Village golf carts headline make ABC News today
 

As usual speeding seems to be blamed. Never mentioned drunk driving, illegal maneuvering by carts or vehicles. IMO most of accidents was NOT caused by golf cart speeding, but that’s my opinion. Cause was from drivers mistakes or drunk IMO.

Golf cart accident survivors, families push for stricter safety regulation – WFTV


Lots of golf carts here.

Wrong forum?
 

Shouldn't this be in the Non-Villages group, or maybe the Sports forum?

Jeff Sperbeck, NFL star John Elway'''s longtime agent, dies following golf cart incident - ABC News

John Elway's agent, dies following golf cart accident (in California.)

Stay tuned, I'm afraid the worst is yet to come.

Seems many of the new 4-6 passenger carts now being sold are capable of 25-30+ mph.

We're seeing families (Middleton) in these miniVan like 6 (8 with rear facing seats) passenger carts full of kids.

They're so long they can't stay in lane for the blind tight turns.

It's a disaster waiting to happen at the high speeds on paths designed for 20 mph and number of passengers in the carts.

Sperbeck, 61 yrs old, fell out of the cart and banged his head on the asphalt.

It was after a party and Elway was driving. Seems to be at least appropriate to assume that seat belts weren't being worn.

Here we go…. An unfortunate minority of people are getting lawyers and tv involved creating an issue to mess up the responsible people of TV.

I’m all in favor of the local LEOs enforcing traffic rules for carts (especially speeding, dui, and such), but don’t wrap us in helmets and bubble wrap to protect us from our lifestyle.

I saw that news on ABC. It was not targeting The Villages (for a change)

Correction: They put an extended version on this morning's news, with multiple clips from The Villages and an interview with a Sumter Co. deputy. They showed a trashed cart on Morse near De La Vista entrance----except----the cart was in the car lane. In typical media style, they dug up a sob story from a cart accident victim---in January 2020.

The main thrust of the segment was a push for mandatory seatbelts in golf carts----which is actually a pretty good idea. But unfortunately, the muckraking style of the media will probably lead to unforeseen consequences. At least the "more police, more tickets, more enforcement" crowd will be happy, because I'm pretty sure that will be in our future after this news story. So better be sure you never drive your cart at 20.1 mph----they might execute on the spot ala Judge Dread. :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

PS: I'm STILL waiting to see all those golf carts going 40 mph like some on TOTV have claimed

Carts
 

20mph is to slow,

Dumb Ass

" Cause was from drivers mistakes or drunk IMO. "

mistakes ?
You mean driving negligently, and like a maniac?
You mean like I'm approaching a STOP sign and a golf cart going too fast, and making a left, cuts the corner into my lane?
You mean like I'm rounding a blind curve on the MVP and a golf cart is in the middle of the road?
You mean like a golf cart coming out of a tunnel to a tee, and doesn't STOP at the STOP sign?
And then there's just planning to run every stop sign. I've had golf carts skid to a stop halfway into my lane.

? Vehicles getting too big ?

Yeah, if a golf cart cannot be used on courses, then it is not a golf cart.

If 2 cannot be parked next to each other in one space, it is not a golf cart.

If it were a huge SUV of utility vehicles made for farm or off-road trails (like hunting), then it is not a golf cart.

I think this should be nipped in the bud.

And probably alcohol involved?

Yes, and they probably drive their vehicles same.

It happens but is rare. Only seen it once in Lynnhaven. Or near Lynnhaven. Probably about two years ago. It passed me while I was coming home with groceries.

I looked for the news report yesterday and watched the wrong video. The one I saw was from 2021, was still about the Villages, featured the reporter riding in a cart in the traffic lane rather than the golf cart lane, and had a talking head mention that golf carts could now reach 40mph!

So the 40mph must have existed as far back as then.... I heard it on the TV.

Darwin Award.

Regardless what anyone says, most golf carts are going 23-25 mph here in the Villages. Even at 20 mph, people don't realize you are going fast enough to sustain serious injury if anything happens. So, yes seat belts should be mandatory.

I really detest "mandatory." I understand the thought behind it but I just don't like the Govt forcing me to protect myself.

If I am not hurting someone, leave me alone.
If the answer is I am making choices that burden society then watch out, that's a very long, very slipper slope.

You would think that speed limits in the Villages would be mandatory but most cars and golf carts I see in the Villages are going well over it. I cannot see practically though how this could be stopped. They are going to keep speeding. Seatbelts would help but that would only be the choice of the person unless they make it mandatory.

Cars, trucks, boats, people get killed everyday.

Carts be careful, enjoy the ride and the beauty of The Villages.

Not going to help keep insurance premiums reasonable.

six passenger
 

The Villages use them to haul potential customers around. Seen them with six clowns inside.

The article indicates he fell out of the back of the cart, seemingly implying it was a rear facing four seater. It’s no wonder insurance companies are refusing to write policies on those things.

You'll be waiting a long time. I think the imaginary radar gun needs to be recalibrated.

Sure does. Yet the assertion by some that carts are going 40+ keeps resurfacing on all related threads. Yep, I agree with you that it will be a long wait until it really happens

Right, but look at it this way. You don't wear seatbelts, you fall out of the cart, you don't care what happens to you but you may cause an accident with another cart when your body falls in front of their front wheels potentially making them fall out of their cart or hit a tree. :shocked:

The next time that happens will be the first time and I still will not be any condition to care that someone was following too close.

Exactly, anyone with a "rear facing" 4-seat golf cart has to be VERY careful when taking a turn. What happens is that one of the front tires will come off the ground on the turn and the cart will lean. Doing this too fast and the golf cart can turn over, especially if you have adults(weight) on the back of the cart. Careful out there people!!

Don't need helmets and bubble wrap, but seat-belts should be standard issue with all golf carts, new and used, sold by licensed dealers. If the dealer didn't get the used cart with seatbelts, they should be required to install them before re-selling the cart.

This way - insurance companies can say "well he wasn't wearing his seat belt, which was available for him to use. So we won't be covering his injuries, or any damage to his cart or anyone else's property that occurred immediately following his ejection from his seat."

Make the driver who chose not to use seatbelts be 100% responsible for all damages. And if a minor child falls out and gets killed, charge the driver with negligence of a minor, and vehicular homicide.

If you are ejected from your vehicle, and you cause damage to someone's property when you land on it, then you are hurting someone.
If you're killed because you weren't wearing your seatbelt, the person whose vehicle you crashed into will have to spend the rest of their lives knowing that the "other guy" is dead. That's hurting someone.
If you are ejected from your vehicle and die because of it, your family will all have to spend the rest of THEIR lives knowing that you died because you felt it was more important to be a "right-fighter" than a living person. That's hurting someone.

If you are a passenger who chooses not to wear a seatbelt, and the driver chooses to drive with you anyway, then when you are injured because of an accident, or because you fell out on a turn - they will know that THEY are responsible for choosing to let you sit in the passenger seat without a seatbelt. That's hurting someone.

Now, if you are driving, you fall out and land on the side of the road, and the cart comes to a complete stop on the side of the road without causing damage or injury to anyone else, and traffic is able to move as usual, then sure. Enjoy your shortened life exercising your right to not wear a seatbelt. No harm, no foul, thoughts and prayers.

Meanwhile, I'll wear my seatbelt and encourage all my passengers to do the same. I -require- my sister to wear hers when she's a passenger in my cart, and let other passengers who choose not to, know that if they fall out they're on their own.

I'm for a requirement. And maybe it's not even enforceable. But if you hit my cart, and I fall out and break many bones instead of simply staying put and maybe banging my boobs on the steering wheel, you should HOPE that I can't come after YOU to pay the medical bills. But since seatbelts are optional - you're outta luck. The law is now on my side. It shouldn't be, but it is.

If governor taken out the gas lawnmower engine will rev up to the amount of air it can pull in thus eventually reaching top speed around 38 MPH depending on gearing and tire size. The carts you see going obnoxiously fast have the governor tied off so it don’t govern. Most every time golf clubs are hanging off back.

It’s been posted before about rear facing insurance. We received a letter from our State Farm agent that coverage for rear facing golf carts would no longer be offered. Don’t remember if it was just new policies.
It’s been awhile and we didn’t own or ever wanted one so I threw it away. Our friends sold their rear facing for all forward after their letter.

Speeding is Ok?
 

So speeding is ok. Ok I get it. We have a serious speeding problem in carts and cars. I would say average speeds on meggison south of 44 is 45 to 55. Guess that’s ok too.

Please explain your non-sequitur: What does altering the governor on a cart have to do with golf clubs on the back???? Is there a wire attaching the governor to the 7 iron??? Does the faster cart require counterbalance weight on the back??? I'll accept any reasonable explanation; if the premise is that only golfers "speed", that would fall into the unreasonable category.

True. Did you see the news about the woman here driving straight was charged with hit and run when another woman driving a golf cart and wanting to make a right turn drifted slightly to the left before turning right? The collision, a glancing blow, was between the left front of the golf cart and the right rear of the SUV. I believe the cart driver then swerved right and flipped. The SUV driver kept going.

I have no problem believing that a focused older person in an SUV could collide with a golf cart that way without realizing it. The feeling in the SUV would have been like a light tap or brushing, like a little branch, but the serious damage happened because of the cart driver’s swerving response, after the SUV passed. A lot of drivers don’t check their rear view mirrors very often. No wonder if she didn’t see what happened or notice the scratch on her car. The slight drift left before a right turn is common with both cars and carts. I think the cart driver will get off, but it will cost her a lot of money going to the lawyer.

Top is correct, and according to both law enforcement and insurance industry studies, the top causes of accidents, in order, are:

1) distracted driving
2) impaired driving
3) slow drivers
4) speeders

So, if we have a "serious" problem, it is statistically far more likely to be caused by distracted/drunk/slow drivers than so-called "speeders".

As far as Meggison (between 44 and Southern Oaks), as well as Morse south of 466, BV, El Camino and any other 4 lane divided boulevard with no intersections and only RBs, almost no one is going the limit of 35. Why is that? Because on those roads or segments thereof, 35 is ridiculous. The roads are divided, fairly wide, no intersection. Traffic has to slow down for the RBs anyway, which act like defacto speed bumps. The only reason I can see for the limit there to be 35 is to allow those idiotic death trap street legal golf carts to use them. 45 would be far mor acceptable and more people would obey the speed limit. Think of the speed limit of 45 on 466 east of BV, or 466A----2 lanes, divided, and those roads HAVE intersections and parking lot entrances. So which speed limit makes more sense?????

Exactly… California made it mandatory helmet law for motorcycle riders and totally ruined the freedom of the ride.

A little law enforcement at the Dealers would go a long way.

Ban golf carts! Save us!

Florida law stating golf carts should not exceed 20 mph
 

From the article

"With the rise in popularity, some carts are getting juiced up to reach higher speeds. That’s despite Florida law stating golf carts should not exceed 20 mph. If they do, they’re no longer a golf cart, but a vehicle that must have a registration."

I hope they start enforcing this speed limit.