Another Bus Accident

[Tinker Bell]

Golf carts are to be driven on the road -- they are considered motor vehicles and require driver to be at least 16 yrs old and licensed. Local police can and do ticket drivers just like they were driving a standard vehicle.

MAPO

Is that on WDW or is that a general FL law? I'm honestly curious since just the other day I was in Celebration and one of the golf carts did a spin that I was praying someone would see it and say something.

[CptnSkippy]

Fl Statute 316.2122 (4) requires anyone operating a golf cart (or other low speed vehicle) to have a valid driver license in their possession. This of course would apply to public roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

[February]

My drivers ed teacher told us whoever is biggest has the right of way!

My father referred to this as the "right of weight" to impress upon us that we could be right and dead if we didn't let the semi driver go ahead even if we had the 'right' to the lane/turn/ etc.

It's one of the first things I'll teach my daughter about driving. As SSB said, bigger thing wins every time.

as far as the golf cart thing- my parents (and I don't know what they were thinking) let me drive one on the little trails that were out by the old Vacation Villas when I was eleven. I stayed on the paths (and I am NOT advocating this- I am just saying that I did okay to compare to the following-) my sister, who was sixteen and newly licensed, almost got the both of us killed by driving us out of the parking lot at the Marketplace and onto the main road.

In the wrong direction.

I think you should have to be 18 to drive a golf cart in WDW license or not.

And don't even get me started on the eight year old who almost drove Grandma's ECV into me, as I sat in my wheelchair, on an Extra Magic night in the MK.

I couldn't believe it- and if he'd hit me at the speed he was going I would have been very badly hurt. The adult walking along side him saw him lurching toward me, ran ahead and reached out and grabbed the brake on the handlebars (it was an off site rental one) and he said, sheepishly, "Grandma went back to the hotel, we didn't think it could hurt..."

bru

[Big Wallaby]

I've driven that bus route many times. I used to love driving the Fort for a night here and there. I know that sidewalk, and I know well the type of bus. In order for the child to be pulled under the rear wheels took an incredible combination of events at just the right time. However, we all know that these freaky combinations of events do happen from time to time.

The mother is saying that the bus came up on the curb to hit the child. Um... If that bus had come up on the curb, there would be so much obvious damage that there would be no way to dispute it... and chances are, the girl who was completely unharmed would have to have been run over as well.

While I can't understand what she is going through, it seems to me that this mother is trying to defend her son's honor or something, in a case where that is just not necessary.

I can't help but think that the statements she is making don't sound like those of a mourning mother, but rather they sound like setup for legal action. The fact that she was sounding like that on the same day leads me to believe that some lawyer contacted her and is coaching her. The sad part of that is that, since Disney is NOT responsible and there is no reason that Disney really owes her anything... she will not receive anything, but some lawyer is going to get rich off her and off of fighting "for" her. Many of her statements don't even make any sense, but sound like an attempted legal argument. Interesting, as well, that she, for the sake of a press conference, put the bike he was riding in their back yard and had reporters photograph it. I can't put a finger on it, but there is something that sounds contrived about the mother, and I don't think it's coming from her personally.

Don't tell me you can't see one of several lawyers who advertise daily in Orlando doing that, complete with a well-rehearsed concerned voice and sympathetic look.