My statement was in reference to the opinion of that posters opinion of the op's ticketing and that posters opinion of my opinion .... not what the speed limit is. Is that clear as mud? ;-)

I would bet the ranch that if you followed these upstanding law and order folks around in their golf carts for a day .... they would fail to come to a full and complete stop at a VERY high % of posted stop signs.

I have a regular electric EZGO golf cart that goes 20.5 MPH on a flat level road and may touch 21.0 on a long downhill. I get passed by non-street legal carts more times than by Street Legal carts. These golf carts have not been designed to go 25-30 MPH. The brakes, suspension and other non-safety items like seat belts are not there, and only put everyone in grave danger if they have to make an evasive driving maneuver. These owners are risking injury of their spouses, themselves, children, grand-children, pets and put other cart drivers in danger racing around The Villages like retired NASCAR drivers. What's the point passing everyone in site?? Shorter wait times at the Bait Shacks during happy hour? This is a retirement community and we should be happy and thankful that all the years of hard work and sacrifices got us here to enjoy all that The Villages has to offer.

Goodie two shoes comments aside I think the bigger issue is that golf cart laws are archaic when it comes to golf cart communities like TV. These are not your average golf carts anymore. Many of us have seat belts, some have enclosures, some have beefed up brakes and suspensions etc. etc.

Does anyone really think 24 mph is too fast in the diamond lanes? I don't. I have one cart that is governed at 20mph and I get passed by 40% of drivers on Bailey Trail. I'm not mad at them and they do it safely. My other cart is capable of exceeding 20mph but I try to keep it around 22 or so but even that seems slow.

Let's remember this (and you can search this site for verification): We were once told for many years that it is better to NOT have seat belts in our golf carts. Lt. Wolfe of Sumter County would cite some outdated and not relevant video showing roll overs. Well times have changed and if you read the POA bulletin every month you'll see that seat belts DO help the vast majority of cart accidents. My point is that just because we have a law doesn't mean the law shouldn't be reviewed and amended based on new technology. I think it is time for that review. But in the meantime don't get caught speeding or driving an 'unregistered vehicle (that's a joke)'

Obviously there are two opinions on this (maybe more). Some think even though 20 is the limit 22 or 23 or 24 or whatever is okay. Others say if you are going over 19.9 get ready to wear a noose.

My opinion, if you are going over 20 and get stopped, take your medicine - same as you would if you were going 78 on Interstate 75.

And here is my sad story: A long time ago I was traveling on Highway 101 in California. I was following my (then) father-in-law heading north. He had a habit of not using his turn signals when changing lanes. He got pulled over. I was sure it was for not using signals and I stopped to wait for him. He and I both got tickets for going 62 in a 55 zone. I asked the highway patrolman a simple question: "Why am I getting a ticket, you didn't pull me over?" The response: "If every car pulled over I would give every one of them a ticket." Message - they can't get everyone, but when they get you - you are caught and are going to get a ticket.

Happy ending to the story - I had just returned from a tour in the military in places we'd rather forget. The speed limit had been reduced from 65 to 55 while I was overseas. The judge listened to my sob story and gave me a $10 fine. I think the father-in-law paid close to $100.

Wow!

300-500$

No one "had" to take a class. But if you choose to take the class there are no points against your license.

You miss the point. The cop did you a favor. If you had been involved in a serious accident with injury, it is likely that your comfy retirement would be over because you would have no insurance. Your insurance, if any, is currently for a "golf cart" and because you had a vehicle capable of going over 20, you were no longer driving a "golf cart". Hence it is an unregistered vehicle.

I missed no point and I am not the op.

Further, if as you say "I" would have had an accident ... how would SCSO been able to determine my rate of speed at the time of the accident???????

Sorry, I clicked on the wrong post to reply. However, to answer your question, you insurance company sends the "unregistered vehicle" to a shop to verify that it has been modified to have the capability to motor faster than 20 mph. The issue is not actually speed at the time of the accident, but whether or not you have a properly insured vehicle. Insurance companies do not like to pay claims and will use very trick in the book to their advantage. When you have a modified golf cart, you play into their hands.

OP got a summons and will have to pay a fine. Having said this, this law is a Mickey Mouse as they come. I see far more serious actions every day driving around TV but rarely hear of enforcement of laws except those which are speed related. I routinely see cars blowing stop signs, failing to signal, bouncing their carts off curbs and weaving back and forth across the white line (not passing, just meandering along) and nothing is said and nobody stopped. These are all dangerous maneuvers which can and sometimes do cause serious injuries. Let someone go a couple of miles over the speed limit and people are calling for the head of this miscreant. Yes, I know it's not a speeding ticket but the summons was caused by speed.
I have to agree with Russ Boston on this one. These laws are archaic. I don't see where driving a golf cart at a rip snorting 22 mph is a helluva lot more dangerous that cruising along at 19.9 mph. but running a stop sign is absolutely, positively hazardous and can and does lead to fatalities. If the police want to really do something to make driving in TV safer, how about focusing on violations which are actually dangerous. They're obviously choosing which laws to enforce so why not enforce something that will save lives?

Unfortunately, this is a criminal offense and you must appear in criminal court. Everybody in the courtroom pays the $256 court cost plus any fines. When I was there an 82 year old woman was trying to explain that she didn't understand what happened to the judge , the judge said he seen this more than 300 times and issued her a $110 fine plus the $256 court cost. Ouch! You can't fight it, the DA will not move on these violations. I wouldn't bother hiring a lawyer, just be very pleasant with the judge apologize and maybe he won't fine you but you're still sacked with the $256 court cost.

It's a total money grab. I was in court because I got the same ticket on the
parking lot of the license bureau
registering a car I just purchased that same day

Speaking of that in comparison to other traffic laws I always wondered how if you drive 21 mph in a golf cart and the limit is 20 mph the "speeding ticket" becomes "driving an unregistered vehicle". If you are going 21 in a 20 zone in a car it's still called speeding. The dierence in fine amounts makes me question the intent of public safety measures as a automobile becomes a heavier projectile with speed. Maybe I'm confusing myself now but I dn't understand the fine ratio as per vehicle type. Maybe others understand. ?

I too thought that was odd. Is it because of age?

Nothing to understand, it's a total money grab. Speeding tickets are traffic violations. Why would you issue those if you can issue criminal offenses and collect the outrageous court cost and huge fines.

This is the photo I took getting ticketed in the parking lot of the license bureau for "unregistered motor vehicle". Can you believe that? Total BS!

There are a number of very accurate speedometer apps out there for smart phones.

Some of you folks should download one.

I'll bet a lot of folks will be shocked......when they find out that theirs go more than 20 mph also. ;)

.

Very sensible well written post! It seems an easy moneymaker for the local police force. To suggest that someone should be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law" for driving 2 or 3 miles over the speed limit sounds like Aunt Bea in Mayberry.

That's not being fair to Aunt Bea.




.

When we got our new cart I measured the speedometer against the garmin. Our cart at most on flat ground with only me in it will only go 20.5 at the very most. It's my observation here inTV is that there is much more of a problem with speeding cars than carts. Morse blvd seems to be a racetrack lately. I also believe the majority of these drivers are not villagers using morse as a cut thru.

We get passed all the time and I often wonder just how much quicker one arrives at their destination by going 3, 4 or 5 miles over the limit! I'm sure someone out there is good enough with math to figure this out and share the tatistics!:posting:

And did you drive the unregistered car to the license bureau on a public
highway???? Nuff said.

Where did you get the idea that the fine money goes to the police dept?
BTW, I love it when people say the "cop" was hiding..:blahblahblah::MOJE_whot:
The more enforcement, the better for all. Kudos to the SCSD, keep up the good work.

It's the law buddy! and you must obey it. Where do people get off thinking that the laws don't apply to them? You have a golf cart that goes over 20 mph....TICKET! some people here think their above the law. These are the people you see driving their carts while walking their dogs, or driving their golf carts with their grandchildren strapped in to their golf bag holders. Unbelievable. I think the fine should be STIFF! I'm sick and tired of driving down the golf cart path at 20 mph and having you pass me. If YOU have to be somewhere then leave earlier!

Since the OP will not identify actual speed, I will be forward enough to give my estamate: 27 MPH.

I do not know, but doubt if an officer would issue a ticket for going down hill at 23 MPH.

How would you know? I think the cops would give a ticket for one mile over the limit.

I just love it when I get passed by a speeding golf cart and then I catch up to them at the next intersection! I have a slow golf cart.

I guessed.


My intention was to give an opinion.

1. If you are driving a cart at 22 - 23 MPH, I would hope they would not stop you.

2. If you are driving a cart at 27 MPH or more, I would hope they shoot your tires out before you kill someone.

:boom:

2 miles over the limit?
 

I don't see where the writer said he was only going 2 miles over the limit. Where did that come from, He hasn't said how fast he was going. Lets stick to the facts. He could have been going 10 mph over the limit.

I rest my case, See the other story about a golf cart court appearance.

Please stay on topic and avoid generalized and specific name calling.

Almost all carts are capable of going over 20 mph if you get them going down a big hill.
If you're going 24 down a big hill can you get ticketed for driving an unregistered vehicle?
After the OP was ticketed, did the officer allow him to drive away in his unregistered vehicle? If so, wasn't the officer neglecting his duty? It was my experience when I was a teen to have allowed my registration to expire. Not only was I ticketed, but my car was towed as the police couldn't allow me to continue to drive and unregistered vehicle on the public roads.

Seems to me that it doesn't matter if the reason for speeding in a golf cart is beacuse of a big hill, it is still speeding. If you are on an Interstate highway and the speed limit is 70mph, and you encounter a long down hill, and your previously cruise-control set speed has crept up to 80 mph, and you get stopped and cited for driving 80 mph, you were still breaking the law. A ticket is written, you grumble, presumably you pay it and thats the end.

Please enlighten me, as I don't understand the comments regarding the hill and the speed limit of golf carts. As I think I understand it, the ticket becomes for an unregisterd vehicle...which would seem to indicate that there is not really a speed limit for golf carts....???? So, if your golf cart isn't modified to go over 20mph, and you get stopped for over 20 mph on a down hill, you still need to pay (a golf cart store?) to get it certified that it can't go over 20mph????? Then go to court, and probably pay the fine for driving an unregistered vehicle, as well as court costs?

I must say that wife and I are new to Florida, and have not yet purchased a golf cart. With this kind of issue at hand, we may not, and just continue to drive our Camry Hybrid, which is paid for, gets 41-44 mpg in The Villages, and keeps us cool when it is hot out, dry when it is raining...and I don't have to worry about getting stopped for 2-3 mph over and getting a ticket for driving a non registered vehicle, and all its apparent side issues.

Trust me, I am not for over-regulation, but it seems to me that the rules for golf carts, at least in the Villages, need to be clarified....OR people need to complete an approved course before being allowed to sign and take possession.

EDIT: added thought, what if a bicyclist is going over 20mph? Does he/she get ticketed for an unregistered vehicle? or is there no speed limit for bicycles.

when is a chicken a duck
 

you didn't get my point. speeding ticket for a car is speeding ticket. small fine. speeding ticket for a golf cart is driving an unregistered motor vehicle mega bucks for the court system. When is a chicken a duck? when the law says it is.

I took the driving class online to avoid points on my license.

When the chicken goes over 20 MPH, it turns into a duck.

have we heard from OP on what speed the ticket was written for?

Hey, I know...all you people who think you're getting screwed for breaking the law just refuse to sign the ticket.

Then you'll be a guest of the county for around 24 hrs. wearing orange and you can plead your case in court.

Don't ask me how I know.

EDIT: added thought, what if a bicyclist is going over 20mph? Does he/she get ticketed for an unregistered vehicle? or is there no speed limit for bicycles.

I belive this only applies to a 4 wheeled vehicle not under human power.

Have to weigh in on the side of "wish the police were ticketing cars breaking the law" which are in abundance and a whole lot more dangerous. But the fines aren't as steep so maybe that answers why they prefer the golf cart ticket!?!?!?!