[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by terrieb

We heard about what happened on Sunday night at Buena Vista and 466 with the low flying helicopters, overturned car etc. Then yesterday, 12/4, we were on our way to Sumter Landing for dinner around 4:30p when there were many sirens, EMS's, farther on up 466 as we were attempting to get on Morse Blvd, took a detour down another road and I am wondering (as a prospective buyer in the Villages), is this a norm in the Villages? I know where there are people there are accidents but these accidents seem to be "extreme" accidents vs. "fender-benders". More people living here than back home but I am wondering with so many drivers 55+ of various skills or skills where maybe they should not be driving anymore, maybe the accidents would be more frequent. We are currently doing our research for moving to the Villages and having been here before in December, this place seems so much busier than we remember.....is the population growing that fast here? Like I said, just doing our research like the rest of you did before you moved here.

An excellent topic. We also wondered when we were there.

While in the Lifestyle Visit house on Merryweather Way near Lake Sumter Landing, our back yard picket fence location offered a good view of the "constantly running back and forth" ambulances. Never saw so many in our lives. This was late October. All of the month of November we were in Calumet Grove and didn't hear a thing.......but did see lots of speeders during that month of November..........then realized that they were "highways" or roads open to work trucks and others "flying through THE VILLAGES" ENROUTE TO SOMEPLACE ELSE. Not necessarily Villagers.

Can't even imagine what the "high season" or snowbird season must be like.

We occasionally will hear a siren, meaning an ambulance is rushing someone to our hospital.........but no where near that amount of accidents in our town. Our roads , when we travel, are for the most part EMPTY . We do have to watch out for deer and moose on the roads....so I guess that's our problem.

When people from Connecticut, Massachusetts or N.Y./N.J. come up here they love how EMPTY our roads are. Not to say that there never are accidents........but we do not have the density of population, and last few years of higher gasoline prices, less people seem to be out joy riding.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by OldDave

Terri, I think your question is perfectly reasonable. I don't live there yet, so I cannot answer it. What I can tell you is that a significant number of people on this site get their dander up if you even suggest anything about TV isn't perfect. I continue to be amazed by that.

This question isn't worth a response? Then why did you respond. And why are you folks rude to someone who is obviously new and considering moving here.

We spent last June renting a house there. That is our only trip thus far. My understanding is that is the slowest time of the year. What we found was some pretty heavy traffic in a few areas, but mostly pretty light. There were a couple of things that were difficult. First and foremost the roundabouts or traffic circles. These in themselves are a good idea. They are prettier and less city-like than signals. But for some reason they are two lane circles. My guess is the traffic is heavy enough in the winter to justify it. The biggest problem I saw was that in most areas, you were allowed to make a right turn into a neighborhood from the left lane or the right line. But there was no indication that you had to turn from the right, as opposed to going straight. There are signs showing this, but they really don't make sense. I don't see any way to safely turn right from a left lane if the traffic in the right lane goes straight.

I don't know what happened in that accident. Someone mentioned the paper, but I didn't find anything in the on-line version. I will say that overall my wife and I were surprised at how fast many drivers were going both on the streets and the cart paths. For a community designed to be relaxing and enjoyable, I'm not sure why everyone was in such a hurry.

If I had to speculate on driving safety in TV, I would point to how tightly so many people are packed into the area there. Also, I've read a lot of comments here about snow birds causing some problems because they don't get used to driving here. I don't know if there is any validity to that.

As to the safety of older drivers, most of the research I've seen points to older folks as actually being safer and having less accidents. Of course there is always the person who should no longer be driving that runs over someone or hits gas instead of the brake. My feeling is that is one of the real reasons for all the golf carts here, so those people can get around, without driving a 4,000 pound car. Of course it seems there are a great many golf cart accidents, but the injuries generally seem much, much less serious.

Finally I would say during our month there we heard of no serious accidents and have heard of very few on here in the two years I've been reading it. It sounds like this was just a very bad week. Again, I don't know what happened Sunday.

Best of luck Terri.

DAVE KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. The naysayers must see it from the eyes of those coming for the first time. The traffic is nuts at times.........the roundabouts were filled with those NOT obeying the rules of entering, etc...........and we saw numerous speeders, disobeying the speed limits.

Original poster was just wondering and posting an honest inquiry, like the rest of us have..........in the past.

The roads were very very very attractive and well maintained, but TV doesn't have any control over the speeding cars.

I echo his "best of luck" wishes to Terri and others who arrive for the first time , perhaps from a smaller town where people actually wait for someone to cross in the crosswalk. TV IS HUGE.......those used to city driving will have no issues at all.....they are used to it.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

DAVE KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. The naysayers must see it from the eyes of those coming for the first time. The traffic is nuts at times.........the roundabouts were filled with those NOT obeying the rules of entering, etc...........and we saw numerous speeders, disobeying the speed limits.

Original poster was just wondering and posting an honest inquiry, like the rest of us have..........in the past.

The roads were very very very attractive and well maintained, but TV doesn't have any control over the speeding cars.

I echo his "best of luck" wishes to Terri and others who arrive for the first time , perhaps from a smaller town where people actually wait for someone to cross in the crosswalk. TV IS HUGE.......those used to city driving will have no issues at all.....they are used to it.

Compared to what??

"The roads were very very very attractive and well maintained, but TV doesn't have any control over the speeding cars."

Has no control is a very broad statement. The county sheriff does have control over speeders.......maybe not as much as some would like, but there is control.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Compared to what??

"The roads were very very very attractive and well maintained, but TV doesn't have any control over the speeding cars."

Has no control is a very broad statement. The county sheriff does have control over speeders.......maybe not as much as some would like, but there is control.

Please see my earlier post, right above this one.......we also heard hordes of ambulances running back and forth constantly and could literally SEE THEM.
To a newcomer, it did seem to be an awful lot of accidents.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

Please see my earlier post, right above this one.......we also heard hordes of ambulances running back and forth constantly and could literally SEE THEM.
To a newcomer, it did seem to be an awful lot of accidents.

Did you know that if you call 911 because someone fell in the house; the EMT's and fire rescue both answer the call? A lot of sirens do not mean a lot of accidents! How many is a horde?

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

Did you know that if you call 911 because someone fell in the house; the EMT's and fire rescue both answer the call? A lot of sirens do not mean a lot of accidents! How many is a horde?

I would say a horde is more than we are used to hearing and seeing.
It was constant.

I did , at first , think that it was some unfortunate soul having a heart attack..........but after being there six weeks and seeing the speeders, felt it also had to be accidents galore.

It's relative.....depending on the area one comes from.

Our cousins in New Jersey (which we left in 1970) are always COMPLAINING ABOUT THE "CRAZIES" ON THE HIGHWAYS DOWN THERE WHEN THEY HAVE TO COMMUTE ON 95 WHICH IS THE N.J. TURNPIKE, OR ON THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY (BOTH OF WHICH WE REMEMBER QUITE WELL)........BUT NO ONE IS OSTRACIZING THEM FOR STATING A FACT.

Anyone who has driven to the Boston Massachusetts area also knows what TRAFFIC is like in and around cities.

We don't live in a city, but in a small isolated town of 12,000 souls.
So........it's a matter of how one perceives noise and traffic, I guess.

[ROCKETMAN]

The accident on 466 sunday night was caused by a 22 year old who went through a red light!!!

[OldDave]

Wouldn't a horde of ambulances have to be driven by relatives of Genghis Khan?

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by OldDave

Wouldn't a horde of ambulances have to be driven by relatives of Genghis Khan?

No doubt about it........

Just out of curiousity, I looked up our accidents for the past ten years.

Bennington County. Average of six fatals every year for ten year period.

That is the entire county. More than I thought, however, not as many as Florida, as I do read the Orlando Sentinel.

Some of our fatals were caused by out of state novice truck drivers trying to cross our mountains on icy or snowy roads, going out of control and hittting innocent folks on steep declines/hairpin type turns.

Many others were caused by out of state speeders. Only a few caused by the elderly who passed out at the wheel.

in this section: 1995 - 1999 | 2000 - 2004

Bennington County, Vermont (VT) Fatal Car Accident Statistics From a Car Accident Lawyer

Residents of Bennington County may be at risk of a car crash every time they get behind the wheel, but some places are statistically safer than others. In Bennington County, there was an average of 6 fatal car accidents every year over the past decade. Your best defense against avoiding a fatal car crash is to educate yourself and the ones you love about safe driving practices and to be aware of car accident statistics. Know about trouble spots and always drive defensively. To get information about car crashes in your area, please select the years you are interested in from the menu above.

[senior citizen]

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ALL I COULD FIND FOR TV. SO , THERE IS NOT A BIG DEAL TO WORRY ABOUT.
FATALITIES FROM TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS SEEM EXTREMELY LOW.....EVEN THOUGH TV ENCOMPASSES MANY COUNTIES.



Fatal road traffic accident statistics for 1975 - 2009 (per 100,000 population)

0
400
800
1,200
1,600
2,000

Count
Vehicles
Drunken Drivers
Fatalities
Persons
Pedestrians

The Villages
Florida average

The Villages, Florida:

• Fatal accident count: 1
• Vehicles involved in fatal accidents: 2
• Fatal accidents caused by drunken drivers: 0
• Fatalities: 1
• Persons involved in fatal accidents: 0
• Pedestrians involved in fatal accidents: 0

Florida average:

• Fatal accident count: 155
• Vehicles involved in fatal accidents: 237
• Fatal accidents caused by drunken drivers: 50
• Fatalities: 168
• Persons involved in fatal accidents: 414
• Pedestrians involved in fatal accidents: 27

The Villages fatal accident list:

Dec 9, 2007 01:30 PM, Bella Cruz, Banderos, Lat: 28.952236, Lon: -81.958986, Vehicles: 2, Fatalities: 1




Read more: The Villages, Florida (FL 32159) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders

[spk7951]

According to the 2011 annual report from The Villages Public Safety Department during the time frame of October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011 the dept responded to 5,546 EMS (medical) calls. The #1 category was for Falls with Trauma at 951 calls. #9 on the list was Motor Vehicle Accidents, which includes golf carts, at 221 responses.

See pages 13 & 14 on the link below if you want more info.
Village Community Development Districts

[perrjojo]

Originally Posted by terrieb

We heard about what happened on Sunday night at Buena Vista and 466 with the low flying helicopters, overturned car etc. Then yesterday, 12/4, we were on our way to Sumter Landing for dinner around 4:30p when there were many sirens, EMS's, farther on up 466 as we were attempting to get on Morse Blvd, took a detour down another road and I am wondering (as a prospective buyer in the Villages), is this a norm in the Villages? I know where there are people there are accidents but these accidents seem to be "extreme" accidents vs. "fender-benders". More people living here than back home but I am wondering with so many drivers 55+ of various skills or skills where maybe they should not be driving anymore, maybe the accidents would be more frequent. We are currently doing our research for moving to the Villages and having been here before in December, this place seems so much busier than we remember.....is the population growing that fast here? Like I said, just doing our research like the rest of you did before you moved here.

I don't think your question was unreasonable at all. The two accidents happening so close together seemed to be a coincendence and as you may have heard by now the Sunday accident was caused by a 22 year old running a red light. It is statistically proven that older drivers do cause more accidents though not as many as the youngest drivers. That is why many insurance companies raise their rates once a driver becomes 70. I find it particularly hazardous backing out of parking spaces here at the large parking lots. No, I am not bashing orders driver because I happen to be one but I am stating a reality. We have bicycles, golf carts and construction traffic added to the mix. My opinion is that one must be extra vigilant when driving here because there are many distractions but I do not think it is unsafe. I love living here and do not miss big city expressways at all. You are wise to look at all aspects of living in any new location and only YOU can decide what is best for YOU.

[jbdlfan]

Wow, are some folks so delusional as to think that the number of auto accidents doesn't increases with age. The two biggest age groups for accidents is under twenty and over 60! It's not a puzzle. 80,000 people and most are in the second age group is going to mean a chance for more car accidents. I will say thought, that it could be lower because many people only drive golf carts, but there are quite a few of those also. Geesh.....it's not an attack, it's just common sense and statistics. (I know, the next post will be something about how statistics lie....)

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by terrieb

We heard about what happened on Sunday night at Buena Vista and 466 with the low flying helicopters, overturned car etc. Then yesterday, 12/4, we were on our way to Sumter Landing for dinner around 4:30p when there were many sirens, EMS's, farther on up 466 as we were attempting to get on Morse Blvd, took a detour down another road and I am wondering (as a prospective buyer in the Villages), is this a norm in the Villages? I know where there are people there are accidents but these accidents seem to be "extreme" accidents vs. "fender-benders". More people living here than back home but I am wondering with so many drivers 55+ of various skills or skills where maybe they should not be driving anymore, maybe the accidents would be more frequent. We are currently doing our research for moving to the Villages and having been here before in December, this place seems so much busier than we remember.....is the population growing that fast here? Like I said, just doing our research like the rest of you did before you moved here.

terrieb:
I would tend to think that one would be wise to learn how to negotiate roundabouts the proper way. Accidents are caused by many reasons. One would be wise to be aware and drive defensively no matter where they are.

IMHO -I sometimes get concerned when hearing of these accidents. No one can guaranteed they won't happen. I think the anount of accidents are small, compared to the population in TV. I would not accidents from stopping me from moving to TV. Like I said, accidents can happen anywhere.

[Cisco Kid]

I was told by my southern family that all the accidents in FL are caused by Yankees like me.