Speeding of Carts and Cars and Trucks
 

Speed is a problem, many of us see it and know of it.

So, 30 mph is 44 feet per second. I can show you how to find the math for this or take my word for it, this is accurate. At 60 mph you are moving at 88 feet per second. When we bought a new cart, I made them certify it would not exceed 20 mph. OK that is fine, but we are passed by carts moving at twice our speed and some of them are clearly upset at us. We do not have an emphasis on this danger in the Villages.
Could we start a civil discussion on this before several persons including children are killed or severely maimed?

You will find a lot of carts cruising around at 20-22 mph. While I would guess that there are some that are capable of doing 40 mph, I believe that is far from typical. I have never been passed when doing 20 mph but I have passed carts doing what I would guess was 15 mph and less. The fastest cart I personally know of is a friend's cart that can do 27 mph. That is a somewhat scary speed.

I agree 100%. Many carts may be capable of going 22-23 mph, but I've only heard of carts going 40. I've only seen street legal carts going faster than that. That being said, I've had my cart up to 30 mph going down a big hill and that is scary.

We purchased a Atomic and requested it be set for Villages golf cart speed which, I believe, is 22. We get passed quite often and it bothers us, as we are going what is to be allowed. Just Saturday evening we were passed by a person who flew around us then immediately cut in front of us. My husband honked at them because they were cutting in front of us too soon and they just flipped their hand at us like we were in the wrong. You are correct. Something needs to be done before a very serious accident happens.

Actually the law is 20 mph for non-street legal and 25 mph for street legal.

According to what I've read, even if you just OWN a cart that can go above the speed limit, you are in violation and subject to arrest. My speedometer could be saying 20mph and yet I have carts passing me every day. Most are gas powered, likely modified by their owners. Modifying a cart to go faster than the speed limit is a serious offence; that's why the pros won't risk losing their mechanics license.

That doesn't make sense to me. Unless a LEO catches you going over 20, how is it enforceable? Knock, Knock on your door at 2 AM---we're here to test drive your cart?

I have wondered the same thing. I believe what we are looking at is a strange way the law is written. Apparently, the offense is possessing a cart that is capable of exceeding 20 mph but this only becomes an issue when you are actually observed going over 20 mph (otherwise, how would anyone know?). If isn't clear to me that there is actually an offense for going over 20 mph. Just speculating...

You will not be "arrested" as in hauled off in handcuffs and booked. You will get a citation and have to go to court.

Exactly. :agree:

I have lost track but it is upwards of 15 people killed in golf cart accidents here in TV in the last ten years. You are right to want to discuss it, and I imagine more laws could be passed, but we will still have speeding, and impatient people, and drunk people and careless people and people who need to have cataracts removed and some who need their heads removed from their heinies.

You cannot legislate morality or good common sense. So drive defensively and when it gets real busy, drive your cars. I don't want any of you to be hurt or die. AND please don't let the grandkids take the cart out by themselves. I may kill them myself if they are showing off or being disrespectful. We won't let our 27 year old grandson drive the cart alone and he did his internship in Los Angeles.

One of my biggest concerns as the owner of an electric cart that does not have regenerative braking, is having it gain speed on long downhills such as southbound on Morse north of 466.

I have seen police hiding near the postal area 9east side of road, north of Tierra Del Sol?) and I try to remember to pinch it down a bit just in case I am running faster than 20 mph.

I am passed every single time I'm in my cart.
You're retired, so why are you always in a hurry?

A while back a gas golf cart caught my attention because of the exhaust sound. Minutes later that golf cart and I were at the postal station. Being a hot rod lover I went and talked to the driver of that golf cart. He told me he swapped out the original engine for a larger more horsepower engine. With that it would go 35mph put the brakes were not up to the task, so he installed disc breaks. I asked what the open ended metal box at the upper left corner of the windshield was for and he said it was for his radar detector.

The speed limit on carts that are not street legal is 20 mph and they can be on public streets that have a speedlimit of 30 or less. Street legal carts have a speed limit of 25 and can be on public streets with speedlimits of 35 or less.

Get caught speeding in a cart by the police and it is an expensive lesson, I have been told.

A bigger thing is your cart insurance. Your insurance may not pay for liability when your cart is checked after an accident and it is found to be capable of speeds higher than 20 mph or 25 mph for street legal.