The Right of Way at the Gates Explained
 

Here it is . . . the right of way at the gates explained from the other news site -- short and sweet:


Here are a few friendly reminders about who has the right of way at gates in The Villages.

Vehicles (and bicycles) entering gate areas in The Villages via the road have the right of way.

Vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians on the multi-modal path must yield to the vehicles entering or exiting the gates via the roadway.

Although many drivers want to be polite, when on the roadway, do not stop for those crossing on the multi-modal in the gate areas. By stopping and allowing those on the multi-modal to cross the roadway, you may cause an accident. You have the right of way.

By stopping after passing through the gate for the golf carts crossing the road on the multi-modal path, you risk the gate arm lowering onto your vehicle or the vehicle behind you. Keep going — you have the right of way.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:





Minimum 50 posts on this thread?:22yikes:

You're right there. And how many will say that there is nothing wrong with stopping your car and waving a cart through?

Letting somebody in or go is dangerous, unless your traffic is at a standstill. I've seen many cars block the MMP at Eisenhower in which they have the right of way, but should use common sense.

I hate it when someone who has the right of way motions for me to go ahead, in an effort to be courteous. If something should happen, then I'd be at fault for not yielding.

Just don’t go. Motion back to the do-gooder for him to take his right-of-way.

Why would I wave to a driver of a vehicle to go and not let me in my golf cart go in front of them?

1. Vehicle weighs over 4,000 pounds golf cart wieghs 600 pounds with no protection on sides.

2. Driver of vehicle is perhaps 70 plus with foot on brake vehicle in drive and foot 1.5 inches from gas peddle.

3. Vehicle has right of way.

Now you know why I let the vehicle go first.

That is also something I don’t like. I had a guy waving through the cart in front of me, then I stopped and he, very angrily started waving his hands for me to go too, to which I replied, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY!!

The car that stops to wave people through, get angry if you choose to say no. The cars that don’t wave you say at St Charles get flipped of from cart drivers because they have been sitting forever.

The cars who blow through without slowing, because the gate is down, are those who choose to see how many points they can wrack up by scaring the crap out of golf cart.passengers

There is no Win Win, or Lose Lose for right of way, just hope for a clear no car path when u r in your cart

I finally decided not to make eye contact with the driver as they approach.

:beer3:

Good to know thanks for the info. Sounds like what I already knew but it's good to see that it's officially correct. Went through other gates in TV before, waiting for the fun to begin when they install ours.

And then if you refuse to go when in a cart after the "good samaritan" in the car waves you through, they give you the finger. These people think they are doing a good deed when in fact, it is very dangerous.

That is what I do. I have actually had a few drivers start honking their horn at me trying to get me to look at them. Kinda funny sometimes.

Works for me;)

Can not see the driver when the vehicles have dark tinted windows on the front seat windows. Have had numerous situations where people with dark windows have stopped and tried to wave me through but I could not see them. Nobody moves! I believe the dark tinted windows are illegal in Florida on the front seat windows and windshield. Has this changed?

I am glad to see that I am not alone in disliking vehicles stopping and waving me through when they have the right-of-way. Go when you are supposed to, don’t go when you’re not.

Same 2 rules apply to roundabouts

When I am in my golf cart, waiting to enter the roadway at the gate, I will not make eye contact with any of the drivers who are approaching the gate. I actually turn my head to the right so they are aware it will be futile to wave me through. I hope they get the message that drivers in cars have the right of way. Drivers in golf carts must wait until there is no traffic approaching the gate.

exactly!!!!!!!

I refuse to look at them. I turn my head so far to the right that they must get it that I will NOT go even if they stand on their head and turn blue.

Go one step further.... residents side, who come through the gate w there ID card, have the right of way, from the visitors coming through the gate at the same time. some gate guards, make the visitors pause to let the resident go first and then they let the visitor go through. The only gate guard that does this is on Morse. The other gate guards let both go through at the same time and let them wing it going into a one-lane road.

The trouble with all of these who has the right of way.
They assume ALL know the rules and that is clearly a reach.

Even more of a reach, A COMPOUND REACH? You must assume ALL others know the rules AND WILL FOLLOW THEM.

My advice from my departed father who taught me to drive. Expect those around you to do the stupidest possible thing, because that is exactly what they will do My dad is long gone but he still haunts any car I drive.

I think that the law doesn't say who has the right of way. What is does is say who must yield which is the cart. I just ignore the driver until it is safe to go. They can wave and honk all they want, but I'm not moving. p i s s e s off the carts behind me.

When they wave me through I pick up my cell phone and act like I am answering it. Then hold up one finger like saying wait a minute. They go immediately.

You and I would get along just fine.

When I am approaching the gate in my car at my usual slow speed, I do not even look to see if a golf cart or a bicycle is coming from the side. I know I have the right-of-way, so I just proceed thru the gate and go on my merry way.

IMHO. If you have a line of vehicles on the other side of the gate and a line of vehicles behind you, no harm done letting awaiting carts to cross. Courteous, sensible……giving up the right of way in some cases is just that.

Reply to the content of the post, not the poster.

Good. A related question. When a car pulls up to a guard shack expecting the guard to open the gate, who has the right of way, the driver or the guard who is reading a sci-fi novel and continues for another ten to fifteen seconds before noticing there is a car there? This happens often at the guard shack at Sierra Vista and Bailey Trail, driving west. One guard in particular, in the evenings.

There are quite a lot of threads on this but let's face it they sell what 400 new homes each month and people don't always know. I had to learn but I learned from one of Rusty's videos before I moved here. But also we have to teach our visitors because they don't know either. My sister lives in a country club in south Florida and the carts have the right away... so it is different . Be safe everyone!

You, unfortunately, are correct. Whether folks know the proper procedure or not, just want to be courteous or not there are also people who think "me first" all the time. Just be very cautious at all times and stay safe.

While driving a cart I totally don't mind stopping and waiting for a car who has the right of way. Do not stop and wave me through. I take it the same way as walking. When it's slowly driving through and within 15 feet I wait for the car to keep going. I dislike being waved through. Just go I'll be fine waiting a few extra seconds. I try to make it appear that I'm not in a hurry to step off the curb. Thinking of not going all the way to the stop line while in a cart too. Some way to show that I'm willing to wait and that I'm not on the edge to jump out. Of course I don't want anyone waiting behind me so when it's my turn to go I go.

On the other hand when I was new I stopped once while in a cart roundabout because the person waiting to go into it startled me. They went all the way up to the line and waited right as I was going around near them and it threw me off. But I've since corrected myself on that because I know I have the right of way while in the roundabout. I still watch the other person about to enter to make sure they're going to stop, but without stopping myself.

Gates
 

Sometimes being polite can be downright dangerous.

You are correct.

But let's look at WHY you are correct:

The cross traffic in carts on the MMP has a STOP sign at the gate crossing, which is why the cart must yield the right of way. No other reason

There are many on other threads that have posted that a car always has the right of way. This is simply false, it depends on the situation.
For example, at a 4 way stop sign, there is one cart that arrived a few seconds after the first of 3 cars. The first car has the right of way, then the cart. The cart is not required to yield the right of way to all 3 cars. Also, at merge points, cars are supposed to slow down to 20, so a cart with a safe lead does not need to yield the right of way (otherwise all carts would have to stop at the merge and wait for a car a mile back).

Yes. You may have the right of way, but if the other driver doesn't yield, for any reason, you could end up dead right. Please, always be careful. Live to enjoy another day.

When you stop for carts and bicycles, you are backing up traffic behind you and you may cause and accident.

Just repeating what most have said. If anyone gets annoyed, that's her or his problem; you don't have to let it be yours.

That is not how I approach the gate in a car. I do look to see if there is a golf cart and an impatient driver who proceeds and will cause an accident. I will not proceed unless I know it is safe to do so.

Really? We cannot respond to a poster? Isn't that how we have discussions on this forum? People do it all the time. I am aware we just have to be courteous to our fellow posters.

I'm not so sure that driving without looking is a great approach, even though you have the right of way. Also consider, in most jurisdictions, an accident is the fault of the last person who had a reasonable chance to avoid it. And even if you get by that legal hurdle, how would you feel if you killed a cyclist because you "weren't even looking"?

Totally agree. As young kid, I was taught to always look both ways. That was long before I was driving but that bit of excellent advice still holds true for pedestrians and motorists alike.