donaldkilroy

The woman and her 6 month child hit by this old lady died last night from their injuries.

Collision Claims Mother, Daughter's Lives

Such a tragedy, yet it was preventable.

My condolences to the family and ther friends.

donaldkilroy

donaldkilroy

What other straw man arguments can you pull from the sleeve of excuses? Oh, here's one...

And another...

No one said anything about flat out denying 'everyone' their license after a certain again.

In any case, your suggestion is basically what I've said/implied whereas this issue is concerned. There needs to be stricter testing and regulations. People need to be aware of their abilities and/or the lack thereof. People need to take personal accountability AND be held accountable for their actions. Even when those actions are the result of one's own denial whereas their lacking driving skills are concerned.

dk

Jimmy Higgins

But the problem isn't just with people over 65. People over 65 tend to get into "stupid" accidents. Ones that usually meant a lack of reaction to an event. But tragic accidents are not exclusive to people over 65, and I feel if insurance rates reflected this, people may try to drive better. I mean look at the SUVs that crashed and killed people. I can almost bet most of those tire blowing accidents could have been avoided by good driving and not panicking. Such as my incident when I didn't panic and slam on the brakes, that kept my car from losing control.

But back to age, accidents are strange. People crash at any age and one major cause these days is that people think their car is invincible. I swear, 7 to 9 out of 10 cars I see in accidents on the highway today involve a truck or SUV, and that's usually in bad weather. They just drive along, thinking that they have nothing to worry about. These people are well under 65 and present a risk on the road as well.

And truly, as for a max age, that should be up to the family. They should make the right call, because its going to be on their shoulders on how to get their relative around when they can't drive anymore. They should be pulling the license before the state has to!

Jimmy Higgins

Exactly.

And that's exactly where I'm going with that. When I had to drive my grandmother around, I did it in her Taurus, which is all different from my Insight. Its bigger, pedals react different, etc... So in fairness and more accuracy, I think its better to give the driver their car because thats the car they will be driving with their license. In addition, I have a good idea how I'd react in a situation in my car, I'd need perhaps more than an hour with another car to be able to react better.

You know, my driving instructer and parents always said that speed was bad, but I always doubted that, because you never know what type of situation might require what type of solution. Say such as a huge pileup is occuring right in front of you. Depending on the situation you are in with cars about you, spinning your car around to swap momentum may not be a bad idea, so you stop before the accident.

I think the key of the test is to determine a driver's reaction speed, their competancy, their ability not to panic, and their overall driving demeanor. I think we could save alot of lives this way.

wildernesse

I also think that the problem would be better solved by more frequent and better (simulation) testing of people once they reach a certain age.

I also think that there are plenty of elderly adults who are still quite good drivers and live independently. My grandmother is 84, and while she doesn't drive anywhere other than to the grocery store and my parents' home, she values her independence and it is important that she be able to drive. I rode with her when she went to her last license renewal--and I have to say that I'm more comfortable riding with her than I am with my mother who is not quite 50, or my brother who is 20.

My grandmother *was* in a terrible wreck a couple of years ago--a middle aged man on his way home from work fell asleep, crossed into her lane and hit her nearly head on. It totalled her car, and the airbag damaged her hearing--but she was not at fault one bit. Thankfully, other than her hearing she was fine.

--tibac

Loren Pechtel

The mere fact that someone values their independance and needs to drive has nothing to do with whether they are fit to drive.

It sounds like she's ok but most of your reasoning isn't valid.

donaldkilroy

:notworthy

Derec

(CNN) -- A car plowed through a crowded farmers market in Santa Monica, California, Wednesday, killing eight people, including a 2-year-old child, authorities said.

Car plows through crowded market, kills at least 8

UMoC

donaldkilroy

Questions Surround Deadly Santa Monica Car Accident

I just saw this in the news (as did someone else yesterday I see)...OH MY GAWD! How many deaths, accidents, statistics, medical proof of the results of age, etc. is it going to take before we start testing people at a certain age and beyond far more rigorously then they are now in order to protect people from the likes of this driver (and the driver in the OP)!!!

NINE people are DEAD all because this OLD FART wouldn't see his own shortcomings (DENIAL) and STOP driving! AND the DMVs negligence in properly testing this individual and/or suspending his license for obvious reasons!

In person!?! What the heck difference is it going to make to see them 'in person,' they're still going to ignorantly issue them their license.

In addition to a medical fitness report from a professional signing off on people over a certain age as being fit (mentally, etc.) to drive, we need these people taking actual driving tests every single year (to show their compentency in the presence of a DMV official). Simply looking at the old fart when they come in to renew their license 'in person' doesn't tell you whether or not they are competent to drive. You need to see it first hand for yourself! Hence, the need for a yearly driving exam (along with the medical fitness report)!

---------

On another note, just yesterday on my way home an elderly person driving a tank damn near ran a city bus off the road because he wasn't paying attention to it trying to merge into traffic. So, this old fart crosses the yellow line into the middle of the 4 lane road and speeds up and passes not only myself but the two other cars ahead of me. And all without even using his damn signal! When I saw this old fart doing this I jerk my car out a bit and honked the horn at him. He didn't even budge! What makes this matter worse is a city police car was coming from the opposite direction and didn't do a damn thing! He just kept on going without even blinking!

Last week I saw a motorcycle cop sitting at (one of the most) a dangerous intersection on the highway I drive going home (where there are no less than 5 cars running the red light in any direction), and guess what!?! I saw 3 cars run the red light and the cop did nothing! When I call the police department to voice a complaint some woman responded with a carefree attitude as if "so what," and asked if I wanted to talk to the officer. Why in the hell would I want to talk to the officer! My complaint needed to go to the shift supervisor, not the officer directly.

Between a system that does nothing to properly test older drivers and cops that don't do anything about reckless drivers it's of no wonder why accidents such as described in this article and the OP article happen.

Jimmy Higgins

But what do you want? Its not like the DMV is going to get anymore economical support that will enable them to test the driving abilities of people over the age of 65 or 70. That takes man hours, which means money. And with states such as Ohio not even meeting the demands of the education system, why the hell would you think the DMV would get any money. Too many people are dying because of indifference and negligence. It pisses me off that we live in such a fucking rich country, yet the majority Christians will be damned if you take some of their money and put it to necessary use. Its a god damn shame.