speed vs insurance
 

I know that golf carts are limited by law to 20mph. We all know that it is easy to change the governor and allow it to go faster.

Every time this comes up someone chirps up and states that changing the governor will invalidate your insurance if you are involved in a wreck. Does anyone have any ACTUAL proof that this has ever happened?

The fact that my cart can go a little over 20 does not mean I do go or - if involved in a mishap - was going over 20. My car will go over 100 but as long as I stay at or below the stated limit I'm legal. How would the insurance company know if an owner changed the governor? Who is to say it did not come from the factory as it currently sits?

Bottom line is I'm inclined to believe this is an old wives tale.

Florida statute defines a golf cart as having a maximum speed 20mph. If it is capable of going faster than 20mph but not faster than 25mph then it is a LSV. If it is higher than 25 then it must fall into another classification. Note that unlike your car, the definition is not dependent on how fast the vehicle was actually traveling, it is dependent on how fast the vehicle is capable of traveling.

So, supposedly, a Yamaha gas PTV comes from the factory set at 19.5 mph max speed but will exceed 20 mph going downhill. So with this fact, does that make a stock PTV an LSV?

Mine has hit 23 going down some of the bridges. I'm sure it has also hit 60 while being carried on the back of a truck and who knows how fast it would go if it was dropped from an airplane.

Dig into the Florida statutes and you might find the test conditions for the 20mph limit determination.

20+ downhill isn't likely to be an issue (especially as rare as hills are). On the other hand, 23mph along Pinellas Place could be an issue.

I have dug pretty deep but can’t find anything that defines test conditions required for golf carts vs LSV’s. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place.

Have you ever heard of an Auto Insurer not paying an auto claim, because the driver was speeding? What's the difference?

Have you ever heard of a Home Insurer denying a claim, because someone did some electrical work, without a Permit and not being an electrician?

Did you ever hear of a Health Insurer not paying a medical claim, because the person smoked or drank?

I'm sure the above has happened somewhere, under some circumstances ... but it's surely not common.

Maybe you could get info close to the fact[s] by stopping in your closest Sheriff's office and asking someone on duty your questions. Probably not as much fun as reading response posts here - but then facts never are.

Technically, if an LEO stops a cart going 20 to 25 mph, the driver will not get a ticket for speeding. Since a cart going that fast is not a golf cart, but is a Low Speed Vehicle, the ticket will be given for driving an unregistered vehicle if the cart is not registered, insured, and licensed. The next question would be if insured, was it insured as an LSV or a golf cart.

The sheriff's office would have no knowledge on insurance coverage following a golf cart incident.

I received a ticket going 25 mph a few years back. I had to go to court but was acquitted so the court cost was 300 bucks plus one moth @ 50 bucks to the probation office Btw, if I didn’t get acquitted it was 6 month probation and 1800 dollars plus 50 bucks a month for 6 months to the probation officer

I was an insurance broker for forty years in Canada. There is nothing in your policy about your max speed being 20 mph. The only way they would know you were speeding is if a policeman was standing there with a radar gun when you crashed. What are the odds. Setting your speed a few miles over the limit has no effect on your insurance, in my opinion.

theft
 

Wanted to make sure I was covered if my cart was stolen like in the squares or Walmart homeowners covers it - for $1,500. Ended up I had to get something like motorcycle insurance

There are many golf carts in TV that go over 20 mph. I have never seen anyone ticketed for speeding. Mine goes 20 and I am constantly being passed by faster carts. Where are you all going in such a hurry? If you need to go that fast, use your car. By the way, yesterday I had my left turn signal on and someone passed me on the left. Does anyone here really even know how to drive?

Excess Speed
 

You were acquitted and still required to pay $350 for court costs and probation office?! Acquitted, as I understand the definition, means the evidence wasn't there for a conviction, or the officer didn't show up to testify. Why would you have been charged that chunk of change under those conditions? Acquittal equals "not guilty", and the cost of the action should be borne by the state. Does anyone else have an explanation?

I'd love to know the real number but I agree...many go over 20. Down south I'd say it's darn near 100% rolling along at over 20mph. Other than the post by johnnybegood I've never heard of anybody getting a ticket so I'm not sure it's really "a thing".

Joe