way over all other modes of transportation and in fact the golf cart has the lowest level of right of way. If they can safely go into the traffic lane they may and should do so. If they can't they need to slow or stop until they can do so.

First of all they are not golf cart lanes. They are also for bicycles, walkers, and joggers. Yes if someone slower than a golf cart is in the lane then it is like passing a car you move into the car lanes. Stop being so stupid and enjoy this wonderful community. You are old a d not willing to adapt.

In Spanish Springs there are no sidewalks except in the square. What were they thinking when they built??? The should be a cat lane, bike lane and sidewalk.... with enough room not to run in to eachother.

Pedestrians have right of way on the multi-modal paths, which include the diamond lanes. Hit one, and you will become intimately familiar with the criminal justice system. The alternative is we all get nailed for the expense of designing, installing and maintaining sidewalks.

Not on a street with a sidewalk. When sidewalk exists(on either side) pedestrians have no right to be in any part of the street. except at designated crossings.

I've also seen folks jogging in the golf cart lanes on the streets (with a sidewalk adjacent to them) and wondered why they weren't using the sidewalk....

I just figured that they were the very same people that sit out in the left lane driving at exactly the posted speed limit just because they can

either they're naturally quirky, or they just get their jollies out of demonstrating that they can 'assert themselves'

Yes, if and when possible. Golf carts are faster than pedestrians.

Yes

Up here north of 466 there are very few sidewalks.... I yield to walkers in my cart. I slow down until i can safely pass them. It helps when walkers are facing oncoming traffic, but those blind curves often make it difficult, especially on the Buena vista MMP. So I slow down!

In skiing there is a rule: The Downhill Skier Has The Right Of Way....meaning that is someone is in front of you, they have the right of way and you are responsible to avoid them. If there is a walker, biker, golf cart, or whatever, in front of you, no matter which way they are traveling, you can see them and avoid them. They may, annoyingly, not be courteous enough to get out of your way, but you should still try not to mow them down. However, there is no reason to be walking in the diamond golf cart lane when there is a sidewalk. That's just stupid, and you can't fight stupid. (You still shouldn't mow them down though, no matter how tempting.)

You must be from France. LOL

Would you walk in the road for cars only, when a sidewalk is available? Same thing. Get off of the streets. You're crazy anyway if you think people in TV care about your safety. Too many people here are in such a big hurry! Never could figure out why.

Please visit the north end of The Villages. NONE of the major roads with golf cart diamond lanes have sidewalks. Therefore, a pedestrian walking on those roads will be in that diamond lane. If you need specific examples, look at SE 86th Belle Meade Circle, SE 172nd Legacy Lane and so on.

The pedestrian should walk facing traffic. Just like on a regular neighborhood road, where a car must move into the middle of the road to avoid a walking pedestrian, a golf cart must move into the car lane to avoid a pedestrian. Of course, prudent pedestrians should always be aware of their situation and be prepared to move if the oncoming vehicle isn't avoiding them.

No sidewalks north of 466
 

North of 466 there are no sidewalks.

The cart always moves over for a walker. Adjust your speed and safely merge with vehicle traffic.

Personally, it is much easier for me to step up on the curb and allow the cart to pass. I makes much more sense than to put the cart in danger from the cars.

"Most of the roads, not all, that have cart lanes also have sidewalks"

That is not true for a major portion of The Villages, and that's why we have the issue of this thread.

If I am the pedestrian, and if it's possible or reasonable, I step off the path for the golf cart. If I am the golf cart driver, I do what it takes to avoid the pedestrian.

I am a pedestrian, biker, golf cart driver, and a car driver so I think I see the issue from all sides. Of the four, I place golf cart drivers dead last for brains and courtesy. Now don't take offense if you are not one of the bad drivers, because most of the golf cart drivers I encounter are courteous and safe. However, the bad ones are really, really bad. I have lost count of the number of times I have faced a golf cart on the wrong side of the trail coming around a blind corner. Also, the way some shoot out of tunnels is just plain scary.