speed vs insurance
 

I know that golf carts are limited by law to 20mph. We all know that it is easy to change the governor and allow it to go faster.

Every time this comes up someone chirps up and states that changing the governor will invalidate your insurance if you are involved in a wreck. Does anyone have any ACTUAL proof that this has ever happened?

The fact that my cart can go a little over 20 does not mean I do go or - if involved in a mishap - was going over 20. My car will go over 100 but as long as I stay at or below the stated limit I'm legal. How would the insurance company know if an owner changed the governor? Who is to say it did not come from the factory as it currently sits?

Bottom line is I'm inclined to believe this is an old wives tale.

Florida statute defines a golf cart as having a maximum speed 20mph. If it is capable of going faster than 20mph but not faster than 25mph then it is a LSV. If it is higher than 25 then it must fall into another classification. Note that unlike your car, the definition is not dependent on how fast the vehicle was actually traveling, it is dependent on how fast the vehicle is capable of traveling.

So, supposedly, a Yamaha gas PTV comes from the factory set at 19.5 mph max speed but will exceed 20 mph going downhill. So with this fact, does that make a stock PTV an LSV?

Mine has hit 23 going down some of the bridges. I'm sure it has also hit 60 while being carried on the back of a truck and who knows how fast it would go if it was dropped from an airplane.

Dig into the Florida statutes and you might find the test conditions for the 20mph limit determination.

20+ downhill isn't likely to be an issue (especially as rare as hills are). On the other hand, 23mph along Pinellas Place could be an issue.

I have dug pretty deep but can’t find anything that defines test conditions required for golf carts vs LSV’s. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.

Have you ever heard of an Auto Insurer not paying an auto claim, because the driver was speeding? What's the difference?

Have you ever heard of a Home Insurer denying a claim, because someone did some electrical work, without a Permit and not being an electrician?

Did you ever hear of a Health Insurer not paying a medical claim, because the person smoked or drank?

I'm sure the above has happened somewhere, under some circumstances ... but it's surely not common.

Maybe you could get info close to the fact[s] by stopping in your closest Sheriff's office and asking someone on duty your questions. Probably not as much fun as reading response posts here - but then facts never are.

Technically, if an LEO stops a cart going 20 to 25 mph, the driver will not get a ticket for speeding. Since a cart going that fast is not a golf cart, but is a Low Speed Vehicle, the ticket will be given for driving an unregistered vehicle if the cart is not registered, insured, and licensed. The next question would be if insured, was it insured as an LSV or a golf cart.

The sheriff's office would have no knowledge on insurance coverage following a golf cart incident.

I received a ticket going 25 mph a few years back. I had to go to court but was acquitted so the court cost was 300 bucks plus one moth @ 50 bucks to the probation office Btw, if I didn’t get acquitted it was 6 month probation and 1800 dollars plus 50 bucks a month for 6 months to the probation officer

I was an insurance broker for forty years in Canada. There is nothing in your policy about your max speed being 20 mph. The only way they would know you were speeding is if a policeman was standing there with a radar gun when you crashed. What are the odds. Setting your speed a few miles over the limit has no effect on your insurance, in my opinion.

theft
 

Wanted to make sure I was covered if my cart was stolen like in the squares or Walmart homeowners covers it - for $1,500. Ended up I had to get something like motorcycle insurance

There are many golf carts in TV that go over 20 mph. I have never seen anyone ticketed for speeding. Mine goes 20 and I am constantly being passed by faster carts. Where are you all going in such a hurry? If you need to go that fast, use your car. By the way, yesterday I had my left turn signal on and someone passed me on the left. Does anyone here really even know how to drive?

Excess Speed
 

You were acquitted and still required to pay $350 for court costs and probation office?! Acquitted, as I understand the definition, means the evidence wasn't there for a conviction, or the officer didn't show up to testify. Why would you have been charged that chunk of change under those conditions? Acquittal equals "not guilty", and the cost of the action should be borne by the state. Does anyone else have an explanation?

I'd love to know the real number but I agree...many go over 20. Down south I'd say it's darn near 100% rolling along at over 20mph. Other than the post by johnnybegood I've never heard of anybody getting a ticket so I'm not sure it's really "a thing".

Joe

I think the issue is not whether you are going to get a ticket or not. The issue is whether you have a habit of breaking the law or not, and how safe it is to do so.

Me, I do not make a habit of breaking the law knowingly. I also think that a golf cart over 20mph is unsafe. So I avoid exceeding 20mph, since that is the speed limit on the multi-modals, and I respect that.

Your mileage may vary.

Funny that I've never seen a speed limit sign on the MMPs, which are not county roads and according to others can only be "patrolled" for DUI, not speed. Of course, if anyplace needs to have a 20 speed limit, it is the MMPs especially approaching blind curves. There are some pretty unsafe cart drivers (and cyclists) out there.

As far as the other parts of that post go:

19.9 in a golf cart is safe but 20.1 is not???? I doubt it.
Anyone who goes 20.1 in a golf cart at times is "making a habit of breaking the law"?
You "avoid" going over 20? That implies your cart is capable of going over 20 which in and of itself makes YOU a "law breaker" :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Golf carts vs LSV per Fl DMV
 

We bought our cart at Cart World on 441, Lady Lake. It's one of the oldest and most reputable dealers in this area.

Our salesperson told us that they sold a cart to a man who changed the governor. He was involved in an accident that resulted in a death of another person.
The FIRST thing the police did was to impound the cart. The governor was checked, and found to be well above Florida regulations.
The store was spoken to by investigators about their proof of factory/mfg. delivery of the cart to the man and they were free of ANY AND ALL wrongdoing.

On the other hand, the man who changed the governor was charged. Proof was with the impounded golf cart and he was found guilty. He went to prison. Some lawyer probably got him out right away, I don't know.

I'd imagine that his insurance company did not pay the victim's family, but I have no further information.

I would imagine he lost, in more ways than one, and asked himself IF he would've done it all over again, if given a 2nd chance?

REMEMBER the 59th Bridge song.

That sales persons story convinced us to leave it alone!

It’s not carts going 20.1, but rather much faster. I clocked my buddies cart at 32 mph

Speed/ Insurance
 

This is an old "Karens" tale.
Your liability will cover anything not excluded in your policy.
That said, you could be held liable in a civil suit if a court finds you negligent.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.
This is not legal advice.

Agree 100%, however, both could be charged equally under the law (although unlikely). And this is why I think this law needs to be modified---just being capable should not be the standard for unlawful operation of a golf cart, you should actually be exceeding 20.

My car is capable of 140, should I be charged with "speeding"?
My kitchen knives are capable of killing my neighbor---should I be charged with murder?
My bottle of fireball in my liquor cabinet is capable of making me drunk---should I be charged?

The law kind of reminds me of the move "Minority Report" where psychics predicted a future crime and LEOs arrested the perps for actions they have not yet taken.

So what’s so wrong with that? I love my old wife’s tail!

Looks like there's a 5MPH grace period written into the law for golf carts. @20 MPR setup, but not violated by up to 25MPH. golf card over 25MPH is an LSV. I would think that a flat surface would be the test criteria for the 20MPH since different hills would produce different speeds. However, the gas cart will not respond to more gas going downhill once your at the setup speed. My gas Yamaha is setup for 20MPH it will go 22-23 mph going down some of the steepest hills and maybe a little more going down the bridge over 441 to Orange Blossom.

If your question is limited strictly to the matter of insurance coverage and denials of same, although many may have opinions about this subject, the correct answer to this inquiry is to read your policy. If an activity or a circumstance is not excluded from coverage, based upon the terms and conditions of your policy, it should not void your coverage. Questions about how law enforcement may treat any golf cart or LSV, based upon their tracked speed is another matter entirely.

Quickdraw

Could you please cite the Florida statute that has "5 MPH grace period written into the law"?

New to TV. Not an insurance agent, LEO OR Legal Beagle, but I have seen many signs through out TV that states max speed is 20MPH unless otherwise posted. As you say, haven't seen a sign on the MMPs, but I can't imagine the MMPs are higher speed limit than the shared roads.... IMHO

Apples and oranges......

Driving on a public road is a giant leap from driving on an MMP.

Your golf cart post is mindless and useless. My comment is about your "statement" about government giving to someone by taking it away from someone else - really! We all pay taxes, except for the billionaires. Our taxes are used for a number of purposes to help the country as a whole. So, you had two mindless/useless posts in one.

Speed …… these are not go carts. I used to walk / ride my bike on the modal paths. It got way to dangerous. People fly up and down the paths and make it unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. If you want to race , a go cart track may suit you. Slow down ,enjoy the beautiful vistas and stay off your phones. We’ll all be safe .

Dangerous driving
 

The law is the law but I see many who changes their govenner for speeds around 30. These carts were engineered for 20. At speeds exceeding that the cart becomes very unstable and your risk of major injury increases

My question is why do these speeders think they need this extra speed. Save your life and leave 10 minutes earlier!

I think that you may have missed a point. The law is not about how fast a cart was going at the time of the accident, it's defines a golf cart as a vehicle not CAPABLE of exceeding 20 mph.

If you insure your golf cart as a golf cart and it is capable of going over 20 mph, you have deceived to the insurance company.

A golf cart that is capable of exceeding 20 mph is defined as a Low Speed Vehicle. It cannot be capable of exceeding 25 mph. It must be registered and insured as an LSV and must have certain additional safety equipment that golf carts are not required to have.

Without knowing which post you are so upset about, this post is pretty useless itself.

Want to bet? How about this------you pay the taxes of the average billionaire and they'll be happy to pay yours. After all, most of them pay more taxes in 1 year than you earned in a lifetime.
The average billionaire paid 8.2% of their income in federal income tax, which is criticized as "low". But much of their income is in capital gains, and many of their deductions related to venture capital, which produces jobs for the rest of us. So, let's say a billionaire earns $100 million in a year---that's $8,200,000 in tax----more than the average lifetime earning of most of us. So much for the "fair share' idiocy.

Also, the top 1% of income earners, those over $540,000/year earn 21% of all income but pay 40% of all income tax---how is that fair??????

Electric carts can go 30 out of the box

Mine didn't come from a box, it came from a dealer who configured it to be 20mph.

TOTV must have a particularly interesting cross-section of TV residents.

I've only been here 2 years, but drive my golf to a Championship Course most every day.

I can count on one hand, the number of golf carts I can pass on an MMP, if I'm going 22 mph.

Apparently only the s l o w & l a w a b i d i n g post on TOTV..

All those scofflaws that have carts that go 24 mph - 30 mph, must be posting somewhere else.

Well I’m sure if you have a fender bender in your golf cart you won’t have time to reset your Governor back to factory specks. A car manufacturer doesn’t set the Governor to go highway speeds. Just don’t touch the speed of your cart. But I know some people will & I’m sure your Ins. Company won’t either! Just leave your fingers off the speed, you probably won’t save 5 or 10 mins.