Talk of The Villages Florida - Golf cart speeds

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- - Golf cart speeds (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/golf-cart-speeds-317534/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherry8bal (Post 1917012)

You are absolutely correct AND if you are in an accident and they check that your governor has been adjusted to over 20 mph, you can be sued BIG TIME. I don't know why some people have to go so fast on a golf cart. You are supposed to be retired - what the heck is your hurry?

I've been in my car driving the 25 mph speed limit and then passed by a golf cart doing almost 30 mph. That's ridiculous!!!!!!

You thing that’s ridiculous I was traveling up B/V going 37 in right lane and got passed by jacked up par car golf cart cart which makes even more dangerous for roll over.

Didn't read each comment thoroughly ...but the most important thing to know if your golf cart exceeds 20 mph; is your insurance coverage. I adjusted insurance claims for over 20 years, and ran across situations where a motor type vehicle DID NOT HAVE insurance coverage. In the case where a golf cart exceeds the 20 mph limit...and should have been licensed as a motor vehicle...in 99% of the recreational policies....there would be NO INSURANCE COVERAGE for a claim on public property such as the cart path on public roads. YOU DO NOT have to be going 20mph +...it would be that the cart can exceed the 20 mph and should have been registered. This means...if you cause damage...injure someone...etc.. YOU HAVE NO LIABILITY COVERAGE and would have to pay the claims out of your savings..real property..etc... If an injury for example has a value in excess of $100,000, or $200,000 ,etc.... you better have savings to cover that, etc.. Personal financial exposure should be considered if you have a cart that exceeds 20 mph.

It would be nice to have a golf car drag racing event a couple times a year. Long drive to the salt flats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dotneko (Post 1916623)

I did a search and may be using the wrong keywords, so i apologize in advance if this has been asked before.
We took our brand new 4 seater club car out and floored, it was doing 19 mph according to my speed app on the phone. We were regularly being driven up on and/or being left behind. Are we extraordinarily slow? I thought 20 was the max speed on the multimodals?

20 mph is more than enough for most folk to control the cart. Sadly it still wont stop those "souping them up" some up to 30 mph plus. It will not stop those who, with the wife as a passenger, run across the gate entry as the barrier goes up. You hoot and they wave.... HEY MRS it does say how little your hubby cares for you, as you are the one on the entry side who will get hit first. Are you insured !!!!! Playing chicken with cars is stupid, and cars there do have the right of way. Carts have a STOP SIGN, use it or lose your life. You have all the time in the world.

Four-Seaters Heavier, Slower

I’d be surprised if your four-seater goes 20 mph. Almost all brands are built and sold as two-seaters, then modified by the dealer to add the two additional seats. The additional structure and seats add quite a bit of weight to the vehicle resulting in slowing the top speed by about 2 mph. When the dealer “builds” the four-seater, they almost never adjust the top speed. That’s particularly true on electric carts because by speeding up the heavier four-seater, the range would be noticeably reduced.

I had exactly this same problem. After determining how infrequently we ever used the rear seats (once or twice a year when the grandkids visited) and how inexpensive the weekly rental for four-seaters was, our solution to regain more speed was to buy a two-seater with oversized radial tires. With that set up and reasonably fresh batteries, I consistently get 22.5 mph.

When I googled how fast a Club Car golf cart goes, I saw that its top speed was 19 mph, but there was a speed radar street sign on Rio Grande a couple weeks ago and I saw that my pedal to the metal was really 23 MPH. When street sign says 25 MPH max does that mean golf carts are supposed to go slower at 20 MPH or does the max speed apply to both vehicles?

Great post. My cart will go 25 mph but I only use the additional speed to get around those who poke along at 15 mph or so. If everyone drove at 20 on the straightaway, very few would feel the need to pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1916662)

If you're on a MMP (Multi-modal path) the police will not give a golf cart driver a ticket for speeding because it is private property. However, they will and can give you an open container ticket if you have an open container of alcohol while operating a golf cart on the MMP. The police have also been known to ticket the driver in a golf cart sitting parked at the squares while the driver has the engine turned off and is only listening to music. If you decide to go the square and have a alcoholic drink take a chair and sit next to the cart and not in the cart, you'll be OK.

If you're driving in a cart on a public street such as Hillsborough, Pinellas or St. Charles for example in the golf lane, they will give you ticket if your cart is going more than 20mph. It's not a speeding ticket, Florida law states the definition of a golf cart is
"Golf cart” means a motor vehicle that is designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and that is not capable of exceeding speeds of 20 miles per hour.

Because of the way the definition of a golf cart is written, if you are exceeding the speed limit of 20, they don't consider you a golf cart, but a LSV (low speed vehicle) in layman's terms, a street legal cart. In which case you need a Florida license tag, full auto insurance, windshield wipers, seat belts and one piece windshield. Since you're operating as LSV but are NOT licensed as such, you'll receive the unregistered vehicle ticket. Also, you do not need to be going more than 20mph, if your cart is simply capable of going more than 20, such as 27 mph mentioned by a poster, that is an illegal cart and be ticketed even if you're not speeding.

From past violators who have posted on TOTV, we've learned that you must appear in County Court in Bushnell and need to bring a letter from a certified mechanic that cart has been dialed back to the appropriate speed for a golf cart. You probably will pay a fine and court costs that are about $450 and if by chance you show up wearing shorts in court, you'll stay until the last case of the day, about 4:30 to be heard.

However, If the police are tracking you going down the MMP over 20 mph and then you get off the MMP (say to stop at the post office) say hello to some hefty fines!

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1917172)

Everybody is going to get off the MMP eventually. If the cop has radar, he's not going to bother to set it up at MMP.

Two years ago, a friend was driving South on the MMP on Morse and got nailed for speeding by the long arm of the law.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1917187)

So you're saying, somewhere on Morse south of 466 where Morse has a separate MMP and not a cart lane like north of 466, the cop had radar set up or was in a moving car and came onto Villages private property and gave the cart driver a ticket for driving an unregistered vehicle for going over 20 on an MMP.

Yes sir.

I rented a home with a cart that did about the same. Trouble is on any kind of incline or even against the wind you are not doing 19.5 MPH. If I had several carts backing up behind me I would pull over and let them by under common courteous. To be behind a cart going slow when you are trying to make a tee time highly frustrating. If everyone one used common sense and let others do what they want we would not be having this discussion.

People have passed me on many occasions. I don’t mind at all. Am I supposed to be getting mad? :)