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Crackdown on Golf Carts


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1 hour ago, hensley said:

It is the same street as the bus station is on heading to the main drag, I don't know my streets in Joco, I just know how to get around.

Which bus station? There are two.

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To all those complaining about the “Golf Cart” problem and how it’s not fair that they don’t have to pay referendums, get plated or have insurance. And that they get in the way of the rightful users of the roads and parking spaces - cars.

Allow me to retort: Cars, not golf carts, are by far and away the biggest problems at Lake Side – no need to look further than the highway any day of the week or the “no place to park” situation in Ajijic.

Polluting, expensive, proven to be deadly and massively oversized for the tiny, narrow side streets, cars deal destruction and pain here on a daily basis. Kids, old ladies, dogs and cats all fall victim every year and it’s like, well, so what? I need to get around, don’t I? And these damn golf carts – always getting in my way…

Golf carts have a 3.5 horse power electric motor and normally can’t even hit 15 mph, hence no need for all the safety equipment. On the terrible back roads here, they usually go much slower.  And I agree, that’s where they belong. Not on the highway or the bike path. But on the frontage roads? Give me a break.

You can park 2 golf carts in a parking spot and they are being used in many small tourist towns all over the world as smart transportation.

In my mind, car users should give way to golf carts, not the other way around. Golf Carters are doing their part to make life better here by reducing congestion, lowering pollution levels, making less noise, saving energy ($10 USD per month in electricity to run), adding to the fun and interesting flavor of the area and generally being good citizens. They are ideal for shopping and making short trips. And oh yeah, not killing anybody – don’t forget that. Zero is the number of golf cart related fatalities for the last 10 years.

Why should we serve as a target for the self-righteous, self-centered and self-serving car population?  Seems like it should be the other way around…

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That was a pretty good rant, SYSY, until you reached the last paragraph and assumed a lot about those who are not in favor of illegal golf carts and you spewed a chunk of nastiness:  " Why should we serve as a target for the self-righteous, self-centered and self-serving car population?  Seems like it should be the other way around… "

Do you have a problem with golf cart owners being required to be licensed, insured, and not allowed on the main highways? That is what all this is about.

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Thanks Gringal! You ask a good question. The post was a lot of overheated rhetoric until the last sentence which veered over to perfect projection. No one could be more self-righteous, self-centered, and self-serving than the writer of the diatribe that was more trolling than posting. 

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Unfortunately, the argument --to me-- is comparing apples to really big oranges. This is like saying drones shouldn't be regulated around civil aviation airspace.

A problem with slower-speed, tiny vehicles is that they get in the way of a system that is designed for a different kind of traffic. But perhaps more telling is the problem with some of the carted drivers: either unaware or uncaring of the potential problems, or lunatics who want to show off their prowess.

I have a friend who spends his winter months in Florida. The retirement community is designed around golf carts, and thousands use them. I am sure they complain about cars, but the difference is this community is designed for cars and trucks, not carts. To think that local carters are "doing their part" is pretty funny.

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Posted on TOB in a golf cart thread: "One of my neighbors had her unlicensed cart confiscated for driving wrong way on city Street in Ajijic"

 

So, some cart owners not only believe they need not be licensed and insured but also believe traffic laws do not apply to them. 

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8 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

Unfortunately, the argument --to me-- is comparing apples to really big oranges. This is like saying drones shouldn't be regulated around civil aviation airspace.

A problem with slower-speed, tiny vehicles is that they get in the way of a system that is designed for a different kind of traffic. But perhaps more telling is the problem with some of the carted drivers: either unaware or uncaring of the potential problems, or lunatics who want to show off their prowess.

I have a friend who spends his winter months in Florida. The retirement community is designed around golf carts, and thousands use them. I am sure they complain about cars, but the difference is this community is designed for cars and trucks, not carts. To think that local carters are "doing their part" is pretty funny.

On the back roads most of us drive at 20 mi/hr, while it has been stated the fastest the gold carts go is 15. All this about a 5 mph difference? All this drama about something none of us has any say over. It is the government who wishes to crack down, not fellow expats. Chill, people, this too will pass.

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Right, so one day I decided to retire, move to Mexico and buy a golf cart to drive around. Because that's what they do there. Uh-huh.

It isn't the speed. It's the danger and the aggravation, which is even more dangerous.

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I live near Jocotepec and  am co-owner of two nursing homes and use two golf carts which makes our business more efficient with employees moving stuff between our facilities better. However I had to pay a mordidia   to ovoid having to having my golf carts confiscated. This new regulation justs sucks.  However I only have to pay one time because if the same officer stops me I will insist on a polygraph.. He will loose his job. Trust me they will back down.  

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8 hours ago, vetteforron said:

I live near Jocotepec and  am co-owner of two nursing homes and use two golf carts which makes our business more efficient with employees moving stuff between our facilities better. However I had to pay a mordidia   to ovoid having to having my golf carts confiscated. This new regulation justs sucks.  However I only have to pay one time because if the same officer stops me I will insist on a polygraph.. He will loose his job. Trust me they will back down.  

Are  your golf carts not licensed and insured?

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My problem with golf carts has to do with the mentality of the driver's.  I have one friend that stated she could no longer drive her car because she couldn't see.  Then she said she would have to get a golf cart and stay on the back roads.  There is a reason your vision is tested before getting a driver's license.  I know another woman that can barely walk with a cane and she with a friend who can't see well enough to recognize people sitting at the table go together shopping at SuperLake each Saturday morning in a golf cart.  I often wonder when it will be time for me to give up my scooter.  I know it's time to sell the hoverboard.

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We have been checking into purchasing a golf cart in addition to our (existing) small SUV.  The answer is to purchase a street legal (meaning: directional lights, headlights, seat belts, mirrors) golf cart, which is plated and insured like a regular motor vehicle.  You may ask, why do that, why not just buy a car?

Answer: a car is more difficult to navigate the narrow streets designed for horses and carts. Harder to find a place to park. Far more pollution and poor fuel mileage.

We are specifically looking at the Yamaha gas-engine golf cart that IS sold already equipped as street legal, has a max speed of 25 mph (though on the back streets we would never drive that fast, regardless of type of vehicle) and gets about 180 to 200 mpg.  That is an accepted vehicle which fulfills the local motor laws and regulations.  

I believe the ultimate intent is to limit unplated, uninsured motorized vehicles of any type. The quads will be next. I saw this in SMA, where regs were changed so that all quads had to be street-legal, plated, and insured. Ditto for golf carts, except they aren't used due to the steepness of the hills.

 

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Here you can do anything you want----until. One poster mentioned an accident involving a golf cart and injuries to pedestrians. Another poster mentioned taxi drivers complaining, which I completely believe would happen here too. Something has happened; now we have to pay the price.

Paying off El Gordo only encourages him and makes it worse for everyone. If he stops you video him and take it to the Commandante.

He will at least get transferred.

I think golf carts are perfect for the village. If Pueblo Magico ever goes through, perhaps an exemption could be made for below the carretera as an ecological measure?

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52 minutes ago, AngusMactavish said:

If a golf cart can go 20 MPH (32 KPH) and is street legal with tag and insurance, why should they be relegated to back roads? The speed attainable is about the speed limit in the cities.

It is very hard to find insurance for motorcycles. I doubt any company insures golf carts. How much damage can someone do going 10 MPH in a lightweight vehicle, damage that cannot be paid out of pocket?  License tags are taxes. A license tag does not insure safety only that a road tax was paid. Most electric carts cannot go 20MPH. I think the max speed for my 341CC Kawasaki Gas (lawn mower) engine is 10MPH. Most gas golf carts have lawn mower engines so not very speedy.

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5 minutes ago, Joco said:

It is very hard to find insurance for motorcycles. 

Parker Insurance issue me a policy. They said they write liability only and issue solely to those with a motorcycle operators license. Without a license it would be hard to find like you stated.

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1 hour ago, AngusMactavish said:

If a golf cart can go 20 MPH (32 KPH) and is street legal with tag and insurance, why should they be relegated to back roads? The speed attainable is about the speed limit in the cities.

20 mph is fine through ajijic but wouldnt fancy the abuse driving from ajijic to chapala at that speed.

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