What baffles me is how the SUV sustained the extreme damage, not only to the front end but, to the extent the occupant would have to be extricated. Was another vehicle involved?

So terrible for the people involved. Seems like the car may have been traveling more than 35mph for that much damage.

Here's the street view of the area to see how the lanes are set up.

[QUOTE=Halibut;913504]So terrible for the people involved. Seems like the car may have been traveling more than 35mph for that much damage./QUOTE]

And the speed limit there is only 30 MPH.

The diamond lanes on Morse, Rio Grande and Delmar are too narrow for their intended purpose. It was stated that this vehicle roof was cut by rescuers following this accident. Even if this is correct the damage to this vehicle indicates speed greater than 30mph. It may be that the driver of the auto had a medical emergency or was not paying attention. We also do not know if the cyclist maintained position in the diamond lane or was on the southbound traveling lane.

I personally hate to take my cart on any of the streets i mentioned above because the tolerance for error is slime to none. This event was bound to happen and it will continue. I know a guy who had a car drive into his cart while making a right turn onto San Marino hurt him badly.

This accident prompted to remember some folks explaining that they consider it safer to cross over onto the diamond (golf) lane when making a turn. This accident illustrates my differing opinion on this method

Going north and approaching Rio Grande is another impossible traffic configuration with the outer lane for turns the middle lane for straight ahead movement and then the northbound traveling lane. I use this intersection often and always, always allow carts ahead of me to stay ahead so that I can visibly see their movement and better than 100 yards back begin looking in my right rear mirror to see if carts are approaching
This may seem like a small matter to some but I can't count the number of times I have seen cars dangerously cut off golf carts

My prayers go out to those involved in this terrible accident

This horrific accident happened right in front of the entrance to our CYV neighborhood, Villa San Antonio. I drive my golf cart to the mail station every day on this route, and it gets scarier every day. The speed limit is 35, but I see cars going by me going at least 50 MPH every day, and at least twice week I witness a car going past me which strays into the golf cart lane and travels there with its wheels 1-2 feet inside the cart lane for several hundred yards. Frankly, it's happened so often that it's a miracle I haven't witnessed a bad accident there. I constantly check my mirrors, as someday I'm expecting to see an SUV bearing down on me in the cart lane at 50 MPH. So far I've been lucky, but need to rethink how I get to the mail station. I looked at the damaged vehicle yesterday and can't understand how it would be possible for a 35 MPH crash to result in so much damage. Either the guy was speeding or he had some kind of medical issue that caused him to speed up. I'm sure I'll be seeing a sheriff's deputy out there with the radar occasionally for the next couple of weeks, but then they will find more important places to watch. Please folks, slow down and pay attention to what you are doing behind the wheel.

I talk about this all the time. I don't think that Morse is quite as bad, but you can add Chula Vista to that list.

We use Rio Grand and Morse quite often to get to LSL. I would assume that these golf cart lanes were an afterthought. It probably didn't occur to the developer, 35 years ago, that there would be thousands of golf cart zipping around The Villages. It's obvious in the newer area such as Buena Vista the the infrastructure was designed with golf carts in mind. Every time I drive in that area, whether in my cart or my car, I think about, with all the money being spent on planting flowers and beautifying that park near the Paradise dog park (Which in my humble opinion was a complete waste of money) and all the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on projects that don't really improve our lives, why isn't money being spent on such important projects as widening Rio Grande, Chula Vista and Del Mar and continuing the multi modal path on Morse all the way to 466 or just before it. These are very heavily traveled roads and they are really not safe.

This particular accident may not have been prevented by doing these things. As someone said it sound like the car driver may have had a medical emergency and there is really nothing that will prevent those kinds of things from happening. But, I've seen a couple of incidents where golf carts have been scraped by cars traveling along those roads.

A lot of times unsafe conditions exist and there's not much that can be done to improve them. But in this case the condition and answer are glaring.

Of course we are all just speculating at this point but it could be that the driver panicked and hit the acellarator rather than the brake.

Dear gatherer47 - My prayers are with you, (and the victims) as it must have been a terrible thing to witness.

Many cyclists make me nervous and irritated because they often ride side by side - out of their path/lane and many seem to not know/care that they are to abide by the same laws as a driver - i.e., stop signs, stop lights. Many don't even yield at a stop sign. We live at the beach where there are many, many cyclists. Many pay ZERO attention to vehicles and think they own the road. I walk and ride against the traffic and yield to those following the law. But, I think being able to see what's coming your way is a lot safer, allowing you to make a quick move if necessary. Anyway, all of topic. I pray for this cyclist and all involved.

Just as there are inconsiderate drivers, there are inconsiderate cyclist. Many ride side by side because they feel safer against aggressive drivers. As to thinking they own the road, well they do have just as much right to be there as vehicles. If you ride your bicycle against the flow of traffic, you are breaking the law.

Riding side by side is a safety measure that many cyclists use. Perfectly legal... It is their right by law to take up the whole lane. Another faction feels that cycling close to the center line is another safety measure, especially for a single cycler. Many cyclists riding over to the right have been sideswiped by cars whose drivers aren't paying attention or who become irritated because a bicycle is on the road.

I am not a cyclist, but I respect those who are, and their rights. I do wish, however, that they would have to register their bicycles and have legible license plates like cars do so they could be identified when they blatantly disregard the traffic laws.

From the statute


Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two abreast may not impede traffic when traveling at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing and shall ride within a single lane.

Good idea and golf carts too.

Two abreast is side by side and legal. They can move over if they're not doing the speed limit. If they're doing the speed limit, which many serious cyclists can do easily, they have every right.

Yes, I am breaking the law and a lot safer for it. I see more and more people doing the same. Years ago, the law was actually to ride against traffic. Not sure why it changed.