Golf cart speed
 

:police:I heard a rumor from 2 different sources that police were ticketing golf carts exceeding 20 mph. A court appearance is required and then there is a $850.00 fine. Has anyone been stopped?

Last week they were pulling them over in Belvedere and ticketing them. I was in my car! :laugh:

Becky

Belvedere is one of the spots I was told about. The tickets are for driving an unregistered motor vehicle. Florida Statute 320.01.

This is a good thing IMO
 

Would be interesting to get some facts about what gets you pulled over. I think this is a good thing for safety. At $800+ it should be quite a deterrent.

On the other hand, I would hope it is not a major crime to be at 20.8 MPH just because my Club Car DS caught a gust of wind.....

Back to the other hand, I would also like them to hand out tickets for carts that can only go 13 MPH :duck:

I hope these RUMORS are true. I am tired of some of the high speed carts driving recklessly. Some times they are swerving nearly out of control.

BUT does anyone have some real facts on this RUMOR?

Golf cart ticketing
 

Maybe that last golf cart wreck prompted this clampdown.

"Back to the other hand, I would also like them to hand out tickets for carts that can only go 13 MPH" I wonder if there is a lower limit at which they can ticket you. If not, "merrily ? we creep along. :ohdear:

One of our neighbors got stopped and was given a $135 ticket for doing 27mph near Cane Garden last week. She does plan on fighting the ticket and has had a speedometer installed and her electric cart tested for its speed. Top speed is 22.5 mph, so it should be interesting when she goes to court later this month.

They were checking cart speeds as they passed the St. Charles pool yesterday. I didn't see the police officers, but some of our neighbors did see them. They weren't sitting in a car. Instead, they were hiding behind some of the landscaping.

One neighbor was told that if you purchased the cart new, you should have received a certificate that contained the maximum speed for your specific cart. I never received anything like that when I bought my new cart from the Villages Golf Cars store. Is there really such a certificate?

..

Oh Gracie
 

You are a hoot!:clap2::clap2::clap2:

It will be interesting to see what her defense is, considering the Florida Law reference what is classified as a Golf Cart.

320.01 Definitions, general.--As used in the Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term:

(42) "Low-speed vehicle" means any four-wheeled electric vehicle whose top speed is greater than 20 miles per hour but not greater than 25 miles per hour, including neighborhood electric vehicles. Low-speed vehicles must comply with the safety standards in 49 C.F.R. s. 571.500 and s. 316.2122.

If your Golf Cart is capable of going more than 20 miles per hour it is no longer classified as Golf Cart but a LSV and is required to be registered and insured as stated in the Florida Statues.

I had the radar gun on my cart as I came around a corner a few weeks ago. Also, I noticed in the paper an article about the new police golf cart that was just acquired.

I too believe all the accidents we have been reading about recently is part of the new crackdown. Watch for driving under the influence to be part of this too.

Huh? C'mon Gracie, we all want to know what you said that was so :p funny, and now you removed it! :cryin2:

Some of these carts that only go 13 mph are rentals from the golf courses. As you pass them you will see the number on the side and no rain apparatus.

For some reason, some new carts do not have a lot of speed. A friend bought the cheapest cart he could and it only goes about 14 mph. I think it is the controller they put in it.

But I do agree they are a PITA at 13 mph.

As for those going over 20 MPH, give them the tickets!!!

I am not a lawyer but I could see two things that I would find interesting, in this case, to see what the judge would say.
1. Yes the law says 20 and this cart can do 22.5 but the ticket says 27, which to me is an error.
2. The officer drove up behind her on a motorcycle and used his speedometer to guage her speed. No radar was used.

Not sure how much weight either of those has but I still think they could be interesting arguments.

Police use a certified speedometer with a +or- of 1mph given.
A vehicle that is properly pace clocked with a certified speedomter is every bit as accurate as radar.
Radar is most accurate while running "stationary" or MV (moving vehicle) radar as they are approaching you.
Go fast.............get a ticket:BigApplause:

golf carts
 

Police have to much time on their hands in the Villages.

What does this mean??

Anyone that wants to go over 19.8 MPH should get a ticket, even going down the hills.

If we go back to the original post here, I think "rumor" is the operative word. I too would like to know what comment GG edited, come on Gracie, oh persnickety pundit or whatever your title is.....gn

A friend of one of my friends got a ticket for going 31 mph in a 25 mph zone - $130 fine.

There's an article in todays edition of Village Voice concerning this issue. " Law Enforcement responds to your requests and have been cracking down on moving violations) They mention rolling stop sigh and speeding. (page 4) :crap2:

What is the Village Voice and can it be accessed online (for those of us who are not in TV at the moment)?

There are a number of factors contributing to the cost of being ticketed for travelling 25 MPH in a golf cart.

Any golf cart capable of exceeding 20 MPH is no longer a golf cart. A ticket is issued based on it being unlicensed vehicle. Add to that it is not properly equipped. Plus it is improperly insured. To top it all off, it must be reconfigure so it will not be capable of exceeding 20 MPH.

Oh yes, let's not forget the cost of souping it up in the first place.

I would like to know the actual cost. If I did I would be tempted to place a sign on the back of my cart stating "PASSING ME COULD COST YOU $X,XXX.00". On second thought I wouldn't do that. It might anger some one who "carries" and I might get shot.

:BigApplause:

I agree,and the woman who was given the ticket for speeding and is going to contest it may end up paying much more if her Golf Cart is not properly licensed,registered and insured.

If I'm not mistaken, when a violator contests a traffic ticket in court, and is subsequently found guilty, the judge has the prerogative to impose an even higher than normal fine. For example a $175 speeding ticket could turn into a $500 fine.

??? So you're entitled to your day in court but it will cost you extra?

i too would be afraid of being shot - yes they were out on Belvedere today by the bonnybrook rec center. one of the offers had a motorcycle and a radar gun - i think they were giving warnings not tickets as i pulled into the mailboxes i saw three people get pulled over they gave each a piece of paper and did not ask for id so i am assuming it was a notice of the law. i hope it puts a stop to the fast carts - it seems there are more and more fast carts maybe its the baby boomers feel the need to go fast??? all you fast cart owners beware of the gendarme.

I think it was bound to happen. And with the villages growing, I think the chance of an accident will go higher with more and more golf cars on the roads and the increase in the speed of a golf car does not help. Lets look at this as a good thing being proactive rather than reactive. Is 20mph in a golf car really that bad? and whats the rush?

FunFan is right... What's the rush?"

It's not like we have to go to work tomorrow morning.

I think it's interesting the slant of the large majority of these posts in consideration of my observation that almost every cart I've been on the paths and roads with go faster than legally proscribed. It's no so common to see a truly legal cart in the true definition. All you have to do is see the many carts with 10" wheels, and they now go faster, for one example.

20 MPH is fine..as long as everyone does the same speed. What bites is the rentals that go 13-14 mph. I had one of those and it was frustrating. If I went any slower-I'd be going in reverse.

You cannot access it on line. It's a publication of TV Homeowners Association. It was inserted into todays paper. (I don't think they have on line access)

I have a legal cart, no oversized tires and it cannot exceed 19.9mph and yes the speed has been checked. It is a golf cart orginally designed to go 14mph, I'm happy that we are allowed to go 19.9mph.

If I really wanted to go faster I would buy an LSV and register and insure it as required by Florida law.

That's very laudable of you, but I'm merely making an observation, not an accusation. I still believe you're in the minority.

The Villages Voice is on line. thevha.net

Before work began on the golf path along El Camino, I went by a motorcycle officer who was checking with a detector, not the cars, but the golf cars along the path.

This thread is kind of nuts. Are you serious there are uniformed police officers spending their time with radar guns checking for golf carts that go over 20 mph? How fast can a non licensed one realistically go? 25 or 30?
Are speeding carts on golf paths really that big of problem. I have been all over TV on 6 visits and never saw one.
I think a few paths should be widened for safety on northside, and they are working on that now.. but seriously... Uniformed officers after golf carts going 5mph over their max speed?
Do they also patrol in TV or just come in once in awhile to write tickets?

I have to disagree with JimJoe - it is a good use of the officers (actually deputies) time. As noted in The Village Voice yesterday, many TV residents have been clamoring for increased golf cart traffic enforcement. Our local law enforcement is simply responding to the desires of the public they serve. I think their efforts should be applauded. More than golf carts use our "internodal recreational trails" - walkers, joggers, bicycles, etc. Speeding golf carts make it unsafe for them. I, for one, am very happy to see the laws being enforced on our golf cart trails and I hope it keeps up.:BigApplause:

Some of the posts bring on another question. Do the police have any jurisdiction on the trails? After all they are private property. I think the tickets have been issued only where carts are driven on roads with seperate lanes for cart use.