[MJCtalk]

There are too many different vehicles on the main roads in the Villages. Something has to go. Bikes can use the multimodal lanes only or not be permitted on major roads within the Villages at all. They slow and interfere with auto traffic and do not follow road rules. I see comments about car and cart drivers but not 1 word about the hazard the bicycles are causing.

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by MJCtalk

There are too many different vehicles on the main roads in the Villages. Something has to go. Bikes can use the multimodal lanes only or not be permitted on major roads within the Villages at all. They slow and interfere with auto traffic and do not follow road rules. I see comments about car and cart drivers but not 1 word about the hazard the bicycles are causing.

"You Cannot Be Serious"

[LAFwUs]

Originally Posted by Rango

Speed and red light cameras would fix the problem.
We have them in our home town- I hate them , but they work!

Not entirely correct.
Red light cameras have been shown to not be beneficial and many cities have/are dumping them.
They tend to cause more accidents as drivers either speed up to beat the camera or panic brake to avoid being caught on the red mid intersection. Both often result in more accidents.
They also have been proven to lead to manipulation (traffic light timing & tweeking cam perspective) by less than ethical traffic enforcement agencies, solely to increase city/county revenue, resulting in greater court burdens, lawsuits, etc.
In some cases where that hasn't happened, audits have discovered that they cost more than they bring in, as the back end support, maintenance & contracts associated with them are a substantial money drain.

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I nearly broad sided another golf cart that ran the stop sign at the tunnel under Morse, they were coming from Sarasota area.

A similar thing happened to me. I was leaving the parking lot next to the driving range, so I had to cross the MMP. The MMP has a STOP sign, but I did not have one.

I saw two walkers going along the MMP, and I let them go. However, they were being closely followed by two golf carts, and the first one went thru the stop sign without stopping. I pulled up about 3 feet from him with my horn blaring and I did not stop honking until he was well out of the way. I bet the cart driver will not forget this encounter.

The second cart stopped at the stop sign.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by LAFwUs

Not entirely correct.
Red light cameras have been shown to not be beneficial and many cities have/are dumping them.
They tend to cause more accidents as drivers either speed up to beat the camera or panic brake to avoid being caught on the red mid intersection. Both often result in more accidents.
They also have been proven to lead to manipulation (traffic light timing & tweeking cam perspective) by less than ethical traffic enforcement agencies, solely to increase city/county revenue, resulting in greater court burdens, lawsuits, etc.
In some cases where that hasn't happened, audits have discovered that they cost more than they bring in, as the back end support, maintenance & contracts associated with them are a substantial money drain.

I would take the red light cameras, potential abuse, and "money drain" over getting hit by someone who ignores the light. The abuses can be discovered an cured and the "money drain" might be less than the cost of additional traffic-enforcement personnel. The current system isn't working well and people are getting hurt.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Rango

Speed and red light cameras would fix the problem.
We have them in our home town- I hate them , but they work!

Speed/ticket issuing cameras are a great idea. Enough is enough with the clowns who think they can treat traffic circles like the Daytona 500. The revenue could help make the area even nicer. Go for it, I’m a yes!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by JoMar

While reviewing the minutes from January CDD 10 meeting, Lt. Siemer from the Sumter County Sheriff's Department presented, in part:

During the last quarter in The Villages, there were 290 vehicle accidents, 54 golf cart accidents, 26 citations were issued to golf cart operators and 462 citations issues to vehicle operators. Lt. Siemer stated that a good number of accidents occur due to speed or distracted driving.

I wonder how many Golf Carts were cited for speeding and speed governor equipment tampering?

[joelfmi]

Thanks for your Transparency!

[ckcapaul]

Originally Posted by bark4me

Yeah that's very low. An officer should be averaging 10 to 20 Citations a day!

When and where I worked with calls for service, medicals, accidents and other calls I usually averaged 2 tickets a day. Unless someone only works traffic enforcement those numbers are not realistic.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Good question.

I've long been of the opinion that such incidents stand out because of their (relative) rarity.

The Villages has an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 golf carts (Hagerty website) so for the sake of argument let's say 75,000. 54 golf cart accidents (assuming accidents per quarter are roughly equal) = 220 or so per year. That's just over one-quarter of one percent, or 1 in 400, in any one year. According to the News9 website (What Are Your Chances of Getting Into a Car Accident?), your chances of being in an accident in a vehicle authorized to go on public roadways is roughly 1 in 366 per 1,000 miles driven.

I know--rough statistics. But they do point out, in my opinion, that the news coverage MAY be convincing us that there are more carts involved in mishaps than actually are.

Gas carts have a higher center of gravity compared to an E-cart. Obviously, the battery is mounted lower in the vehicle than the gas engine. So, that makes the E-cart less likely to overturn in an accident or EVEN when on a side hill and doing a cornering maneuver. I doubt that locally they keep separate statistics for the 2 groups of Carts. Maybe there are some national cart statistics.
.......Again, I would propose that in residential neighborhoods, on straight areas, not curves, that there be some wider areas of the street to allow a car or truck to SAFELY pass a SLOWER golf cart. And, you-all KNOW that it happens ALL the time ! Better to have it happen somewhat more safely.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by LAFwUs

I supposed it be too obvious to point out, that those numbers are "documented / reported" accidents.
Would not include low speed/non-injury incidents where both parties work things out sans police.
It can in no way, also factor in the seemingly countless near misses.

If speed limits were higher here, we'd all se a lot more actual collisions.

Cannot count the number of times other drivers have tried to intentionally rip into the round about to beat/cut off vehicles that are already in it. We've witnessed more than one hit 'n run, busted gate arms, cars on curbs/grass & even one large chevy suburban trying their luck on the multi-modal path....

Point being, reportable accidents maybe low per capita, but inept drivers here are not!

Lots of room for improvement. It is SO bad that it becomes humorous. I feel that there is NOT enough of a Police presence BOTH for ticketing bad driving AND for preventing robbery and serious crime. We are a Bubble surrounded by have-nots - it IS only logical to want a bigger Police presence. And friendly Officers without chips on their shoulders and too much feeling about their own power. Retired residents here DESERVE that!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Worldseries27

so an average of 5 citations a day encompassing the entire tv

Right, that seems a little on the "light" side.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by sdeikenberry

If they would patrol Morse north of 466 with radar on a daily basis, there would be a major income in police revenue and a major slow down in speeding on Morse. I fail to understand why they don't set up radar patrol and nab the speeders on a regular basis. That alone would slow the speeding on Morse.

So logical! I wonder if it is because there are NOT enough Officers. And I wonder who decides how many and what their pay should be? I am just asking. I obviously don't know.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Rango

Speed and red light cameras would fix the problem.
We have them in our home town- I hate them , but they work!

Then they are SAVING LIVES there and WHY not here?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by MJCtalk

There are too many different vehicles on the main roads in the Villages. Something has to go. Bikes can use the multimodal lanes only or not be permitted on major roads within the Villages at all. They slow and interfere with auto traffic and do not follow road rules. I see comments about car and cart drivers but not 1 word about the hazard the bicycles are causing.

There are too many vehicles for the size of the roads during the winter season. We can't have less vehicles without something like a regular commercial bus service started. So, we need more lanes on the main roads and more multimodal paths.
......Since 1970 in most of Florida, the population growth has ALWAYS stayed ahead of the road building. When I was in TN. I noticed that the roads were keeping up with the population growth (at least where I was located). It is true that Fl. growth has been greater and faster than most states, but you would think that they could have SOLVED the problem since it dated back so long to 1970.