Florida's Safest Hometown?
 

I saw, for the first time, a new sign "Speed Limit In The Villages 20 MPH Unless Otherwise Posted" sign.

There will be those who will will disagree but I think it is another step in the right direction.

BTW, it will add a little more than one minute to my five mile trip to Spanish Springs.

Nevermind . . . Post sounded too unfriendly.

Sorry!

joggers will be passing me in my car! does this new restriction apply to those on bicycles? - would love to see that enforced! ho-ho-ho!

What I object to is the illustration and the words

Old people at play.

Can't happen soon enough. Today on my way back from Colony there was a car on the cart path, and while at Walgreens, folks where just backing out of parking spaces without looking. Came close to getting run over in my cart. Time to slow down and smell the roses while we still have the ability to smell the roses.

I don't know too many places that don't have a posted speed limit, even inside our villa community we have speed limit signs. I really don't see much usage of this new law.

Here's something I haven't seen before and yesterday I saw it twice in five minutes. I pulled up on Southern Star Way in my car and while waiting to turn right onto St. Charles a cart comes up to the right of me in the cart lane. Instead of getting behind me, he turns across the front of my car to make his left turn southbound.

After I turned onto St. Charles northbound a cart in the cart lane also northbound about 50 feet ahead of me made a left turn onto Pennecamp without signaling and without moving left into the lane in front of me. I was going to blow my horn but as he made his turn he looked left in my direction rather than looking ahead at the traffic in the opposite lane. I think by the look on his face he knew he messed up.

LOTS of crazy driving here and it's going to get worse as we grow. I would imagine you-all have read the article in today's Sun (front page main section) about cart safety. There must be a reason for that!!!

May I just say I think this new speed limit ridiculous. I think most cars coast faster than 20mph. I'm not going to say I like it. I think it's asinine.

The new speed limit is only for streets that are not otherwise posted. If the street says 35mph, it stays 35mph.

I think you are correct.

I think I knew that. What was wrong with 25 mph? If 20 mph is safer, why not 15 mph? That would be even safer. Hey, maybe 10 mph. I'm on a roll now.

How will a 20 mph limit fix either of those situations.

I saw the 20mph sign on Buena Vista and thought it was for the golf carts. Because another sign showed up later at 35mph.:ohdear:

I've been here 2 weeks, no one is going 35mph, imagine 20mph??? The workers are are flying around here in their trucks going about 50mph, seriously! I'm from Los Angeles where aggressive drivers dominate, the truckers here are scary, especially in the roundabouts.:boxing2:

Driving 20mph, it will be like bumper cars in Dizzyland. Plus, I haven't seen any police officers around giving out tickets to offenders.

What do I know, I've only been a Frogette for two weeks and I'm so grateful to be here. Dang, The Villages is gorgeous. But if one of those trucks mess with me, I swing a mean seven iron. Watch out boys, the Californian has arrived.:spoken:

Do you know Tiger's ex-wife? :shocked:

:pepper2:

Bill :wave:

Well J..I recognize your skill and it is the six iron for me. Of course I have the girls posse and the squirtguns. You wanna join, J???

I have gotten out of a lot of tough places with that six iron in the last 40 years.

But like Bike42 said, most of the main drags are still gonna be 35mph.

Educate the new element of the masses.

Hey Gracie,

You bring your six iron and I'll bring my seven iron, we will request other volunteers to bring their clubs and squirt guns. We will hang out on Morse Blvd and Buena Vista dispensing warer shots to offenders. If that doesn't work, we will bring out our golf clubs, take a few swings, showing off our lovely golf forms, trust me, these folks will never break the law again. :boxing2:

The Possee has been established.:coolsmiley:

As a matter of fact, there are areas where the limit is 15 MPH.

This forum has indicated, by its posters, The Villages has a lot of drivers whose driving habits and abilities are suspect.

There are streets where there are vehicles exiting driveways, golf cart traffic, bicycles, pedestrians, parked cars and service vehicles. (Oak Forest is an example). I believe lowering the speed limits on these streets will make them safer. It would also make the extent of damage and/or injury less serious.

Unfortunately we have no idea of the numbers or extent of accidents that have occurred partly due to our local media's reluctance to report them. Those numbers are known to the police and traffic engineers and may be the reason for the speed limit reductions.

Where on Buena Vista is the speed limit 20MPH??

The 20 mph limit is for the side streets. The main roads like Buena Vista, Canal, 466, and Morse will remain the same speed limit as they are now.

The side streets vary between 20 and 25 mph right now. This will make them all one speed limit.

Golf cart speeds remain the same limit of 20 mph.

Jhooman saw a 20MPH on Buena Vista.......where on Buena Vista??

How bout Bailey Train and St. Charles? My golf cart goes 23 mph. Does that mean I will be passing cars? I'm not sure my Mini Cooper can idol at 20 mph.

I certainly hope you won't be passing cars at 23mph in your golf cart. Because that would mean you're already breaking a law by going faster than the legal 19.9/20 mph for a golf cart. Unless, of course, you have a street legal cart.

In case you didn't read it, here's an excerpt from the article in yesterday's paper about golf cart safety. The entire article can be read at this link: http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/n...871e3ce6c.html

No need to speed

One area that local law enforcement officials routinely stress when it comes to golf cart safety is speed. Under Florida law, golf carts may not exceed 20 mph.

O’Hara said it’s important for residents to be aware of the speed of their carts — they can do so at regularly scheduled events held by local sheriff’s offices — because of that law.

If they are stopped by law enforcement, they could face stiff penalties. Wolfe said a person driving above 20 mph in a cart that is not insured and registered as a low-speed vehicle could receive a citation for lacking registration. At minimum, in Sumter County, golf cart drivers pulled over for exceeding the limit face a mandatory court appearance and court costs starting around $250. Further, they could receive court orders to return their golf cart to its original capabilities.

“It can kind of mess up your day if you receive that citation,” Wolfe said.

Don Harvey, a team leader for The Villages Golf Cars, said the issue of speed limits is important.

“Owners are voiding warranty, insurance purchased, damaging the golf car and are breaking the law by exceeding 20 mph,” Harvey said. “Speeding in a golf car accomplishes nothing positive except for getting somewhere a little quicker.”

Dang. I was wondering which way this thread would go after Tom's post. I had a dollar on someone saying the limits would not be changing on Baliey Trail, but speeding carts won out :laugh:

and the drivers here will go 20 like they do 35.....RARELY IF EVER!!!!

FL friendliest home town...as long as they are not behind the wheel!

btk

I saw it too, southbound lane of Buena Vista just a little north of the El Camino Real circle,

BUT

If you read the fine print under the sign, it is just advising residents that the speed limits on streets in TV which are unmarked will now be 20 mph. It is not saying the speed limit on BV is 20 mph (and there is a 35 mph speed limit sign right after this advisory sign, obviously meaning BV is exempt from the 20 mph limit).

Haven't gone any further than Orlando with my vehicle. Travel to Orlando about 4 times a year. Travel to Ocala about every third week or so which is leading me up to expalin that a toggle on my computer displays my car is averaging 27 mph. so chances are that with the 20mph residents will be averaging well under the 20mph limit. People in florida's Friendliest Town will be moving slowe than snail mail.....You gotta love it

This makes TV the worlds largest school zone.

If you don't like it you can always petition the Sumter County Commissioners. They are the ones who made the changes.

Anybody ever try to drive NO MORE than 20 MPH for 2 - 3 CONSECUTIVE miles in a real car ???!! Probably impossible unless you are driving in first gear or going thru Atlanta during the rush hour! This should be a wonderful revenue producer for the county's coffers. This half baked law should earn us a better speed trap reputation than those redneck speed trap towns on HY 301 coming down from the North.
I can't ever remember seeing any notices published that this 20 mph law was even being considered. Another example of underworked, overpaid, and uneducated bureaucrats worring about our "safety" even though most of us have managed quite fine with common sense for our 65 to 90 years. Next it will be seat belts for bicycles to keep us from falling off or mandatory trikes to keep from falling over.
:cus:

Why do you think you'd be traveling @ 20mph for 2 to 3 consecutive miles? Do you even have any idea which roads are affected by this change? Have you read the information published about this change? Assuming you haven't, here's a link: http://www.districtgov.org/PdfView/P...27&ql=standard

IMO, everybody's getting all bent out of shape over this without really knowing what it's all about.

:agree:

Thank you for confirming the 20 MPH sign on Buena Vista. It is confusing to see a 20 MPH and then a 35MPH so quickly. However, I could not read the fine print on the 20 MPH sign.

But we saw two car accidents on Buena Vista this afternoon. I believe people were traveling too fast or too slow, or not paying attention at all. :undecided:

Please be careful out there.:)

Watch out on Rio Grande Ave

When traveling west on Rio Grande you leave Lake County and enter Sumter at about the Rio Grande family pool. I just saw a sign today the designate the speed limit as 20 MPH. Alot of people leaving SS come down DelMar, turn right on Rio Grande towards Morse. I think it's going to be a place that the establishment will be able to catch alot of speeders.


On another note..... don't give up your right away trying to be nice. It causes indecision on the road. I was stopped at a stop sign today in my CAR and a man in a golf cart stopped on road he didn't have to and signaled for me to go accross the intersection. Nice of him but not the safest approach. Please drive according to the rules of the road.

So, the way I see it, if you want to make it safer, and you are on a street NOT OTHERWISE POSTED, if you are in your cart, you should drive in the middle of the car lane and no car will be able to pass you. Now, if you are in one of the rental carts, then you must move over as you can only go 15 MPH. That would be confusing, so lets vote to have all the rental carts install high speed gears to keep traffic flow level. Also, I think we should have all cars equipped with a red light and siren on the top of the car that will go on if they go over 20 MPH triggered by sensors in every car registered in the Villages and embedded into every street that have the new 20 MPH rule, at 10 yard intervals. In reference to bicycles, you could have volunteers at the bottom of every hill or downslope with radar and if one passed by over 20 MPH, they could throw a broom handle into the spokes of the front wheel when they go by or if that is considered unsafe, you could shoot them with paint ball guns with florescent paint to make them show up to the rest of the public; thereby, warning folks of the law breaker. Now, I would also recommend, that if any of these offenders are talking on a cell phone, then you should be allowed to move on to lethal force to take them down in the interest of safety. If they are sucking on a Budweiser, keep your distance and immediately contact homeland security.

I agree. Seems like our favorite pastime on this forum is getting bent outa shape.

The aforementioned signs on BV and Rio Grande that say "Speed limit 20mph unless otherwise posted" were posted right where you enter Sumter County from Marion and Lake County respectively. The new "universal" speed limits are only in effect for Sumter County, hence the need to post these signs as you cross the county line.

I would bet there is or will soon be a sign after the "20mph unless..." on Rio Grande that shows the limit for THAT road back to 25 or 30 or whatever it currently is, just as BV will remain 35.

Remember, these 20mph limits are primarily targeted at residential neighborhoods ... main thoroughfares like BV and Morse and Belvedere and Canal and O'Dell and Bailey Trail, etc will remain at the 25/30/35 that they currently are.

Please don't confuse the issue any further.... you won't be driving 20mph on Morse or Canal.

I understand that most roads will not change since they are already posted - including the 15 MPH limit on our street. However, the existing posting is almost nonexistent in some cases. For example, Canal St. - I had a discussion with a neighbor about how the new law would impact the limit for Canal. She claimed that it would become 20 MPH since it was not marked. I thought that it was marked and then began looking for signs. I may have missed one or some, but the only one I saw was coming southbound out of Sumter Landing and it stated 30 MPH. With such lack of posting, I can see where this new law will create Florida's unfriendliest (and unsafest) town with some people crawling along at 20 MPH, thinking that is the limit, and others crawling up their butt because they are driving so slowly.

Sounds like a lot of confusion, You are going to fast, No, You are going to slow. Personally I think everything is fine the way it was. Leave signs alone. No one is driving to fast in their carts. I do not have a problem,wish people would speed up a little in their carts, IMHO

I have seen cars passing my house going at least twice the speed of carts in a 25mph zone. Now the police will have a tool to judge the speed of cars. Cars should not be passing the carts!