[ncic50]

At approximately 6:34 PM, Oct. 19th, a 69 yr old Villages Resident was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while walking on Piney Woods Path at Valleybrook Way in the Village of Dunedin. The victim died from his injuries. Even though not clearly posted, this area as per Section 17-5 has a 20 mph speed limit.

We recently moved back to The Village of Osceola Hills in TV. Our house is on Deskin Lane which has a designated (but NOT posted) 20 mph speed limit. While out walking on Deskin Lane, cars and trucks zoom past us going 30 mph and more. Like almost all of TV streets there are NO posted 20 mph speed signs here.

On Sept. 9th, I telephoned the Sumter County Public Works to inquire about having 20 mph speed signs posted on Deskin Lane. The County Commissioner stated that he would look into it. In a very short time I received a call from a Sumter County Sheriff's Supervisor. The SCSO Supervisor was receptive to my concerns, conducted himself in a highly professional manner and is a great ambassador for the SCSO. SCSO placed a Mobile Electronic Speed Monitor on Deskin Lane near St. Stephen Street. Most motorist slowed down when seeing the device but others just flew by repeatedly at 25-35 mph. After about 3 weeks the sign was relocated to another street in TV.

Unfortunately the SCSO is understaffed and under paid so the likelihood of the SCSO doing more traffic enforcement does not appear to be happening in the near future. We residents of The Villages collectively pay a lot of money in taxes and unfortunately more people will die in TV from motor vehicle vs motor vehicle and motor vehicle vs pedestrian accidents. SLOW DOWN people. We need more SCSO's on the streets.

Like most noteworthy news articles the 2 1/2" long article regarding Tuesday's fatal accident was buried in Section C, Page 4 of The Villages Daily Sun. Instead of hiding news worthy items like this, which is a disservice to Villages Residents; stories like the fatal accident should be on the front page of the paper. We deserve better!

[villagetinker]

I feel your pain, we live near Pinellas place, and most cars and golf carts go the speed limits but several times a day I see cars hitting close to 50 mph on a marked 30 mph road, same goes for Buena Vista, Morse, etc., way too much speeding.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by ncic50

At approximately 6:34 PM, Oct. 19th, a 69 yr old Villages Resident was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while walking on Piney Woods Path at Valleybrook Way in the Village of Dunedin. The victim died from his injuries. Even though not clearly posted, this area as per Section 17-5 has a 20 mph speed limit.

We recently moved back to The Village of Osceola Hills in TV. Our house is on Deskin Lane which has a designated (but NOT posted) 20 mph speed limit. While out walking on Deskin Lane, cars and trucks zoom past us going 30 mph and more. Like almost all of TV streets there are NO posted 20 mph speed signs here.

On Sept. 9th, I telephoned the Sumter County Public Works to inquire about having 20 mph speed signs posted on Deskin Lane. The County Commissioner stated that he would look into it. In a very short time I received a call from a Sumter County Sheriff's Supervisor. The SCSO Supervisor was receptive to my concerns, conducted himself in a highly professional manner and is a great ambassador for the SCSO. SCSO placed a Mobile Electronic Speed Monitor on Deskin Lane near St. Stephen Street. Most motorist slowed down when seeing the device but others just flew by repeatedly at 25-35 mph. After about 3 weeks the sign was relocated to another street in TV.

Unfortunately the SCSO is understaffed and under paid so the likelihood of the SCSO doing more traffic enforcement does not appear to be happening in the near future. We residents of The Villages collectively pay a lot of money in taxes and unfortunately more people will die in TV from motor vehicle vs motor vehicle and motor vehicle vs pedestrian accidents. SLOW DOWN people. We need more SCSO's on the streets.

Like most noteworthy news articles the 2 1/2" long article regarding Tuesday's fatal accident was buried in Section C, Page 4 of The Villages Daily Sun. Instead of hiding news worthy items like this, which is a disservice to Villages Residents; stories like the fatal accident should be on the front page of the paper. We deserve better!

Not defending anyone. We tend to expect demand perfect, it does not exist.

Front page news? Hiding this event? Where to put any story is of course the editors choice. Hiding the event, they could simply chose not to report it. Putting a speed sensor was a declaration if interest. I would expect it records the readings-collecting data.

One of the insurance companies offered a discount if you would put a monitor in your car to access your driving. It failed because few would agree to that. There are endless posts about speeding golf carts, speeding cars, bikes, stop signs, walkers, dogs, kids etc. It will not happen but all should review what they do, that is what you are most in control of.

For walkers, and bike riders, some do, too many don't- wear bright colors-it may save your life.

[dewilson58]

What was the value of the house??

[Bjeanj]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

What was the value of the house??

[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I feel your pain, we live near Pinellas place, and most cars and golf carts go the speed limits but several times a day I see cars hitting close to 50 mph on a marked 30 mph road, same goes for Buena Vista, Morse, etc., way too much speeding.

You are so right VT. We also live near Pinellas Place and speeding is common, although it seems most stay around 35 mph. Morse and Buena Vista are another story altogether. I stay under forty on those two thoroughfares and try to stay at 35. Traffic flies by me regularly. In fact I am almost shocked when someone in front or behind me goes for any length of time at the speed limit. I almost never see sheriffs patrols on those roads and I have an idea they are discouraged from issuing tickets as it might be bad for business. What is everyone in a hurry for?

[Bill14564]

I understand the concern about speeding and 50 in a 30 is a bit much. Do you really think that if the car that struck the pedestrian had been traveling only 20mph then the person would have survived? When 4000 lbs of vehicle strikes 150 lbs of human the vehicle always wins.

Rather than determining how slow a vehicle needs to go in order to safely strike a human, perhaps it would be wise to look into why the collision occurred and work to prevent that. Was the driver not paying attention? Was there a blind curve (doubtful)? Was the pedestrian walking in the center of the street or crossing the street without looking?

I'm not proposing to blame the victim , I'm just suggesting not to jump to the conclusion that speed was the primary and only cause.

[Ben Franklin]

On another note, I almost rear ended a driver on the inside lane of one of the round-abouts. It looked like he missed turning into a development and had plans to try turn through the outside lane traffic. A good toot on the horn, and he started going around the circle again. SMH.

[Mortal1]

How is it known that a)they are understaffed b)underpaid. An auto going 5mph can snap a telephone pole. Since this post never specifies how it's known they were speeding the whole post is null and void.

Was the pedestrian walking on the proper side of the road? Were they wearing properly colored clothing? Did the pedestrian have any health issues? Did the driver have any health issues?

There are so many variables that aren't even addressed that blaming speed of the auto is ludicrous. It takes hard work to find a cause why soft tissue bi-peds get whacked while walking, but that is life and to just select a reason because it's easy way out is actually a bit lazy.

[vintageogauge]

The other news outlet stated that the gentleman walked into the path of the oncoming pickup truck according to the state police, no mention of speeding or the driver being at fault. It's very sad that this happened but the OP is missing some of the facts.

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by ncic50

Our house is on Deskin Lane

That's too bad.

Originally Posted by ncic50

SCSO placed a Mobile Electronic Speed Monitor on Deskin Lane near St. Stephen Street.

Oh, so you live on 'lower Deskin'. That's REALLY too bad.

We live on Yardham. Sometimes we would exit on lower Deskin but some idiot speeding around the curve almost hit us, so now we only exit on 'upper Deskin'.

[Vikingjunior]

Install speed cameras. Once people start getting tickets in the mail word will get out and people will slow down.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Vikingjunior

Install speed cameras. Once people start getting tickets in the mail word will get out and people will slow down.

Says the person traveling in the left lane of I-75 doing 70 MPH.

[Escape Artist]

I only arrived in TV in the spring so I'm bracing myself for when the snowbirds arrive and the traffic really gets out of control! At times, I've found traffic in TV worse than I had anticipated, but at other times, there's very little depending where you drive.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Escape Artist

I only arrived in TV in the spring so I'm bracing myself for when the snowbirds arrive and the traffic really gets out of control! At times, I've found traffic in TV worse than I had anticipated, but at other times, there's very little depending where you drive.

TV is not ask bad as other Florida hot spots..........not even close.