Golf Cart Safety
 

After some recent reports of golf cart accidents where people were hurt I was thinking about the golf cart and safety since we recently moved to the Villages and were looking for a cart. Normally a golf cart is used on a golf course. No traffic, short slow runs from hole to hole. Because of this, safety is probably not an issue but the Villages has turned the golf cart into a transportation vehicle with all the safety issues even though it's limited to 20 mph. I'm an engineer and when i first came here i was mortified on how some people drive their carts, no seat belts, pretty fast, leg hanging out of the cart, etc.. I don't think most people realize what an impact will do to you even at 20 mph. And of course over the couple of months that we have been here we read about people being thrown from their cart or the cart falls over on them, etc.. For this reason, we felt the Atomic Cool Kart was the best choice for us because it has some safety features that will probably protect you at the speeds it can go when using it as a vehicle here in the Villages and we plan on using it as a 2nd vehicle as well as on the golf course. I haven't done the research but I'm not sure golf cart companies do much in regards to safety beyond what is needed for the traditional use of the cart on the golf course.

Yes, as well as every other golf cart community in the world, don't pin this on TV.

Simple solution---don't use a golf cart except on the course. Then go out and by a Subaru since they are supposed to be "safe". But please don't test that "safety" out against my 5,000 pound SUV

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not pinning this on the Villages. Just saying the Villages probably has the largest golf cart path infrastructure than most communities making golf cart safety something to be aware of.

No problem, I agree:mademyday:

My misinterpretation, it's just there are so many anti-Villages/anti-developers posters on TOTV that my first instinct is negative. Sry

I have a strange view about most things. It is valid to get input from others but in the end the decision, the result of the decision, you have made are yours.

All of life is a risk. I don't believe there have been any crash tests done on golf carts.
We have insurance and are licensed drivers. You do not need to have either to run a golf cart.

You can break the traffic laws, but not the laws of physics.

As some people find out, usually too late.

We do not own a golf cart, but the roads we drive occasionally cross a MMP where golf carts are travelling. In every case, the golf carts have a STOP sign.

We do not look out for golf carts at those intersections, any more than we look out for cars that have a stop sign at roads that intersect the main road that we are driving on.

I almost hit a golf cart yesterday. We were parked in the parking lot at Turtle Mound golf course. When we left, we had to cross the very busy MMP. Since we had the right-of-war, we were not looking out for any golf carts. As I approached the MMP, a golf cart driver ran through the stop sign and crossed right in front of me, so I gave that old guy a very loud and very long honk, and then kept on going.

He barely got by before I crossed the intersection, but at least the guy right behind him had the sense to stop at the STOP sign, so i didn't hit him.

You are correct you had the right of way. But as a defensive driver I am always looking ahead and all around me for any trouble spots or potential issues. I don’t want to get into any accident whether it is my fault or not. I especially do not want to hit a cart when I am driving a car because the results can be catastrophic. So I always assume the person in the cart or on the bicycle will ignore the stop sign and I prepare to stop if needed.

Well, I hope you will start looking out for them now that you've had a close call. People make mistakes, and old people make more than young people. It would be a good idea, and much appreciated by many if you would look out for carts. You might save someone's life, or prevent them from being catastrophically injured, just by being careful. It would be well worth the extra 2 seconds of your time.

I totally agree with you. I have made mistakes and been saved by others more attentive at that particular moment. I have saved others the same way. We all make mistakes. We all should try to be careful and maybe save someone from getting hurt if we can.

I would put down your driving skills as unsafe. A driver is a hazard to others on the road if he does not look all around his car at an intersection even if he has the right of way. When I start to pull out into an intersection after a light turns green I do a head check to make sure no one is running the light. One reason I do this is because that was what I was taught in drivers education, but another key reason is that one time when the light had turned green and I was about to enter the intersection an 18 wheeler that was exceeding the speed limit blew by me. Wow! I sure was glad I looked around that time! We should all try to look out for other cars and trucks as well as walkers, bicyclists, and yes, golf carts when we are out driving. I see people everyday that don’t do this as they have “tunnel vision” and when they have the right of way, watch out, they are oblivious to others and that makes them extremely dangerous. Who hasn’t made a mistake and forgotten a stop sign, or forgot to yield? Aren’t you glad the other drivers watched out for you? I know I am. Be careful out there.

I know that area very well. Having a close call with a golf cart there is extremely reckless on the part of the car driver. Regardless of who is "right".

I didn't have a close call, but the guy who ran his golf cart thru the stop sign sure did.

Have you taken golf cart safety ourse?

"The Nut behind the Wheel"
 

It is a mechanical problem, THE NUT BEHIND THE WHEEL

I was always taught even though you think you may have the right of way, you never have it but you can always give it. I find the unsafest places are right behind the gate houses when you can't really see golf carts coming and going. They are supposed to stop there and wait for you to go through but there are many instances where they don't show in other words it's always the person sitting in the car or the car the most important safety item you can have