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Umm, probably using his license to drive. We don't exactly all live in Metro areas in the good ole USofA and not all 90 yos live in nursing homes.
What are you condoning a 90 year old to drive? There is a very very slim chance that a person that old is capable of doing much let alone driving. This person should not have been driving and sadly it takes an accident like this for people to realize how dangerous they are behind the wheel of a car. I really don't care if they don't have a way of getting around. Call a cab or stay home.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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the thing about this horrific accident, was that the driver was backing up in reverse from the driveway after dropping off her now deceased friend and ran over the victim not only once (with the rear tires) but a second time as well (with the front tires) at a slow speed. Even after this she could not figure out how to apply her brakes and rolled into the street and proceeded for an additional 25-50 feet before finally hitting a curb on the opposite side of the street while narrowly missing a tree....it was the curb that stopped her. She was fortunate there were no cars in the intersection and vice versa. (the poor victim was conscious until an ambulance arrived, but blood was coming out of her eyes and mouth indicating internal bleeding).
There is no way she should be permitted to drive. She was driving a late model car which almost certainly did not contain a rear view camera (which, along with a mandatory road test, should be a requirement if the judge is crazy enough to consider it)...and how in the world would any insurance company offer her coverage after this incident?
There are accidents and then there is gross negligence. This was the latter, whether intentional or not.
the thing about this horrific accident, was that the driver was backing up in reverse from the driveway after dropping off her now deceased friend and ran over the victim not only once (with the rear tires) but a second time as well (with the front tires) at a slow speed. Even after this she could not figure out how to apply her brakes and rolled into the street and proceeded for an additional 25-50 feet before finally hitting a curb on the opposite side of the street while narrowly missing a tree....it was the curb that stopped her. She was fortunate there were no cars in the intersection and vice versa. (the poor victim was conscious until an ambulance arrived, but blood was coming out of her eyes and mouth indicating internal bleeding).
There is no way she should be permitted to drive. She was driving a late model car which almost certainly did not contain a rear view camera (which, along with a mandatory road test, should be a requirement if the judge is crazy enough to consider it)...and how in the world would any insurance company offer her coverage after this incident?
There are accidents and then there is gross negligence. This was the latter, whether intentional or not.
You know after reading your description of the accident it just makes me even more upset that this old woman was allowed to get behind the wheel or how she even thought she was capable of getting behind the wheel of a car (which happened to be a weapon in her case). The problem with these old people getting behind the wheel is that there is nothing you can do about it. If you did, you would be accused of age discrimination. Not only that but politicians don't want to lose their votes and know how powerful they can be. Sadly this is a no win situation.
What the hell is a 90 year old doing behind the wheel?
My sister has a neighbor who just turned 103, and she drives. I'd sooner ride with her than with my sister; she has not had an accident since I have been alive on this earth (And I'm 53). Statistically, the elderly are the safest drivers- but they tend to make the news more often when they do have an accident.
My late aunt was 96 and drove 4 times per week a 50 mile round-trip from the small community where she lived, to the larger town nearby. She also had not had an accident in my lifetime.
On the other hand, when I lived on LI, I lived near a lady in her 60's who was out of her mind, and had no idea what was going on around her; and who had numerous accidents.
You know after reading your description of the accident it just makes me even more upset that this old woman was allowed to get behind the wheel or how she even thought she was capable of getting behind the wheel of a car (which happened to be a weapon in her case). The problem with these old people getting behind the wheel is that there is nothing you can do about it. If you did, you would be accused of age discrimination. Not only that but politicians don't want to lose their votes and know how powerful they can be. Sadly this is a no win situation.
What about the 30-something year old, there on LI, a while back, who ran over their own kid whilst backing out of their driveway?
Why does an elderly person having an accident suddenly mean that they shouldn't be driving, but when a younger person has an accident, it's just "an accident"?
An elderly person (or anyone else) who has multiple accidents over a period of time.....THYEY are the ones who need to be looked at- like a friend of mine from back there, who had about 10 accidents within a ten year period- all were his fault.
There's a reason insurance is so high for teenagers...but very low for the elderly.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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I think it was her cluelessness and lack of reaction after he she ran over the same person twice and then still continued rolling across the entire street without having the presence of or physical ability to apply the brakes that makes her unfit to be afforded the privilege of driving again.
Years ago, my family was injured by an 83 year old man when he pulled into a gas station and hit the gas instead of the brakes and his rented mini van accelerated into us, pinning us against the office door. We were waiting while our car was on a lift being checked out by the mechanic. He hit myself and two of my children who were then 3,and 7 at the time. The 3 year old was airlifted to a children's medical center, and the other members of the family taken by ambulance to local hospital. You know what its like to see your child flown away in a helicopter and you don't know if he's going to be alive when you get to that hospital? (no parents allowed in the chopper) We were lucky..we lived. After surgery, My son spent 5 months in a body cast. The driver "swore" the brakes went on his rental car.
Hmm..no, the engine doesn't race when you are hitting the brakes. I'll never forget that sound and pounding on the hood of the car for him to back up..and he didn't (probably in shock). My husband and then 14 year old son and station workers pushed the car off of us. The car was tested and the brakes were fine.
The irony of this is that we own a family collision repair shop for 38 years. I can not tell you how many times we've had an elderly person come in and say the same thing. They hit the gas when they thought it was the brake.
Older folks just don't have the same reflexes that younger people do. Their reaction time is slower. While teen drivers take needless risks, the elderly have other issues that can be just as dangerous.
I might add that I've had to face that dreaded discussion with my own parents regarding the driving. My dad, we had to literally throw the keys in the woods, and it was a real fight. Mom had the good sense to realize she couldn't turn her neck let alone back out of the driveway (and she was only 73). She kept the car but had other people do the driving. Meant I was inconvenienced..so what. she wasn't on the road taking off side view mirrors of parked cars anymore. We got to spend more time together. Didn't realize then that too soon I'd miss running all those inconvenient errands with her.
My sister has a neighbor who just turned 103, and she drives. I'd sooner ride with her than with my sister; she has not had an accident since I have been alive on this earth (And I'm 53). Statistically, the elderly are the safest drivers- but they tend to make the news more often when they do have an accident.
My late aunt was 96 and drove 4 times per week a 50 mile round-trip from the small community where she lived, to the larger town nearby. She also had not had an accident in my lifetime.
On the other hand, when I lived on LI, I lived near a lady in her 60's who was out of her mind, and had no idea what was going on around her; and who had numerous accidents.
Age means nothing.
Just because one or two old people don't get into an accident doesn't mean that they represent the entire age group. But it is a fact that your motor skills severely diminish with old age. My dad who is in his 70's can't drive the way he used to. I'm nervous every time I get in the car with him. And just a few weeks ago I witnessed an old man well in his 80's scrape up into a pole then bump a shopping cart in at keyfood parking lot. The old man just took off as if nothing happened. There was another guy a few cars away unloading his groceries shaking his head at the incident. We knew these reckless old people are just an accident waiting to happen and there is nothing we can do about it.
the thing about this horrific accident, was that the driver was backing up in reverse from the driveway after dropping off her now deceased friend and ran over the victim not only once (with the rear tires) but a second time as well (with the front tires) at a slow speed. Even after this she could not figure out how to apply her brakes and rolled into the street and proceeded for an additional 25-50 feet before finally hitting a curb on the opposite side of the street while narrowly missing a tree....it was the curb that stopped her. She was fortunate there were no cars in the intersection and vice versa. (the poor victim was conscious until an ambulance arrived, but blood was coming out of her eyes and mouth indicating internal bleeding).
There is no way she should be permitted to drive. She was driving a late model car which almost certainly did not contain a rear view camera (which, along with a mandatory road test, should be a requirement if the judge is crazy enough to consider it)...and how in the world would any insurance company offer her coverage after this incident?
There are accidents and then there is gross negligence. This was the latter, whether intentional or not.
I remember reading about that accident when it happened. Horrific. I can not imagine WHY she would ever want to get behind the wheel ever again.
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