[cappyjon431]

Before I start my rant, let me first say that overall, I love living here. The large majority of the people we have met have been wonderful and we thoroghly enjoy all that TV has to offer. That being said, there have been a couple of incidents in less than a week that not only worry me from a safety perspective, but from a "friendliness" perspective as well.

I posted this in another thread less than a week ago:

"...My wife and I were driving our street legal cart on El Camino Real during the day. A small car got right up on our tail and followed so closely I was seriously concerned for our safety. After tailgating for about 1/2 mile, the driver zipped in front of us and purposely cut us off (and then slowed down) to the point that I had to swerve slightly off the road to avoid a collision. Once I got back on the road I saw that the same driver was stuck at the light at Camino Real and Bottelo, turning into our Village! I sped up and followed the driver to her home. I really wasn't looking for an incident or confrontation, but my wife wanted to tell the driver that she almost caused a serious accident. My wife was very nice about it (much nicer than I would have been) and the woman's response was "you shouldn't be on the road with your golf cart." My wife said "our cart is street legal and that we were legally allowed to drive on the street." The woman said, "I don't see any seat belts," at which point my wife and I both showed her we were wearing our seatbelts. At this point my wife finally told her that she was a danger on the road. The woman then called my wife an idiot and closed her garage door. Sometimes I question the whole "America's Friendliest Hometown" thing, as this woman was not only a menace on the road, but also a rude and nasty human being. A simple apology would have been more than enough, but instead she felt it necessary to justify her crazy driving. I am not going to sweat it as i am a big believer in karma."

So, some time has passed. My wife got into her GEM this morning to meet me at the gym. When leaving our village (Alhambra) and turning on to El Camino Real, a woman in a car passed her, purposely cut her off, and then honked at her (the sad part was that this was a neighbor from three doors down the street). My wife got to the gym almost in tears and shaking like a leaf (she was that scared). I calmed her down and we did our workout. Mt wife decided to have a chat with the neighbor when she returned from the gym. Luckily the neighbor was home and in her front yard. My wife pulled up in her GEM and asked her if she realized that she had cut my wife off (she really wanted to be diplomatic at this point). The neighbor replied that she knew and she was voicing her displeasure at my wife having her vehicle driving on the street. My wife explained that it was street legal, that we pay for insurance, taxes and a tag just like she did and were entitled to drive on the road (and remember, Camino Real has two lanes-one for passing). The woman said that she was just showing her displeasure by cutting her off and honking her horn. She also said she will continue to do this as long as my wife's GEM is on the road

I drive on TV's roads every day in my car and frequently encounter street legal carts on the road. I observe signs all over TV that say "Share The Road" and I have never felt the need to honk, cut off, or threaten these drivers. I happily share the road. Obviously our neighbor has somewhere to be in a hurry and needs a lesson in manners. Now this neighbor will have to deal with the police, as my wife considers the woman's response as a threat.

[Skip2MySue]

Originally Posted by cappyjon431

Before I start my rant, let me first say that overall, I love living here. The large majority of the people we have met have been wonderful and we thoroghly enjoy all that TV has to offer. That being said, there have been a couple of incidents in less than a week that not only worry me from a safety perspective, but from a "friendliness" perspective as well.

I posted this in another thread less than a week ago:

"...My wife and I were driving our street legal cart on El Camino Real during the day. A small car got right up on our tail and followed so closely I was seriously concerned for our safety. After tailgating for about 1/2 mile, the driver zipped in front of us and purposely cut us off (and then slowed down) to the point that I had to swerve slightly off the road to avoid a collision. Once I got back on the road I saw that the same driver was stuck at the light at Camino Real and Bottelo, turning into our Village! I sped up and followed the driver to her home. I really wasn't looking for an incident or confrontation, but my wife wanted to tell the driver that she almost caused a serious accident. My wife was very nice about it (much nicer than I would have been) and the woman's response was "you shouldn't be on the road with your golf cart." My wife said "our cart is street legal and that we were legally allowed to drive on the street." The woman said, "I don't see any seat belts," at which point my wife and I both showed her we were wearing our seatbelts. At this point my wife finally told her that she was a danger on the road. The woman then called my wife an idiot and closed her garage door. Sometimes I question the whole "America's Friendliest Hometown" thing, as this woman was not only a menace on the road, but also a rude and nasty human being. A simple apology would have been more than enough, but instead she felt it necessary to justify her crazy driving. I am not going to sweat it as i am a big believer in karma."

So, some time has passed. My wife got into her GEM this morning to meet me at the gym. When leaving our village (Alhambra) and turning on to El Camino Real, a woman in a car passed her, purposely cut her off, and then honked at her (the sad part was that this was a neighbor from three doors down the street). My wife got to the gym almost in tears and shaking like a leaf (she was that scared). I calmed her down and we did our workout. Mt wife decided to have a chat with the neighbor when she returned from the gym. Luckily the neighbor was home and in her front yard. My wife pulled up in her GEM and asked her if she realized that she had cut my wife off (she really wanted to be diplomatic at this point). The neighbor replied that she knew and she was voicing her displeasure at my wife having her vehicle driving on the street. My wife explained that it was street legal, that we pay for insurance, taxes and a tag just like she did and were entitled to drive on the road (and remember, Camino Real has two lanes-one for passing). The woman said that she was just showing her displeasure by cutting her off and honking her horn. She also said she will continue to do this as long as my wife's GEM is on the road

I drive on TV's roads every day in my car and frequently encounter street legal carts on the road. I observe signs all over TV that say "Share The Road" and I have never felt the need to honk, cut off, or threaten these drivers. I happily share the road. Obviously our neighbor has somewhere to be in a hurry and needs a lesson in manners. Now this neighbor will have to deal with the police, as my wife considers the woman's response as a threat.

Holy crap Cappy Jon. You and your wife need a group hug cause that ain't the way it is here in paradise. Ignorant people all over the world and it sounds like you just happened to hit two of them in a short period of time. We've been here 2 years and haven't found them at all.
Skip 2

[bimmertl]

Good call on getting the police involved. The threat is not only aimed at your wife, but every GEM, and most likely all street legals, on the road.

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by Skip2MySue

Holy crap Cappy Jon. You and your wife need a group hug cause that ain't the way it is here in paradise. Ignorant people all over the world and it sounds like you just happened to hit two of them in a short period of time. We've been here 2 years and haven't found them at all.
Skip 2

Originally Posted by bimmertl

Good call on getting the police involved. The threat is not only aimed at your wife, but every GEM, and most likely all street legals, on the road.

i hope that your wife does contact the police and that an officer is sent to the homes of each of the women for a short discussion on the rules of the road! i would probably spend the $ to have restraining orders placed on each of the women, too! - just for effect!

sorry that had to happen.

[Bogie Shooter]

You are bound to find idiots anywhere. Are friendliest hometown cannot keep them out..........so you found a couple.

[Sparty6971]

Can't agree enough with bimmertl above. The "lady" is your neighbor but is also a very dangerous law-breaker on at least two counts. First, communicating a threat like that is called Assault and is punishable by a fine, confinement, etc. Second, It is a traffic offense which if not halted immediately will sooner or later lead to even more dangerous behavior which might even cause severe injury or death. The driver of that vehicle might even decide to "teach someone a lesson" and learn that the other driver is packing a concealed weapon who decides the lesson needs to go the other direction. We don't need that in our community. I know is would be very tough to call the police on this and there is little they can do not having observed the behavior but they need to be alerted to the fact that it is going on.

[cappyjon431]

My wife did call the police (only on the second incident) and they just left. The officer was very understanding and did go to the neighbor's house to discuss it. Unfortunately the neighbor wasn't home, but the officer did say he would be back in the morning to speak with her. My feeling is that I just want there to be some type of report so if something happens down the road the police already know about the situation.

I'm more sad about this than anything else. I like living here and it makes me sad that a neighbor could be so rude.

[philnpat]

Wow Cappy...so sorry that happened to you and your wife.
I've met a few folks that I wouldn't consider to be poster children for the Friendliest Home Town but not as abusive as the ones you encountered. Forget the 1 % and embrace the 99 %.
Since it happened both times in your cart, why not install a "street legal" plate on the rear of your cart. That way if someone's in a rush, they'll see it and maybe then they'll realize that they are in the wrong and must be speeding.
Hang in there...we'll be down next month. If we ever meet I'll buy you both a beer!

[JoeC1947]

Cappy,

First let me say that I read your posts on TOTV and find you to be a very stable and logical poster therefore I haven't the least bit of doubt that what you said happened just like you said it did and I'm very sorry that your wife took that verbal assault not to mention the road rage she experienced from that crazy woman. My wife would have reacted the same way yours did and I would have to hold myself back as I'm sure you did. Try to remember that the aggressive woman is most likely a little touched in the head for thinking the way she does so I would steer clear (very clear) of her. Report the incident to the police and let them handle it.

Again, so sorry that you had to run into one of the very few bad examples of human beings we have here in TV. As Boggie Shooter said, people like this are everywhere not just TV. You and your lovely wife had the unfortunate luck to end up with one as your neighbor. Keep believing in Karma because the crazy lady will get what she is looking for eventually.

[dalecrenshaw]

These people, and people like this, are going to ruin it for the rest of us law abiding, safe drivers, who are courteous to the rest of the people around us. It is a privilege to be able to drive our golf cart (on legal roads & pathways) and GEM Cars on the streets in the Villages. Where else, in the rest of the world can you do this. If we have enough incidents like this, with rude & dangerous jerks, they will take away our privileges. It is already hard to get golf cart insurance (especially for the snow birds) and the insurance will continue to go up with behavior like this. I just hope that the people in charge don't get to the point that they have had enough of stuff like this, and take away our privilege to drive the golf carts.

[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by cappyjon431

Before I start my rant, let me first say that overall, I love living here. The large majority of the people we have met have been wonderful and we thoroghly enjoy all that TV has to offer. That being said, there have been a couple of incidents in less than a week that not only worry me from a safety perspective, but from a "friendliness" perspective as well.

I posted this in another thread less than a week ago:

"...My wife and I were driving our street legal cart on El Camino Real during the day. A small car got right up on our tail and followed so closely I was seriously concerned for our safety. After tailgating for about 1/2 mile, the driver zipped in front of us and purposely cut us off (and then slowed down) to the point that I had to swerve slightly off the road to avoid a collision. Once I got back on the road I saw that the same driver was stuck at the light at Camino Real and Bottelo, turning into our Village! I sped up and followed the driver to her home. I really wasn't looking for an incident or confrontation, but my wife wanted to tell the driver that she almost caused a serious accident. My wife was very nice about it (much nicer than I would have been) and the woman's response was "you shouldn't be on the road with your golf cart." My wife said "our cart is street legal and that we were legally allowed to drive on the street." The woman said, "I don't see any seat belts," at which point my wife and I both showed her we were wearing our seatbelts. At this point my wife finally told her that she was a danger on the road. The woman then called my wife an idiot and closed her garage door. Sometimes I question the whole "America's Friendliest Hometown" thing, as this woman was not only a menace on the road, but also a rude and nasty human being. A simple apology would have been more than enough, but instead she felt it necessary to justify her crazy driving. I am not going to sweat it as i am a big believer in karma."

So, some time has passed. My wife got into her GEM this morning to meet me at the gym. When leaving our village (Alhambra) and turning on to El Camino Real, a woman in a car passed her, purposely cut her off, and then honked at her (the sad part was that this was a neighbor from three doors down the street). My wife got to the gym almost in tears and shaking like a leaf (she was that scared). I calmed her down and we did our workout. Mt wife decided to have a chat with the neighbor when she returned from the gym. Luckily the neighbor was home and in her front yard. My wife pulled up in her GEM and asked her if she realized that she had cut my wife off (she really wanted to be diplomatic at this point). The neighbor replied that she knew and she was voicing her displeasure at my wife having her vehicle driving on the street. My wife explained that it was street legal, that we pay for insurance, taxes and a tag just like she did and were entitled to drive on the road (and remember, Camino Real has two lanes-one for passing). The woman said that she was just showing her displeasure by cutting her off and honking her horn. She also said she will continue to do this as long as my wife's GEM is on the road

I drive on TV's roads every day in my car and frequently encounter street legal carts on the road. I observe signs all over TV that say "Share The Road" and I have never felt the need to honk, cut off, or threaten these drivers. I happily share the road. Obviously our neighbor has somewhere to be in a hurry and needs a lesson in manners. Now this neighbor will have to deal with the police, as my wife considers the woman's response as a threat.

Jon,
Sorry you guys had to have such unpleasant and hazardous experiences.
There are many seniors, here and elsewhere, that appear chronically angry. I wonder if they are having trouble dealing with the aging process.

[Bill & Carolyn]

Originally Posted by Indydealmaker

Jon,
Sorry you guys had to have such unpleasant and hazardous experiences.
There are many seniors, here and elsewhere, that appear chronically angry. I wonder if they are having trouble dealing with the aging process.

Is there a GOMS epidemic? Most of our experiences have been very pleasant, there are always exceptions.

[784caroline]

it is very unfortunate that you ran into such a situation...even more unfornatuate was the rage came from a close neighbor. Road rage ..and this is what you experienced...occurs every day in cars, and you hear of fights or accidents as a result. Anything can set off "road rage" and its always best to avoid it if you can. But when you are in a car at least you have some protection or can roll up a window to stop a fight. You must realize that in a street legal golf cart..there is little or NO protection afforded the passengers against such crazies....and they are out there. It is your right to drive a properly licensed street legal golf cart on the (designated) roadways of florida, but you must prepare yourself for these idiots. Im sure your wife as you said, was "shaking like a leaf" after the incident and down right scared, and I hope he police had a serious discussion with your neighbor.

What I would be more freightened about is driving around in a street legal golf cart, and meeting up with an unintentional driver in a car or (worst yet) a truck who runs a light or stop sign. Bad result!!

[Roaddog53]

Originally Posted by philnpat

Wow Cappy...so sorry that happened to you and your wife.
I've met a few folks that I wouldn't consider to be poster children for the Friendliest Home Town but not as abusive as the ones you encountered. Forget the 1 % and embrace the 99 %.
Since it happened both times in your cart, why not install a "street legal" plate on the rear of your cart. That way if someone's in a rush, they'll see it and maybe then they'll realize that they are in the wrong and must be speeding.
Hang in there...we'll be down next month. If we ever meet I'll buy you both a beer!

I agree there are the small percentage of the people again that can not follow the rules, feel they are above the others, or feel they are "deserved" something. They fit in the (3) personailty traits I have seen here more than anywhere else. Self-Centered, Egotistical, or Selfish.. Sad, but hang in their Cappy, sometimes.. just smile, that way they don't know what you are thinking and it breaks the ice. Glad the wife and you are ok though

[aljetmet]

Cappy,

I know from a previous thread awhile ago that you would not drive your street legal cart on a 35 MPH road if it has only one lane. ie. Morse blvd. in places. That makes such good sence. In any event, I've been on the fence as to getting a street legal and this incident has, I believe, finalized my decision.

Good for your wife calling the police.

About "America's Friendliest Home Town", its just a phrase the developer uses to market TV. You don't have to pass a test, show that you are friendly or a good person. You just need the $$$ and not have anyone younger than 19 live with you. (more than 30 days in a year) and you don't even have to have one person over 55.