13 Golf Cart Operators Cited
 

As reported in the Daily Sun Saturday Aug 19. Lt. Nehemiah Wolfe(Sumter County sherriffs office) reported 175 citations in the Sumter county portion of TV in a recent 30 day period. That included 13 for golf cart operators for violations such as no vehicle registration - meaning that the golf operator had modified the cart to exceed the manufacturer's top speed of 19 MPH, which makes it a vehicle that must be registered and operated by a licensed and insured driver.
Wolfe went on to say, enforcement efforts had specifically been intensified in the villages of St. Charles, Pennecamp and Buttonwood, where complains had been received and traffic incidents had been reported.

And that is where the deaths occurred in golf cart accidents too.

I live in St. Charles and have seen no evidence of increased enforcement. But, those three villages comprise a large area, so they could have been anywhere... I did see them with a speed trap on Morse Blvd., just north of 466 a couple weeks ago. They had a couple carts pulled over. Luckily, I was in my electric cart, which shuts itself down at 22mph.. :D

Thanks for the heads up Bogie....

Deaths? Oh my!

Thanks for the info, Bogie!

Bill :)

drivers where's your sanity?
 

with only 13 citations out of 175 (about 7%) it stands out that the biggest problem is the car traffic. I can believe it! people seem to have forgotten that they have turn signals- you ARE supposed to signal when LEAVING a traffic circle or making any other turn, and there are such things as speed limits, the limit in the villages on non posted roads is 25mph. The list goes on...


as a wise man once said "There is no sanity Clause" :D

memason,
Were the carts that were pulled over on the cart trail or the street? I didn't think you could get a ticket on the cart paths.
Thanks,
Bob

The multi-modal paths are not owned by the county. But Florida laws allow a deed restricted community to turn over traffic enforcement of their private roads to the sheriff’s department. But to my knowledge, TV has not done this for the multi-modal paths. So the citations to golf carts would have occurred on the county owned roads in TV.

Morse Blvd north of 466 has cart lanes, not multimodal paths, which are subject to all the rules of the road. I saw a couple of speed traps out there last month.

I've seen motorcycle cops on the golf cart paths with radar, obviously clocking drivers.

I saw one.
 

I was getting into my parked cart at Ace hardware on 466 a couple of days ago.

Around the corner, into the lot and up the side of Ace sped a cart & then an unmaked police car with flashing lights whipped around the corner and stopped him.

Both were moving fast for the area but that was a ticket, for sure!

This may be a little off topic but I was just wondering. If I have a street legal cart that can go 25mph can I drive that speed on the multi modal paths without getting a ticket? I realize there are people that go that speed with souped up carts which is illegal but if my cart can legally go that speed on the street is it OK to drive that speed on the paths?

John

carts
 

A motorcycle cop on the golf cart path with radar. Seems they should be on the roads slowing down all the trucks. Truck traffic speeding,I think is the big problem in the villages. I just do not get it,Golf carts and 22 mph.

knowing my luck I would have been ticketed last week for going too slow, while pushing my wife up the hill out of the tunnel...

Trust me, it's not just the trucks. There are very few cars that even slow up for the roundabouts, much less to 20 as posted. When driving down Buena Vista, El Camino Real, etc. go the 35 that's posted and see how many cars come flying around you and disappear pronto. All you see is the rearend very briefly. I don't know what part of "retirement community" they don't understand. Just leave home earlier...it's not rocket science. This is one reason I like the 4-way stop on CR 101 now. Before they put that up, cars were driving like they were still on 466. With all the cross traffic from the businesses there, that's just way too fast. :22yikes:

One thing that Lt. Wolfe told us in one of our meetings where he was the guest speaker, is that if you are cited for your illegal cart, not only do you pay the fine but you have to make a trip to Bushnell to go before the judge and explain to him why you are driving an unregistered vehicle. As stated in some of the other posts, unless they are street legal and licensed, the legal speed is 20 or less. It's a safety factor. An ordinary cart has far less control and can tip over easily.

As for them doing radar on the cart paths, it could be that they are considering making some changes to the enforcement.

Just sayin'....

There are no speed limits on the multi-modal paths so you can go 25 mph. But then there isn't anyone ticketing on the paths since they are private property. If someone was doing something really unsafe on the paths, I suppose they could be cited for reckless driving/endangerment or some such thing.

In the cart lanes, the speed limit is the street posted limit which is usually 30 mph. Non street legal carts going over 20 mph aren't getting speeding tickets. They are ticketed as being unregistered vehicles which carries a much higher fine ($375 was the last number I heard) and a court appearance. Not sure what, if anything, would happen if a street legal went more than 25 mph.

I find it hard to believe my cart is safe at 20mph, but unsafe at 22mph.
The extra 2 mph translates to a very very slow walking speed. I realize they have to set a limit somewhere for the law, but telling us it is for our safety is ridiculous. As far a tipping over, even at 15 mph you could tip over on a tight curve if you are too dumb to slow down. Like another poster said, concentrate their time on construction trucks, especially food vendors in the southern end of TV flying from one job to another.
Also, about a week ago while doing 21mph on St Charles, I was passed by a bicycle. Now that is not a license vehicle so why is it legal for him to go faster than me, and to cross highways that I can't?

You want common sense, or the law. Don't be silly now, Shimpy.

Perhaps turn signals were an option that year and the buyer choose to opt out? :1rotfl:

I have this vision of an old guy speeding in his golf cart and getting pulled over for speeding while my own kids are flying down the interstate at 80 mph and never being pulled over

Hmmmm, seems the speeding trucks/cars issue is one I need to look at real hard on my visit.

When driving on the main roads in TV in my car I set the cruise control to the posted speed limit whether it be 30 or 35. More cars pass me then trucks.

It's really funny when the same speeding drivers get on 466 and go 35-40 instead of the posted limit of 45.

So these 175 citations were in August? When NOBODY is there? C'mon how about doing it in February??? What a goldmine for the county....

Hey! I'm here!

Speeding carts
 

Regular carts are limited to 20 mph, but they don't have a speedometer

1) I know mine goes faster downhill - could I be booked for speeding if I have done nothing to modify my cart or disable the limiter?

2) suppose I put on over-size wheels - I assume that would increase my top speed, but would that count as an illegal modification?

Sumter County has a big change coming for us as of 1 Jan 12. Unless posted lower or higher than 25mph, all streets within the Villages will automatically be lowered to 20mph. That would mean that automobiles and trucks will be unable to pass a golf cart using that street and traveling at 19 or 20 mph. It certainly would not be a problem for an officer to cite an auto driver who is passing three or four carts on a residential street. Obviously this would have no affect on streets posted at 10, 15, 30 or 35mph. Wonderful idea and I can hardly wait for the change to take place. This information recently appeared in the Daily Sun.

That sure is not enough enforcement. We have had two deaths in less than 30 days. As a resident for over 6 years the law enforcment officer's need to step up ticketing golf cart people more. Things have really gotten worse in the last 6 years. I am a past driving instructor and know the difference between 20 mph and 30 mph by sight (without reading a meter) and am here to tell you 19 is very seldom adheard to. Not only that, STOP signs and turning signals mean next to nothing to most villagers. Must be you newbee's think the rest of us are mind readers and know what you are thinking and so you don't need to use your turning signals. Watch those circles and learn to drive them correctly or stay off of them.

My God BooBear, you act as if you have been here forever. Six years is a drop in the bucket for some of us. If you had been fighting the speeders for 11 or 12 years and failing in every attempt to get the speed limits lowered, then you may feel good about this news as I do. I live on the "speed road" in the Village of Glenbrook. You want to see cars, trucks and golf carts speeding, come on over to my street.

Nail 'em all!!! My wife and I were coming down St. Charles one evening after dark and a cart pulled out to pass 3 or 4 carts in a row. We were in front and could not have been going over 21 mph.(That's as fast as it will go) This cart passed us all and had to be doing at least 30 mph. It was not a street legal either, because I could hear the gasoline engine when he went by. It was a custom '57 Chevy, bright red in color and turned down Pennecamp Dr. Be careful out there folks.

It was also mentioned in the article I referenced in my post, that the Sumter county sheriffs department would be adding 4 additional road patrol officers.

The more tickets the better. The more officers = more tickets:BigApplause:
And the more they increase ticketing of infractions by golf carts the better too.


In my humble opinion trucks are not the problem. Yes they do contribute to the problem. The problem is the residents who think the rules/laws are for everybody but them.

I would also encourage law enforcement to implement zero tolerance, hence if you are exceeding the speed limit, hopefully you will be ticketed.

I have not been able to figure what the hurry is for retired people!?!?!?


Book 'em Wolf!!!

btk

Hey, that guy passed me too, and I was going 25 mph.:D

I could only estimate.

Well, everyone knows, ahem, that it is must only be newbees who don't use their turn signals. Long time Villagers would never think of doing something silly like that. :throwtomatoes:

carts
 

Sorry to disagree, Its the long time "villagers" who do not use turn signals,or do not stop at the stop signs.

I agree with you and believe common sense ought to trump here. the two deaths mentioned here did not occur because of speed. In fact spped isn't the cause in most of these accident. TV has greatly expanded and will require people to travel greater distances. I have no problem with the 19mph on cartpaths. However we have many residents who are traveling below 15mph and backing up traffic. So every time I hear that guy must have passed me at 30mph or over I question that guess. Its more likely that the person being passed is under 15mph and it seems to them that a 19mph seems like 30mph. Frankly I grin and bear it because I don't want to pass anyone.

I know i am wrong but why do I feel like this citation are just plain exercises in harassment???????????????

How about a smile or a wave?
 

When we moved here 7 years ago, everyone was so friendly!! Most folks waved, gave a nod or at least smiled......no one was rushing around......what is the hurry??? I am in the historic area (which we LOVE) and unfortunately I think the friendly tradition has died off. I am going to start to wave to others again and see what kind of response I get. :D Slow down, enjoy the beauty that abounds and be friendly! :wave:

The number of newbies will be going down as build out nears. That should solve the problem (yeah right!).

The reason police do very little patrolling, these days? Patrolling does not pay anything!

My point exactly! :1rotfl: