Walkers, "in the dark".
 

It is wonderful to see so many folks up and about walking at 6 or 7 in the am.

But perhaps a little safety is needed when it's dark outside.

Reflective clothing or lights of some kind, and walking against traffic.

All or any is your choice for sure but remember, you are walking with older people driving golf carts and cars that most likely are vision impaired to some degree as well as having slower response time, and more and more on the phone thinking they can talk and drive just fine (yeah right).

Anyone here owning a golf cart knows when driving it with front window up, in the dark, visibility is poor at best. Add to that, you all know many drivers here are not as good (or safe) as they think.

Lastly, the most important thing to remember;

The fact that "you the walker" think you can see fine while walking has nothing to do with the other person's vision or ability to be safe.

No perhaps. Safety is needed!

There are no sidewalks and people are out walking their dogs at all hours. I have seen people walking in the middle of the street at night wearing dark clothing. Reflective vests cost under $10.

Villagers aren’t smart enough to walk on the correct side of the street or wear appropriate nighttime clothing. If there is a sidewalk Florida requires that pedestrians use it. There are even knuckleheads running in the cart/bike lane when there is a sidewalk right next to them
Some of the older Villages don’t have sidewalks. Please pay attention.

Not having sidewalks is unsafe.

This topic has been discussed many times before, but still people walk in the dark dressed in black clothing and sometimes with a small dog on an extendable leash. I am amazed that there are so few accidents.

I absolutely agree. Walkers - Please go buy one of these vests. A little red light is not enough.

I cannot count the number of times I or my wife "saw" a walker AFTER we were beside them, so far everyone has been lucky, I stay in the correct lanes, and the walker happened to be on a sidewalk, or at least in the gold cart path. NONE of them had lights, reflective clothing, and at least light colored clothing....

When I was up north, I tried to get my town to require reflective vests but they didn’t even bring it before the city council.

Any chance Sumter county could require it for people walking on the streets between sunset and sunrise?

"Walkers in the night exchanging glances,
Wondering in the night
What were the chances they'd be getting home
Before the night was through...................":sing:

Had a guy in my neighborhood up north that did speed walking after work. Its dark early in the evening.
The guy had a reflective vest but put a string of battery powered blinking christmas lights on the vest.

It looked funny…but you could always see him

Incorrect; there are a number of sidewalks in TV.

Awards
 

Some folks want to be Darwin Award winners.

The other night we were coming back from Brownwood at around 9pm and came upon a guy walking in the cart lane on Marsh Bend, dark clothing and almost didn’t see him.

Another thing if you can’t see the head in cart the eyes in head can see you. They are many blind spots in vehicles a pillars, mirrors, glare. Especially glare when sun comes up, or down, and in you face in vehicle. The slanted windshields thick A pillars are dangerous. They can completely block out walker, motorcycle, and even vehicle at right angle. Walkers on MMP think they can stroll down middle or right on center line two three abreast when traffic coming both ways. IMO same as walking on street facing traffic and on edge ready to get out of harms way if get caught in blind spot. But some want to be dead right or looking for the getto lottery. When I walk I get out of road, I am responsible my safety and don’t depend what ever coming at me. I don’t challenge I’m in right.

And diamond lanes same as walking on street. Not stroll down the middle or at white line challenging what coming at you.

Or looking for Morgan and Morgan.

The above statement is absolutely correct for the majority of golf carts that have tinted windshields. Tinted golf cart windshields and driving at night, especially in the rain, are a dangerous combination. We have two Yamaha’s, one with a tinted windshield and the other with a clear windshield. The difference is huge, we always take the cart with the clear windshield after the sun sets. We will never again get a tinted golf cart windshield, that’s what sunglasses are for. I totally agree with others about a reflective vest, for only $7 on Amazon, nobody should be out walking after dark without one.

This has been a good PSA and reminder to me - I just pre-ordered on Amazon reflective walking gear (LED) lights to wear for my morning walks.

And where did all these villager’s come from? If they aren’t smart here they wasn’t smart there🙂

Or walking in rain.

Walking two three abreast unsafe also. Single file when traffic approaching.

You could be caring Mac truck grill with locomotives head lights and still get hit. Be ready to get out of road.

I think there are very few sidewalks in the Villages - particularly in the new areas. There may be some south of 44 but I haven't seen one.

Totally agree with you! I leave in the early am and there are so many walkers with little, bitty flashlights, dark clothing, dogs on long leashes, etc. Please think about putting safety first so we can see you and enjoy your time outside.

There is no true solution
 

Just glancing over this topic, many of the posts mention the lack of sidewalks and the non-use of reflective gear. Let's cut to the chase, there are people who are too stupid to be walking the earth. These are the very people if they get injured due to their inability to take precautions will look for someone to blame. No matter how many warnings you will have in place, some fool will decide that walking their dog down the middle of I-95 at 2am is a great idea.

My first time the other morning, making a right turn on the road towards the gate, and I see a lady right there who apparently saw me and moved.

After that I more carefully look for people in the dark when driving. But I would never walk in the dark. Part of the reason I walk is to get a little sun. I don't get these walk in the dark people.

We might as well lump in the number of people who drive their cars/carts without their head lights on before sun up or sun down, in the rain or in the fog. Last Tues during the morning fog, I would estimate 40-50 % of the carts/cars on the roads did not have lights on. And before someone argues that my car has "automatic lights", you as the driver is still responsible to ensure your headlights, not your driving lights are on when the law requires. There's a little green light with the symbol of your headlights that tells you when the headlights are on. Learn where it's located on your dash.

I think I will wear all black and go for a walk. It seems to be the trend.
I think I will wear all black and go for a bike ride. Yep, I see that one too much as well.

There are sidewalks, on one side of the street, on some of the busier roads, but there are no sidewalks on the residential streets within my village. 'A number' of sidewalks don't improve safety if there are no sidewalks where people are walking & cars & trucks & golf carts are driving.

I’m an early morning walker and always carry a flashlight. I agree in what you are all saying but I have also seen on a number of occasions cars and golf carts drive by with no headlights.Always be aware of your surroundings.

Walking in the dark
 

unfortunately walkers take second place to golf carts in all aspects of village’s lifestyle including golf courses I don’t like it, but it’s part of the total package so I accept it. Even wearing a reflective vests and carrying a light i have had close calls with golf carts, so when I get in my 80s we will probably relocate to a more walker friendly community, where there are sidewalks everywhere and you don’t have to dodge golf carts. I should add we spend 7 months in Rhode Island and overseas, and they are more walker friendly. “ The more you walk, the less you’ll weigh “

They are called darkwads

Urban Dictionary: Darkwad

Concrete is harder on the skeletal system than asphalt which is why you may see runners avoiding the sidewalks

Lots of no golf cart walking paths in the Fenney / Marshbend area.

Personally I notice flashlights much sooner than reflective vests. I don’t have to be close enough or in the proper alignment for my lights to reflect off the vest.

Correct
 

Try okahumka run. No sidewalks. Narrow street.

“ Florida law is clear that pedestrians should keep to the side of the road, walking on the shoulder whenever possible. The same exceptions apply here; if the shoulder or side of the road is blocked or unsafe, pedestrians may carefully walk in the street following all common-sense safety precautions. “

“ Florida law is clear that pedestrians should keep to the side of the road, walking on the shoulder whenever possible. The same exceptions apply here; if the shoulder or side of the road is blocked or unsafe, pedestrians may carefully walk in the street following all common-sense safety precautions. “

“When the street does not have a sidewalk, pedestrians should stay as far away from the edge of the roadway as possible. Walking toward oncoming traffic is the best way to remain visible.”

Quote from Google

Key words side and shoulder” when blocked wait for traffic to pass, the common sense safety precautions.

So you’re right it’s walkers responsible to walk in safe manner. When I walk I take myself out of any possible danger. I don’t Hesitate get off the street or path to get far away from getting hit.

Walkers
 

I walk at 7am wearing a reflective vest carrying a flashlight, so no problem. Of course, daylight savings ends November 5, so 7am will be 8am for 6 months much lighter out .

You are right. I drive a Toyota Prius, which are notorious for having low beam headlights designed for city driving and don’t easily light up pedestrians. The high beams do, but people don’t like me to use my high beams. Fluorescent green seems to show up best, especially from a distance or in fog. Reflective strips help, especially if they are moving. Some of these little LED strobes some bicycle riders use are terrific—I can see them a quarter mile away at dusk when I can’t even see the rider. It’s so easy to keep a reflective vest near the door and throw it on by habit. Even on bright sunny days, the glare can make it hard to see people. There’s a reason why the people working near the roads around here planting flowers are required to wear fluorescent green shirts.