Driving in The Villages
 

Anyone else driving on Morse, Buena Vista or El Camino feel like they wake up in the Twilight Zone? Meaning feeling like you are caught in the middle of the Daytona 500? Cars used to go maybe 40ish and now 50 to 60. Nevermind "racing" you through the roundabouts. And the money spent on diagramming proper lane usage in the roundabouts. And what happened to "Right turn, Right lane" and "Left turn. Left lane"? Tailgating is ridiculous too. Not sure what happened to "Florida's Friendliest Home Town".

All in a hurry to go - no place really. (just as long as it's in front of thy fellow villager)

Just joined... 1st post... Hmmm...

It is a race track. The worst traffic circle i've ever had experience with is Buenia Vista at El Camino. I bet if you sit and watch for no more than five minutes you'll see at least one traffic circle violation.

Welcome to The Villages. It will calm down come May.

:icon_bored:
:popcorn:

actually, I have just the opposite feeling. After getting off of 441, or 466, I breathe a sigh of relief being on Morse or BV. Fewer cars, generally less aggressive drivers, and thanks to the roundabouts better traffic flow.
Yes, some people speed, but that's hardly unique to inside The Bubble.
It's always good to be careful and defensive though.

I'd bet money that when TV was only 1/10 the size it is now, jerks abounded at the same ratio as they do now.

The sheriff's dept. will let the speed for now, then drop the hammer on them , then watch them cry...

IMO maybe 5% drives 35 MPH down those roads that was designed for 40 plus they are they usually in left lane. Even LEOs don’t drive 35mph or less. The only reason majority areas on those roads are 35 so the LSV can legally be on them. Now if you taking about MB out to 441 or Spanish springs few even drive 25 MPH max down that stretch which IMO most dangerous street in villages. Those streets are through roads through the villages, villagers not the only ones using them.

It won’t take 5 minutes.

it's a practice run before getting on to I-75

I always thought the traffic slows down on Morse and Buena Vista this time of year with more and more traffic as the Villages grow.

Generally don’t drive the car while here but have with the weather. The rotaries are well marked and if people stayed in the lanes through the rotary things would go ok. Speed aside but too many people drive in the left lane that should be in the right one if they want to go 30. Others use a yield sign as a stop sign and do not enter the rotary if anyone else is on the rotary. It is a huge learning curve if you have not been on one before. Growing up in New England we have been driving rotaries all out lives. As for the roadway itself there are some that race it but not as many as one would think.

Some, TOO MANY, forget the goal is for ALL to get there in one piece. The goal is NOT to teach others how to drive. We tend to notice STUPID drivers not safe ones.

The round a bouts it is a reach to believe that all know the rules and a further reach that they know the rules and will follow them. Driving in another drivers blind spot is risking an accident and yet some chose to sit there.

It used to be taught as defensive driving. Simply, if another driver of perhaps road conditions cause a potential accident where will you go to avoid an accident. If, the answer is you have no place to go to avoid an accident due to an error by another driver-you have ALLOWED YOURSELF TO BE IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.

Traffic circle=roundabout=rotary
 

Traffic circle concept. Great!
Traffic circle in actual use? Boggles the mind!

Many drivers seem to be frustrated NASCAR wannabe's. What is not to love about one big left turn? Pity the person going right or straight on.

How many years will that take??

answers are pretty simple -

your last question - that's just marketing not reality

Daytona 500 is brought by the phrase - it's that little peddle on the right, use it.. I've gone through these areas and really 20mph isn't going to work. find that pedal and use it. If everyone would just do what's necessary everything would be fine. I'm surprised you didn't add in the left lane hogs.

As a favor I've told my wife to quit tailgating everyone LOL

Why are we in such a hurry? Retirement means slow down and enjoy life. We have speeders, bad drivers, and those who complain about them.

Your last statement fact-checked MOSTLY FALSE.

"You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land of strange creatures operating a myriad of amazing vehicles. That's a roundabout up ahead - your next stop, the Villages Zone!"

Sorry, missed that definition in the OED

And we also have snails, which are a far greater danger than speeders

I’ll take a speeder over a driver that doesn’t know how to navigate a roundabout. I can’t believe we have so many people that can’t drive here or should I say can’t read a sign that shows them how to navigate a roundabout. It’s pretty much a free for all going thru them. What the sheriff should do is revoke somebody’s license if they cause an accident or if they see somebody not navigating a roundabout properly because the driver can’t read or can’t comprehend any longer

Just because I'm OLD doesn't mean I have to be Slow. People don't understand 'what's the rush? Its the same rush there always was. The only place I don't go in retirement is to work, which I never rushed to anyway. Now I have across town stints to get to my next event be it a Tee time or a Pickleball Clinic or a club meeting.

Welcome to Villages 2022
 

Traffic circles….I liken them to the Arc de Triomphe around 12 and 4. Maybe with a twist of Amalfi Coast. Driving defensively is always the best option looking for idiots. There always seems to be one…sometimes it’s me.

Amalfi Coast? Lot more panache with the driving there.
I love driving in Italy, and Italian drivers.
Lunacy, but with style!

Italian driving
 

Yes, the motor bikes keep it flowing nicely!

In my experience cars tend to go about 35 on those roads, with a good share going 40 when they can. 50 to 60 is highly unusual. The exception is Morse south of 44, where the speed limit is 45.

You must have better things to do then watch for traffic circle violations

I’ve said this repeatedly, it’s the “Friendliest Hometown” until they get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Driving like idiots and acting like they own the road.
 

The police are not doing their job in policing our roadways. I very seldom see them out there issuing tickets. If they would just set a speed check once a month in a different area (without notice) and nail everyone one of these self centered drivers with a citation things would change. The slogan, "The Friendliest Home Town," died a number of years ago. It was never like this 15 to 20 years ago.

To answer your question - no. Thank you

Often it is the Twilight Zone. Yesterday, leaving Pinellas to continue through the RB to Moyer, the car ahead of us took the right lane/ outside lane entry to the RB, immediately cut across to the inner lane nearly missing the person who entered from the left lane and was foolish enough to get alongside, then cut right back into the outer lane, just missing the idiot who entered from Morse northbound without waiting for traffic in BOTH lanes of the RB to pass, then proceeded down Moyer. He got to the left turn lane for the neighborhood market, and put his RIGHT turn signal on to turn left. As we passed we saw he was driving alone with a mask on. My wife termed this the "trifecta" of driving stupidity.

I've only been here 8 years, so are you saying that 15-20 years ago this was a police state and you wish it were that way again???? No thank you. And while personally I don't speed, I would be hesitant to call someone going 36 on BV or 20.1 in a cart lane "self-centered"

BTW, it is still America's Friendliest Hometown---it's just that after a speeder runs you off the road into a ditch, they give you a friendly Villages wave:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

The people behind me never speed??
:1rotfl:

Book em denno
 

We will all be talking about the good old days when drones will be issuing the summonses from above a la the red light cameras.

Absolutely. Have resorted to taking the backroads to any destination. Longer drive, but safer and more scenic. Main roads are an accident waiting to happen. Have witnessed 3 in the last month!

Setting Reasonable Speed Limits
 

In my opinion, the reason that we see so much speeding in The Villages is that the speed limits have been set artificially slow. From an engineering perspective, proper speed limits are set (barring special circumstances)(schools, hospitals, etc..) by allowing traffic to flow with no set speed limit and monitoring actual speeds taken. Once the data is assembled, it is customary to set the speed limit at the 85th percentile of the speed that people actually chose to travel. There are many documents available that explain this concept.

The forum won't allow me to link to a document that explains this concept, so if you are interested, google "Setting Speed Limits 85 Percentile Method"

When speed limits are set too slow such that they make no sense for the type of road, people simply ignore them. Now, you can temporarily force compliance by enforcement, but when enforcement ends, so does compliance.

Morse and Buena Vista are two lane each way divided roadways with limited access at clearly marked traffic circles. 30 MPH is a silly speed limit. In most municipalities, this road would be 45 MPH with recommended speed reductions into the traffic circles. I bet that if someone today performed a speed study on the road (without enforcement) we would find that 45 MPH is the 85th percentile.

Likewise, 30 MPH on feeder roads in the neighborhoods where no driveways exist are other silly speed limits. With clearly marked intersections, limited driveways, turn lanes, and no residential driveways, these speed limits in other areas of the USA would be in the 40 MPH range. Again, a speed study would probably show this.

The 25 MPH speed limit in the housing areas where residential driveways intersect is a standard in many parts of the USA and they are reasonable.

People aren't in a rush. They just don't want to waste time going artificially slow when it isn't necessary. It would be nice if government here set the speed limits based on established engineering principals rather than what someone "feels" is appropriate.

There is little or no speed enforcement on Morse Blvd. Sumter Co. Sheriff Dept. has an enormous number of police cars, but I see one on Morse maybe once a month. It's simple, if there is no enforcement, there will be more speeders.

You’re right this place sucks let’s move back north who’s with me? Just what I thought not one taker, I guess it’s not as bad as complain or say it is!

I go out of my way just so I won't have to use that one.