[Tickled_pink]

DoctorA, so glad you and your wife were able to avoid a potentially dangerous situation last night. I hope you take some time to let your nerves settle before making a hasty decision about leaving TV.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by gerryann

This is an extremely horrifying experience and I am so sorry that you and your wife had to deal with this. As you said, thank the Lord that it turned out as it did.

I don't believe that your experience had anything to do with it being in The Villages...a coincidence. Unfortunately this sort of thing can happen anywhere. You just happen to witness it. I certainly hope that when you have both thought this through, you will realize that it's not a common occurrence.. I believe that the majority of villagers drive golf carts and cars cautiously, but accidents do happen.

Again, so sorry that this happened to you. Take a deal breath, and be thankful that you are unharmed.

I am so sorry you had this experience.

Accidents can happen anywhere. My experience has taught me to drive defensively as accidents can be avoided by being careful as you were. I think in a couple of weeks from now most of the trauma from this near accident will subside and you can start to enjoy TV again. It has too many great things to let this stop you from living the good life.

Take deep breaths and hang in there.

[aln]

DoctorA

It Happens - but planes fall out of the sky too.

Wait till FEB/MAR. The problems are multiplied by the influx of our seasonal residents, snowbird & renters.

Now in the summer you also have alot of visitors.

All these people that come from up north are in the hustle & bustle frame of mind and it's difficult to slow them down.


YOU MUST BE AWARE AND DRIVE VERY DEFENSIVELY.

I've lived here for 7 years and drive golf cart EVERY day. Only drive a car about 1 or 2 days a month. I've been lucky but I have seen accidents.

"let's be carefull out there"

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by DoctorA

My wife and I just moved to The Villages last Tuesday. We’ve really enjoyed having dinner and meeting new friends at LSL town center; and have been considering living here full-time. We’ve also enjoyed driving around in the golf cart. Usually we take the tunnel by Sweetbay to get to LSL from The Village of Caroline. Driving that way, we’ve noticed that the golf cart path that usually leads directly to LSL road is blocked off; making you drive through the Sweetbay parking lot then taking Old Camp road (we think that’s what it’s called as we are still getting used to the street names) to get to LSL road.
Well, tonight we went to LSL to meet with some friends for dinner and we took the same path to get back home. Luckily we did not have any drinks and we were not in a hurry driving back home. As we were driving on Old Camp road to get to the Sweetbay parking lot, I noticed a white car that looked like it was coming up to us really fast on our right side -- it was speeding through the parking lot behind Bravo Pizza (the restaurant located on the corner of Old Camp road and Lake Sumter Landing road). Behind Bravo Pizza is a parking lot. There used to be an exit from that same parking lot that exited onto Old Camp road. However, the exit was blocked off and a curb was added, along with several bushes and some trees.
While we were driving down Old Camp road all of a sudden that same white car came crashing over the curb, through the hedges and trees and was flying 3-4 feet high in the air just a few feet in front of us where we would have been in another 3 seconds… we would have been decapitated! It all happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to react!
We called the police immediately. The firemen and policemen did a good job blocking off the area and getting the area secure pretty quickly. The car ran into some shrubs and a policeman said that the driver also ran into a Transformer and broke a gas line. The police officer said that he smelled gas and was concerned that they may have to evacuate the area due to the gas.
With this near death accident, my wife is scared about living here and is thinking that we should put the house up for sale and move.

It is by the grace of G-D that we are still alive. There were also 6 teenagers walking on the sidewalk who also were literally seconds from being killed.
I am wondering:
How safe is it really to drive golf carts at night, in the squares with some people who may be too old to drive, and people drinking?
Are we getting to hear all these events or are they being covered up to protect the image of The Villages?
I would appreciate your comments and feedback. Especially from those of you who have been here for some time and have more insight into the area and maybe have some inside scoop.

I think it safe to say that if living and driving (autos or carts) your life is in danger at least once a week. What bugs me most are those drivers that do the unusual like stopping in main traffic to let someone at a stop sign proceed. Why these morons want to become traffic directors is beyond me.

[jgbama]

Since we are closing on the 16th of our future home, it is troubling that so many visitors and guests from adjacent communities outside TV treat it as some sort of resort area and forget this is people's hometown! My cart is being custom built with steel bumpers and a 50 caliber gun turret. The speed is set at 19 mph, and a big sign on the back saying, "Go ahead, make my day. I double dog dare you!! Have a nice day."

[dillywho]

Bad drivers come in all ages, not just the older population. Like I said before, try driving the speed limit on any of the streets (or highways) and see how often you get passed and get dirty looks in the process. This is especially true on the main roads and the roundabouts. What part of the posted 20mph through roundabouts or the 35mph on streets like Buena Vista do they not understand?

My experience has been that it has not been the older population or the very young but the middle group. To point fingers at people from "up north" is not fair, either. Drivers unwilling to obey traffic laws and drive safely come from all areas.

All drivers just need to obey the laws, drive courteously, pay attention to the other traffice, and learn to leave earlier. Leave the speed for the speedways.

[justjim]

Seems to me this accident has everything to do with a car and nothing to do with riding around day or night in your golf cart. You could have been walking near the accident, as you indicated some were, just as easily as making your way home in a golf cart. We can't stop "living" just because bad accidents happen, otherwise, we would never leave our homes and interact with other people. You witnessed a bad accident......not your fault. Hopefully, the folks in the white car are also okay. I'm sure they are happy you or others were not hurt.

[ronsroni]

HORRORS!!!! it sounds as though this driver was attempting to run from some sort of crime.
Don't leave. This is not the norm here and, yes, you must demonstrate defensive driving; one could not have prepared for this kind of off the wall situations.
This could well have happened on ANY STREET, USA. It just so happens it occurred here in T.V.
C'mon. You folks have earned your trip to Paradise. Don't give up on TV so soon.
Glad you are well and that the teens are as well.
Peace

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by A-4 Skyhawk

My wife and I passed a grandmother in a cart by her self driving with her right hand and holding a baby, about 6 months old, on her lap with her left arm. I'm glad the white car was a little further north.

Even if I am a wannabee, that seems very unsafe to me. When I was in TV last month, I saw a golf cart driving near the square in LSL which had a baby (probably about 6 months old) sitting on the lap of an adult female passenger (possibly the baby's grandmother) in the front seat of a 4 seat golf cart. I was wondering about the safety of that.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

I am so sorry you had this experience.

Accidents can happen anywhere. My experience has taught me to drive defensively as accidents can be avoided by being careful as you were. I think in a couple of weeks from now most of the trauma from this near accident will subside and you can start to enjoy TV again. It has too many great things to let this stop you from living the good life.

Take deep breaths and hang in there.

Excellent post by 2BNTV. I am also glad you and your wife are OK. Take a few days or a couple of weeks to think things over. The Village of Caroline is such a great location (but then all locations in TV are great).

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by jgbama

Since we are closing on the 16th of our future home, it is troubling that so many visitors and guests from adjacent communities outside TV treat it as some sort of resort area and forget this is people's hometown! My cart is being custom built with steel bumpers and a 50 caliber gun turret. The speed is set at 19 mph, and a big sign on the back saying, "Go ahead, make my day. I double dog dare you!! Have a nice day."

jgbama -- The next time I am in TV driving through the Village of Rio Grande, I will be sure to drive very carefully!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

.......Accidents can happen anywhere. .......

DoctorA - Sorry to hear about your close call. THAT would certainly raise your blood pressure a bit!

As 2B already stated, accidents can happen anywhere. You could've been in your car, on a bicycle, walking.......or in your golf cart, as you experienced. From the sounds of your description of the accident that occurred, you'd have been in a serious state if you'd have been involved, regardless of what you were in/on.....though "in your car" would've probably caused you the least harm.

Don't let the experience scare you away from TV - such things can happen anywhere. Glad to know you weren't hurt!

Bill

[ilovetv]

It sounds as if your wife is traumatized, and rightly so. It will take time for her/you to get over that and you'll probably not want to go anywhere near that accident site.

This was truly a freak accident that could have happened in your hometown, too, but you would have been driving an automobile that would have been safer and more protective of you.

Rather than putting up the house for sale and moving, I'd say give it some time without driving the golf cart. Use only a nice, safe, full-size car in TV for awhile.

Nobody has to drive a golf cart in TV.....in fact, I know several people who do not own one. They use their car and that is fine.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by dillywho

Bad drivers come in all ages, not just the older population. Like I said before, try driving the speed limit on any of the streets (or highways) and see how often you get passed and get dirty looks in the process. This is especially true on the main roads and the roundabouts. What part of the posted 20mph through roundabouts or the 35mph on streets like Buena Vista do they not understand?

My experience has been that it has not been the older population or the very young but the middle group. To point fingers at people from "up north" is not fair, either. Drivers unwilling to obey traffic laws and drive safely come from all areas.

All drivers just need to obey the laws, drive courteously, pay attention to the other traffice, and learn to leave earlier. Leave the speed for the speedways.

I agree with your first paragraph..........etc.

I think a previous poster said it all when they mentioned people being on meds.........lots of folks are "over medicated" these days........
Many times their judgement is just off.

We've crisscrossed our country numerous times, too numerous to count, and the traffic seems to have gotten worse. I'd say the past decade or so has seen a decline in polite drivers.

However, without mentioning states.........it does seem to be the closer to the cities, the crazier they drive.

Smaller town drivers seem to be more conservative.

City drivers seem to be on auto pilot. Often times they are rude.
It's like the other cars don't even exist. Our relatives down in the "cities" which could be N.Y. or Boston, etc. or Washington D.C. all call them the "crazies"......so it's mainly city drivers. It must be stressful.

I would think, to them, The Villages is a light traffic area.
To me , it seemed heavy traffic and it wasn't yet "high season".

Previously, when traveling, we'd always try to leave our hotels early in the morning "before commuter rush hour" to escape the lunatics on the roads........and stop earlier, again to avoid the evening rush.

Driving west , it was a pleasure to go through the farmlands of the Great Plains......long stretches of empty roads.

Truck drivers , for the most part, were super polite.........but 3 years ago, we noticed they had become super aggressive drivers.......changing lanes RIGHT UP CLOSE TO PASSENGER VEHICLES.....with no turn signals.
Maybe it was the "new generation" of truck drivers....the younger set.

I realize trucks are not golf carts....but everyone seems to be in a HURRY these days........and not thinking of the cars next to them.

Everyone just stay safe. For ourselves, we prefer the "country" roads off the beaten path.......it's a lot more relaxing to go slower and enjoy the scenery. Thankfully, we do not have a lot of traffic up here at all.

Again, stay safe............

[LittleDog]

I had a close call today in my golf cart. I was travelling thru the parking lot at Saddlebrook and was going to make a left turn to go into the tunnel. A pickup truck was coming from Buena Vista and was entering the parking lot. I didn't see him as there are bushes in the way along the side of the road. I started to make a left turn to go into the cart path into the tunnel when this pickup who was travelling in a right turn and I almost collided. I don't go this way much but this is a dangerous "intersection". Just wanted to warn people to be careful here.

Also today as we were returning from golf on Morse on the opposite side of the road there was a golf cart being driven by a minor who looked 10 years old. She definately was not 14. In the cart were her grandparents. Another example of grandparents who have no sense.

John