A golf cart clinic offered Wednesday by the Villages Homeowners Association attracted a capacity crowd at Colony Cottage Recreation Center.
Jack and Rosemary Sikucinski from Sparta, N.J. who have been Village of Dunedin residents for only two months, echoed sentiments of other newcomers and a sprinkling of longer-term residents, that the clinic was very helpful.
“New residents like ourselves can feel intimidated by all the paths, unfamiliar directions, other carts on the paths who seem to be in a hurry. The paths are confusing, we don’t always know where we are headed, and aren’t sure where the bridges and tunnels are,” said Jack Sikucinski.
He said the clinic is very important for everyone to attend.
“They do a great job,” he said.
Andy and Dolly Stockdale from Delaware, who moved to the Village of Sunset Pointe one month ago, gave the clinic two thumbs up.
“This was great. A lot about driving is common sense and being courteous, but we need to be reminded,” Andy Stockdale, who was a road accident inspector for the U.S. Postal Service, said.
“A lot of new areas in The Villages are not on the GPS maps, and people are afraid to venture out, especially in the afternoon with all the thunderstorms, or at night,” he added.
VHA volunteer and clinic facilitator, Mark Gallo, was pleased to see the capacity crowd at Wednesday morning’s session. A retired U.S. Army colonel, Gallo showed two videos and covered important points about safe golf cart operation and maintenance with the help of Sumter County Sheriff’s Deputy Dick Bennett, Lady Lake Police Officer Jimmy Thomas, John Tyler of Cart World and insurance representative Stephanie Winfrey.
“Being a Villager is special,” Gallo said. “Because we have the privilege of operating our golf carts on designated roads, off of the golf courses, 24 hours a day. There are now more than 50,000 golf carts in operation, with nearly every residence having at least one cart. It’s important that we all be courteous, use our common sense, go with the traffic flow and obey all traffic laws which apply to cars.”
Cart drivers should check head and rear lights and directional signals often, because wires can get jarred loose by bouncing long the roads; and [distilled] battery water, which needs to be maintained at 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the plates atop the battery cells, should optimally be checked about once a week or so for good cart performance.
“We need to be sure our curtains, golf towels and packages do not obscure our rear lights and signals,” Gallo mentioned, “and its best to use both our mechanical and physical hand signals — arm up for a right turn; straight out for a left turn, and arm downward for slow or stop. Cars mostly have the right of way, but when your cart is smaller and lighter weight, give the larger vehicle the benefit of the doubt always — because you will always lose in an accident.”
Alcoholic beverages are against the law in golf carts, Deputy Bennett said.
“Pull over for cell phone calls, and no texting while driving. If a pet or child is in your lap and an accident occurs, they will be crushed — so please don’t do this, although it can be OK for a child to ride between two adults if you have a bench seat.”
The presenters emphasized that child car seats are not safe for golf cart use, either inside the cart or in the rear storage area. They are made for cars and not carts.
“Although it’s legal for children to drive at 14 years of age, I ask you if you really want to expose your youngsters to this danger? They aren’t licensed drivers yet and don’t have good road judgment or experience. I’d rather have my grandkid mad at me than be hurt or dead.”
No one should stand up on the cargo area of golf carts, and carts must stop for pedestrians.
“The most important thing for new golf cart drivers to realize is golf carts are not toys,” Gallo asserted. “Golf cart rides can be fun, and an adventure when you’re getting to know our paths — but you can be ticketed and you can be hurt — so we need to be serious about our safety.” “Golf cart speeding and reckless driving carry expensive fines and here can be criminal penalties as well,” Deputy Bennett emphasized. “We are out there, and you will be ticketed.”
A few other facts brought at the clinic:
• There are only two places regular carts can legally cross major roads in The Villages — El Camino Real at the Village Alhambra traffic signal; and on Rainey Trail from Lynnhaven Lane (Virginia Trace) at the Bridgeport at Miona Shores Village entrance. For other crossings, there are tunnels.”
• Low speed vehicles, which must have license tags, have a maximum speed of 25 mph, and can cross 45 mph speed limit roads — they don’t have to use the tunnels.
• Law enforcement sees the most golf cart infractions Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which are ladies’ and men’s golf days — when people may be excited, talking and not paying attention to the road.
• Although seat belts are not required by law, the VHA highly recommends them. The most serious injuries and even deaths have occurred when passengers were ejected from their carts. Windshields and side reflectors are needed if carts are driven at night. Lake, Marion and Sumter counties adopted identical ordinances in 2003 governing golf cart operation after dark.
Insurance representative Winfrey recommended separate golf cart insurance, which starts at about $60 per year — so if a cart accident occurs, there is no penalty to your homeowner’s or car insurance premium. Villages who rent homes to tenants need to examine their cart policies — some cover renters driving carts and some do not. She reminded Villagers if your cart goes faster than 20 mph, insurance coverage will be void in case of accident, and owners will be liable for accident costs.
The VHA regularly offers these golf cart clinics. Learn more at http://www.thevha.net/
