The dangerous elderly driver thread.

[JWC]

There should be a cut-off for driving when you get to a certain age.  The problem is trying to figure out what age that would or should be.

Recently, we had an elderly guy pull out of his drive way and hit by a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist didn't survive.  

We've also had six people under the age of 21 die in car accidents, single car accidents in the past two months.  The latest, this afternoon, was a seventeen-year-old girl who pulled into the path of a tractor-trailer.   Last night, it was a teen who crashed his SUV into a tree and the SUV exploded.  He was going too fast. Two weeks ago, a teen was bailed out of jail (DUI) by his best friend and eight hours later, the guy crashed his car, killing the guy who had just bailed him out of jail.  Last month it was a 19-year-old, who crashed his car and killed an 18-year-old passenger, and critically injured two other passengers.   I can't remember the others.

Old people have dementia, young people have stupidity.  The end result is the same.  Someone ends up dead.

[Secret Chimp]

I think we need stricter standards for issuing licenses in the first place and for keeping them later on in life. Most state driving tests might as well be "can you not hit other cars while driving in a straight line"

[Morris Minor]

I think we need stricter standards for issuing licenses in the first place and for keeping them later on in life. Most state driving tests might as well be "can you not hit other cars while driving in a straight line"

A simple visual mental acuity & reaction time test maybe? We're going to assume they know the rules of the road after 60 years of driving.

[JWC]

A simple visual mental acuity & reaction time test maybe? We're going to assume they know the rules of the road after 60 years of driving.

Yep.  Geico released their test results recently.  Elderly, well "older" drivers passed the test in overwhelming numbers.  Young people and women, didn't test as well.   Men did really well.

[Byteme]

I think we need stricter standards for issuing licenses in the first place and for keeping them later on in life. Most state driving tests might as well be "can you not hit other cars while driving in a straight line"

Best post in the thread.

[Mustangfan2003]

I passes a geezer the other day in a Corvette with a handicap tag, thought that was funny.  Anyways I wouldn't count on the government changing any laws for older drivers since they are the ones most likely to vote. 

[Madman]

I passes a geezer the other day in a Corvette with a handicap tag, thought that was funny.  Anyways I wouldn't count on the government changing any laws for older drivers since they are the ones most likely to vote. 

Exactly.  Driving standards will never be improved because.....

A.  It costs money.  Better training, stricter standards and a more comprehensive driving test will require funds that states aren't willing to spend.

And.....

B.  The AARP will cry "discrimination" and lobby/threat politicians into voting against any such measures or risk losing the Gertitol vote.

[Morris Minor]

All we need to do then is give them special dedicated "seniors-only" polling stations, open between 11:pm and 4:00am the next day, accessed via unlit and unsigned roads.

[Madman]

Elizabeth Jane Baldick, 84, drives car into Sears.

"The Nissan Maxima passed shopping carts and took out a cash register and shelving before stopping against a support beam near the barbecue grills."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-10-10/news/MCFBRIEFS10_5_1_barbara-jones-orlando-regional-medical-orlando-police

[Madman]

"Elizabeth Grimes, a widow who had lived on Meaders Lane for 50 years, had backed out of her driveway, across her lawn and off the curb. Her 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis then hit the curb across the street, Prager recalls, before Grimes mistook the gas pedal for the brake and "took off with a jackrabbit start."  Six blocks away, Grimes drove through a red light. The car slammed into Katie Bolka, a 17-year-old high school junior who was driving to school to take an algebra test. Five days later, Bolka died."

"During his deposition of Grimes, the Bolka family's attorney, Peter Malouf, asked Grimes whether she understood that she had crashed into a young girl's car and killed her.  "I'm aware of that very sad story, yes," Grimes said. "Sure I did it. I'm terribly sorry. But I did it."  Malouf asked whether there was anything she would like to say to the family.  "What is there to say to people who have been hurt?" Grimes said. "That's best left alone, I think." 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-02-older-drivers-usat1a_N.htm

[Madman]

"An 89-year-old Manassas woman was Killed in an accident while making a U-turn on Interstate 66."

A U-turn on an interstate?  What a GREAT idea! 

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/elderly-driver-killed-in-accident-making-u-turn-on-interstate-66-122811

[Madman]

For those who say teens are more dangerous behind the wheel than the elderly, this study disagrees.

Elderly Drivers Cause More Deadly Crashes than Teens, says a Carnegie Mellon University study,

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Elderly-Drivers-Cause-More-Deadly-Crashes-than-Teens-129298768.html

[Madman]

"Gary Gordon, 71, was killed when his westbound gold Cadillac Deville crossed into the eastbound lane and struck a Kia minivan head-on, according to Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans."

http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011/12/28/news/mj5486389.txt

[Madman]

Another one who can't tell the difference between gas and brake.

"Elderly driver crashes into Clearwater Post Office"

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_north_pinellas/clearwater/police-elderly-driver-crashes-into-clearwater-post-office

[Madman]

"An elderly man driving the wrong way on the highway was killed in a fiery head-on collision tonight on the Northeastside, Indiana State Police said.  Robert Alford Brown, 89, Noblesville, died in the accident, according to a news release from Sgt. Rich Myers of the State Police.  Witnesses to the crash said the Buick was being operated with no lights on and was headed north in the southbound collector lanes."

http://www.indystar.com/article/20111215/LOCAL18/112150423/Wrong-way-driver-killed-in-head-on-crash-on-Northeastside?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

[CJ]

My 85 year old grandmother is still an excellent driver.  Follows traffic rules and regulations just like everyone else.  She had an accident about a year ago when a truck of Mexicans pulled out in front of her and she hit them.  Minimal damage to her LeSabre, and no damage to their truck.  Plus, none of them spoke English and they didn't have insurance.

[Madman]

"Margaret Lazor, 86, of Wilmington, Del., initially drove her Buick Century station wagon the wrong way on Route 322 in Upper Chichester before entering southbound I-95 and heading north about noon Oct. 28."

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/11/04/news/doc4cd2e7e430347744809735.txt

[Madman]

My 85 year old grandmother is still an excellent driver.  Follows traffic rules and regulations just like everyone else.  She had an accident about a year ago when a truck of Mexicans pulled out in front of her and she hit them.  Minimal damage to her LeSabre, and no damage to their truck.  Plus, none of them spoke English and they didn't have insurance.

Typical. 

[Tave]

That's just not true. Many people of all ages avoid jail time for accidents. You usually need to be demonstrating pretty gross negligence to go to jail over a car accident, and being old is not gross negligence.

Plowing through a crowded market in a car at a high rate of speed doesn't demonstrate gross negligence?

I've seen a kid get locked up for years because he was doing double the speed limit on a residential street, lost control of his WRX, and killed a woman and her child.

[Byteme]

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A driver crashed a sports utility vehicle into a west Houston restaurant Wednesday evening.


It happened just before 8pm at James Coney Island in the 700 block of Town & Country Blvd. at Town & Country Village off Beltway 8.

According to investigators, a teen-aged driver was going to park outside the restaurant, but he driver hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.

The SUV took out a large window and a corner of the restaurant.

Officials said no one was injured in the accident.

[Byteme]

SPRINGTOWN, TX -- Two teens have died and two others were seriously injured when a pickup truck they were riding in crashed into a mobile home in Parker County.


Authorities say the accident occurred just after midnight Thursday in Springtown, about 30 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Lonny Haschel says the truck slammed through several concrete fence posts and rural mail boxes before hitting a mobile home that caught fire. The three people inside the house escaped unharmed.

An 18-year-old man and 14-year-old girl died inside the burning truck while two others were hospitalized. A 15-year-old boy was flown to a Dallas hospital and a 13-year-old girl was taken to one in Fort Worth. Their names were not immediately released.

Police say speed may have been a factor.

[ifcar]

Plowing through a crowded market in a car at a high rate of speed doesn't demonstrate gross negligence?

I've seen a kid get locked up for years because he was doing double the speed limit on a residential street, lost control of his WRX, and killed a woman and her child.

There are times where someone faces a prison sentence and times where they don't.

And don't confuse the result of an accident with its cause.

[cawimmer430]

Almost ran over a grandma today who was crossing the street despite the pedestrian signal lamps showing a red man. The bitch even got mad at me and still crossed the road causing a car-horn havoc on the other side.

Now imagine if grandma here was driving a car... 

[Byteme]

Almost ran over a grandma today who was crossing the street despite the pedestrian signal lamps showing a red man. The bitch even got mad at me and still crossed the road causing a car-horn havoc on the other side.

Now imagine if grandma here was driving a car... 

Yeah, like no one under the age of 30 ever j-walked.   

[cawimmer430]

Yeah, like no one under the age of 30 ever j-walked.   

I jaywalk all the time (except when little kids are around) as some pedestrian lights take about two minutes to change to green.

Problem here was that the pedestrian lamp had been red for quite some time now and yet she still has to cross. She was dressed in black to. If this had happened at night I might have not even seen her...

[Morris Minor]

I think this "Who's worst, teenagers or geezers?" argument is pointless. Teenagers are poor drivers whose abilities are improving with age. Geezers are poor drivers whose abilities are in decline. (My gut feeling is that the accident rate per million miles driven is higher for octogenarians than for teens).

For teens I think their cars should carry "New Driver" L-plates or something similar.
For the elderly, perhaps we should have annual mental acuity & reaction time tests, beginning at age 80.

[Byteme]

I'm not sure the statistics support the first part of your agrument, but I'd support mtougher licensing standards and stronger testing for those over 70.

Sorry for the crappy formatting


Table 1114. Licensed Drivers and Number in Accidents by Age: 2009                        
[211,000 represents 211,000,000]                        

Age group         Licensed drivers      Drivers in accidents                  Accident rates per number of drivers   
                                                                Fatal                               All

                                 Number (1,000)  Percent     Number   Percent           Number   Percent     Fatal      All         
Total                           211,000        100.0           48,000      100.0      16,500       100.0                   23                 8

19 years old and under   10,326          4.9            3,900   8.1        2,020         12.2                   38                20
..Under 16 years old   658          0.3               200   0.4           250        1.5                   (\3)                (\3)
..16 years old                1,311          0.6               500   1.0           300        1.8                   38                 23
..17 years old                2,145          1.0               700   1.5           420        2.5                   33                 20
..18 years old                2,854          1.4             1,200   2.5           530        3.2                   42                 19
..19 years old                3,358          1.6             1,300   2.7           520        3.1                    39                 15
20 to 24 years old                17,465          8.3             6,300   13.1         2,480       15.0       36                 14
..20 years old                 3,404          1.6             1,400   2.9            500        3.0       41                 15
..21 years old                 3,447          1.6             1,400   2.9            490        3.0       41                 14
..22 years old                 3,444          1.6             1,200   2.5            470        2.8       35                 14
..23 years old                 3,551          1.7             1,200   2.5            620        3.7       34                 17
..24 years old                 3,619          1.7             1,100   2.3            400        2.4       30                 11
25 to 34 years old                36,694          17.4          8,800   18.3          3,270       9.8       24                   9
35 to 44 years old                38,424          18.2          7,500   15.6          2,910       17.6       20                   8
45 to 54 years old                41,921          19.9          8,300   17.3          2,750       16.7       20                   7
55 to 64 years old                33,271          15.8          5,900   12.3          1,710       10.4       18                   5
65 to 74 years old                19,135          9.1            3,500   7.3             820        5.0       18                   4
75 years old and over   13,764          6.5             3,800   7.9             540        3.3       28                   4
FOOTNOTES:                        
\1 Per 100,000 licensed drivers.                        
\2 Per 100 licensed drivers.                        
\3 Rates for drivers under age 16 are substantially overstated due to the high proportion of unlicensed drivers involved.                        
Source: National Safety Council, Itasca, IL, Injury Facts, annual (copyright).                        
For more information:                        
http://www.nsc.org/                        
Internet release date: 09/30/2011                        

[Byteme]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/declining-car-risk-for-older-drivers/
is also interesting.

[Morris Minor]

Here:

[Rupert]

That looks like older people are by far the best drivers.