Talk of The Villages Florida - Interesting MMP Observation

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- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Interesting MMP Observation (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/interesting-mmp-observation-346796/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Velvet (Post 2291150)

Yes, I have (hubby installed) a very loud air horn on the golf cart. And I would “politely” use it to let the people know I would like to pass.

You may get a "polite" response someday from someone who does not appreciate having their hearing damaged by a very loud air horn.

Lol sounds like coffeebean is a KAREN!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gladys Turnip (Post 2290704)

My husband & I have noticed something when walking on multi-modal paths.

First off I'll mention that we always walk on the left side (ie, into traffic), and that our observation only applies if there are no carts coming from behind us (fyi, if there are carts coming from both directions at the same time, we simply step off the path onto the grass, ceding the right of way).

So, when there is a cart coming at us (and no other carts, bikes, or walkers anywhere around), our observation is this: When MEN are driving the oncoming cart, they pull way over to their left, giving us wide berth which provides us with a comfortable safety buffer. On the other hand, WOMEN do not do this and instead (inexplicably) generally hold to their current lane on the right side of the path.

Suffice to say we don't understand this phenomenon, and if anyone does, we'd love to hear the reasoning. But in any case, we walkers would like to thank those cart drivers who swing wide left when approaching walkers, and we'd like to ask more (all) of you to please do the same (when you can). Thank you.

I assume this survey is based upon a sample size of just under the 400 required for a 95% confidence rate and a 5% error rate with a population the size of The Villages?

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2291102)

When I'm walking on an MMP (which isn't a road, it's an MMP, that's why it's not called an MMR) - I usually walk -with- traffic, not against it. I stay to the far right edge and if I hear the sound of bicycle gears or the whoosh of an EV or the rumble of a motor coming closer I notice first - is there room for them to pass me safely? If so, I just continue as I was. If not, I move off the pavement. If there's a curb, I'll walk on the curb. If it's grass, I'll walk on the grass.

Maybe some day when my hearing aids stop being good enough to let me hear what's coming up behind me, I'll get one of those little tiny mirrors you can attach to your eyeglasses. And then I'll be able to see them coming. For now I'm good to go, because I have something called "situational awareness" which apparently a lot of old people no longer possess - or possibly never had.

Or maybe, one day, and I would suggest soon, you learn to walk facing the traffic like you should.

Ok Gladys, if no one else will say it, I will. You certainly have gotten blood out of this thread.
Sorry, I just could not help myself. Surely, this thread was getting way too serious. But I am serious and don't call me Shirley.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2291009)

Honestly, if I'm going around a right-hand bend then I'm hanging to my right side, close to the shrubs, in case some bozo is cutting the corner coming towards me. If I meet a pedestrian at just the wrong moment it could be close. It's a roll of the dice: do I anticipate a pedestrian or do I anticipate an oncoming cart in half my lane?

Hug the right side, but do it slowly enough to avoid what may be in your lane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2290829)

So, what you are saying is the pedestrian has the right of way in a MMP? I honestly did not realize that. That is the most ridiculous rule/law, IMHO. Anyone knows that the pedestrian is fighting a losing battle by remaining in the path of an oncoming vehicle. If I were a pedestrian, I would certainly move out of the way of a vehicle that could kill me. I would not ever trust any driver to navigate around me. It is all about safety and that is the safety of the vulnerable person who is on foot and does not have a vehicle to protect them.

BTW...... I NEVER walk in a MMP. That is dangerous as hell.

Here it is in Black and White.

Applicable sections

FS316.212(2)(e) Golf carts and utility vehicles may operate on sidewalks adjacent to state highways only if such golf carts and utility vehicles yield to pedestrians and if the sidewalks are at least 5 feet wide.

FS 316.212(8)(a)3. The ordinance restricts golf carts to a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour and permits such use on sidewalks adjacent to state highways only if the sidewalks are at least 8 feet wide

This means that if I’m walking towards a golf cart on a MMP on the left facing traffic and you the cart fails to yield to me, even if I’m coming straight at you and stop directly in front, the law says the golf cart driver is at fault. It’s the same thing as a crosswalk. If you hit me you’re wrong. I may be “dead right” but you’re still wrong in the eyes of the law. And ignorance is no excuse.
The end.

Statutes & Constitution
:View Statutes
:

Online Sunshine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gladys Turnip (Post 2290704)

Women are the kick-butt, aggressive drivers because they have long been relegated to 2nd class citizenship in the US. For example, women relative to men were making average wage gains before the Pandemic, but lost all wage gains during and after Covid (which actually is NOT over). Therefore WOMEN have MORE frustrations to take out while behind the wheel. Also, the cart makes them somewhat anonymous.
..........A recent article stated that BOTH men and women are speeding, drinking and driving, and engaging in distracted driving at greater frequency after Covid, which appears to have somewhat changed society toward more risky behavior.
............Personally, I walk on the left side and I step onto the grass EVERY TIME a vehicle of any type approaches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbomaybe (Post 2290776)

I always wonder why some seem to think that a vehicle has the right of way over a pedestrian when in most states the ped is assumed to have the right of way, this is due to the fact that in a collision the damage done to a vehicle will be relatively minor compared to the pedestrian, MMP multi modal path, pedestrian, pedalcyclist and golf cart, in order of right of way to protect the most vulnerable

Walking, I am DEADLY afraid of golf carts, especially those that have "jacked up" their governor to allow 30 plus MPH speeds. The golf cart is NOT designed for such speeds and has minimal suspension and braking capability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2291192)

Women are the kick-butt, aggressive drivers because they have long been relegated to 2nd class citizenship in the US. For example, women relative to men were making average wage gains before the Pandemic, but lost all wage gains during and after Covid (which actually is NOT over). Therefore WOMEN have MORE frustrations to take out while behind the wheel. Also, the car makes them somewhat anonymous.
..........A recent article stated that BOTH men and women are speeding, drinking and driving, and engaging in distracted driving at greater frequency after Covid, which appears to have somewhat changed society toward more risky behavior.
............Personally, I walk on the left side and I step onto the grass EVERY TIME a vehicle of any type approaches.

thank you for putting this whole issue into the proper sociologic perspective. It makes so much more sense now,

This thread confirms something that we all know. There are those driving their golf carts around that have no idea what the laws and rules are that provide for safe operation of their vehicles. They also have a "it's all about me, get out of my way" attitude. Wow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 2290814)

Walkers should yield. Period. What is so difficult about that? Smart walkers know they will not be the victor when confronted with a vehicle, be it a golf cart or an automobile.

That is VERY true what you say about "smart walkers". Personally I would want to stay ALERT as a walker and step off into the grass, which I have done and is no big deal. But, the question LOGICALLY becomes, what about the DUMB, NOT PAYING ATTENTION WALKERS. Is it OK to hit them or "BUZZ BY" them close enough to teach them a lesson?
.........Also, some walkers are so arrogant and DUMB that they walk 2 by 2 on the MMP and residential streets. That is like a death wish with the professional grass cutters racing through the residential streets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hosegooseman (Post 2290994)

It’s simple: Men are better drivers !!! 😃🏎️

An ongoing myth that you choose to buy for some reason.
These Are America'''s Worst Drivers (By Car Brand) | ZeroHedge

Vehicles with the highest number of driving incidents.
#1 - RAM trucks - guess who drives those?
#2 - Tesla's - guess who the majority of those drivers are? 83% are male.
The typical Tesla driver: Here's his profile - Autoblog

So, are we done convoluting a safety issue to be something about gender? OP diminished her credibility by tossing that unnecessary bait out there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2291192)

Women are the kick-butt, aggressive drivers because they have long been relegated to 2nd class citizenship in the US. For example, women relative to men were making average wage gains before the Pandemic, but lost all wage gains during and after Covid (which actually is NOT over). Therefore WOMEN have MORE frustrations to take out while behind the wheel. Also, the car makes them somewhat anonymous.
..........A recent article stated that BOTH men and women are speeding, drinking and driving, and engaging in distracted driving at greater frequency after Covid, which appears to have somewhat changed society toward more risky behavior.
............Personally, I walk on the left side and I step onto the grass EVERY TIME a vehicle of any type approaches.

Whooo! JJM laid out the kindling for the fire. Someone wanna hand him a match? :-)

Actually in my not-so-humble opinion this is not a male - female thing. It is a lack -of-understanding thing and even more, an entitlement thing. I do a lot of walking as well as golf cart driving and have seen plenty of folks, both genders, doing things that just makes my want so shake my head. Sure, folks have the right to drive 20 mph on the MMPs. But does that justify taking a 90 degree corner so fast that the cart barely holds the road, or even moreso (as I've seen) necessitates taking the grass so the cart doesn't roll--especially those topheavy ones one sees more and more of these days. Sure, you and your partner/friend/whatever have the right to walk on the MMPs, but does that justify you strolling two abreast while walking VERY slowly with a line of carts coming at you from both directions? You have the right to ride your bicycle on the MMP, but does that justify you (and the four folks behind you) flying by the cart on the path stopped for a stop sign without even slowing down? Sure, a faster golf cart has the right to pass a slower one on the MMP, but does that justify trying to pass the slower cart by veering into the left lane and timing it so you just barely miss the walker who, being on the left, had no way to see you coming? (I was the walker on that one--guy missed me by just inches.) Just four things I've seen recently: all ended well but with even slightly different circumstances, could well not have.

It behooves us all, no matter what we may believe the laws might be or how strongly we feel we are in the right, to use our heads out there. I've never yet paid a price for being courteous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2291137)

I agree, the design is flawed. But that's the design we have, presently. While we can advocate for a change in design (and some of us already are doing that), we still have to accept what IS, until and unless it changes.

Right now, the MMPs are considered wide private paved pathways in which golf carts are permitted to travel, sharing the path with pedestrians and cyclists. They're not considered roads, private nor public, and the regulation of the district government that oversees these MMPs have stated in writing that these MMPs do not allow vehicles. Therefore - according to the body of government that oversees these MMPs, golf carts are not included in the category of "vehicles." The laws of automobiles and motorcycles don't apply on MMPs, because neither of those types of mechanical transportation devices aren't allowed on MMPs. MMPs are their own thing, with their own rules, and their own lack of rules, with their own version of enforcement or lack thereof.

It's no different from dirt bike trails up in the mountains where I came from. The trails are somewhat regulated. Dirt bikes are allowed. X/C skiing and snowshoes are allowed. Pedestrians are allowed. But ATVs are not, nor motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, snowboards, downhill skis, horses, cars or trucks. They're called dirt bike trails. They're not roads, and the laws of roads don't apply. The biggest most significant difference, other than dirt bike trails aren't paved, is that pedestrians absolutely do NOT have the right of way on them, at all. Dirt bikes have the primary right of way, and only have to yield to emergency vehicles. Pedestrians walk those trails at their own risk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2291217)

Agree 100% great points.