Just a heads up...golf carts
 

This was passed along at our monthly village social last night by our president who spoke with a member of the sheriffs dept. They are going to start cracking down on golf carts. If you are traveling down a street in the golf cart lane behind a slower cart or bicycle and you pull into the traffic lane to pass, you can be ticketed. Tickets will run in excess of $100 - $150.
Now I'm just the messenger...not trying to start rumors...so if you don't agree, feel free to check for yourself.

that's just crazy.

Hummm. I have one that runs a comfortable 22 MPH and I constantly get passed with some going fast enough to blow off my hat. I do pass the rental carts that run about 15 MPH. I sure did not know that could cost me a ticket. Thanks for the information.

Anyone with valid link or facts would be appreciated.

What's the hurry... your retired!


A little courtesy can go a long way.

Work it like farmers do with their tractors on rural roads.... if they are backing up traffic, they find a spot to pullover and let faster traffic go past them.

Journey...my darling wannabee. Come here and SEE how things go first before giving what is generally VERY GOOD ADVICE.....

No one truly understands this place until they have been in this place.

We are 17 miles long from bow to stern and there are probably..VERY conservatively 50,000 golf carts here.

It makes issues that do not exist anywhere else on this earth. We still lollygag and make ourselves late for tee times etc. So there is passing of golf carts.

Only problem with "working it like farmers do" is those holding up traffic don't usually know or care and few places to pull over.

So if I am behind someone going up a hill on a bike I can't pass them! I agree that's crazy!

Does anyone know where we can find the book of regulations for golf carts in The Villages? I've never studied for or taken a test on the rules and regulations. All I know is what I've heard by word of mouth which is not only not very reliable, but often conflicting.

I think that if they are going to start ticketing us, they ought to let us know what the rules are.

Not sure that's the whole story . . .
 

Seems to me, that traveling in a golf cart and passing others, who are slower, would not be illegal. It is legal to cross the solid white line, separating the cart/bicycle lane from automotive traffic. In fact, a cart must cross the line to turn left, etc.

It could be that the sheriff dept. is planning to crack down on carts that go faster than the legal 20mph, when on the roads. For those carts, it would be common for them to be using the traffic lanes to pass slower carts.

Somehow, carts getting ticketed for passing bicyclists, walkers and slower carts does not pass the smell test for me...

Weel, when I'm going to pick up my wife at her job ( she still works) or going to one of my many club meetings, or on my way to a pool tournament where people are depending on me, I don't want to be late. And even though I leave in plenty of time to get to where I'm going on time, I can be late because of someone who insists on driving their golf cart at 10 mph.

There are also a lot of people who play golf and have a tee time. Being late to the tee is not only inconsiderate of all of the other players and the golf course staff, it can cost you losing your time. The same can be said about dinner reservations or meeting up with friends for any one of a number of activities.

Just because we are retired doesn't mean that we have no schedule.

Can you pull out and pass a bicyclist or a walker or a Villages owned golf cart?

What's next, background checks for golf cart purchases!

That's what I find to be conflicting information. It's ok to cross the solid white line to get left to make a left turn just like you would be in the left hand lane in a car, but not to pass? I was under the impression the cart lane is for slower moving vehicles. You would assure clearance to pass just like you would in a car. I'm hoping if traffic laws are changed it should be made public and not hearsay.

I agree it seems a little odd, maybe as was stating if you pass a cart that's doing the legal limit be ready to pay the price. I'd be very happy if that's what's coming. I go 19.9/20 in my new one and get passed several times a day. I don't see why someone needs to do 25+ in a golf cart.

I think your right, I would like to be able to pass walkers, bicycles and rental carts going at or less than 15 MPH without fear of a ticket. Since I cannot go over 21 or 22 even downhill, I should never have a worry about a speeding ticket. Also, if I come up on someone that is only going 2 or 3 mph slower than me, I would not consider passing them.

There is a Golf Cart safety course being offered on teh 17th of April at 10:00 am at the Savanah center. May be interesting

I have a Yamaha gas cart and with just myself and one bag of clubs I can do 25mph, but I found the Yamaha runs smoothest at 22mph and handles best. I think it's a disservice to the manufacturer and the operator and also a safety issue to not allow a gas golf cart to operate at 22mph. With carts operating everywhere from rentals at 14mph to retuned carts going 25mph it can cause a hazard. On our interstates we usually have two or sometimes 3 or 4 lanes to separate traffic, here we are limited to one lane of golf cart traffic.


.