Here is the story of an 86 year old gentleman who plowed through a farmers market in Santa Monica. Killing 9 and injuring more than 50.
Commentary to come…
Bodies flying everywhere, the totally sober man plows through the farmers market. Russell Weller said he thought he was hitting the brakes, but was apparently hitting the Gas. Witnesses say he was going really fast and did not stop for some time. Of the injured 14 are critical, of that 2 are under the age of two.
The front of the mans car is totally smashed, to think he did that with bodies is horrifying. I do not have any elderly relatives his age, but I have been known to curse at them occasionally whilst driving behind a swerving elderly person. I usually try and keep my cool but I think there are some people out there who simply should not be behind the wheel anymore.
Some facts about elderly drivers can be found here.
This is not the first time this has happened in Santa Monica . That link indicated that lawmakers are trying in the state of California to restrict and re-test elderly driver’s over 76…
I don’t know about restricting, but retesting is a good idea. There’s no reason why a 90 year old shouldn’t have all the driving priviledges I do proviede they have the sight, hearing and reflexes to pass a drivers test.
I know that my mum’s friend’s mother kept driving until her late 90’s and had a spotless driving record, tough I think they do do retesting here.
To think of the lives that were ruined.
Because of this man’s age, some will feel bad for HIM! Give me a break. We need to hold the elderly to the same standards as anyone else. Everyone has personal accountability, and maybe MORE as you age.
Let someone else discuss testing, etc.
I don’t taste any less bile in my mouth because this guy was elderly.
Fu@% him. Let his family mourn for him. The rest of us should be fed up with incompetence, NO MATTER WHAT THE AGE.
All those dead and all those critical. And the kids! I’m ill.
My mother, aged 83, has just given up driving because of her deteriorating eyesight. She’s known for a while now that it wasn’t so good but carried on until the consultant optician said recently “you shouldn’t be driving.” Then, to her credit, she did stop. But a couple of times over the last year I’ve been with her in the car and we had a couple of narrow brushes with other cars - scared the shit out of me! I’m privately very relieved she’s now stopped. She’s pretty depressed about the loss of her independence but realises she had to stop.
I had this discussion vehemently with my inlaws for longer than I should have before Grandpa finally gave up his keys. Thankfully all he ended up hitting was his own garage! I have told them that since it will probably fall to my husband and I to take their keys one day to remember that I’m more concerned with not letting them kill someone than I am with hurting their feelings. I’m currently battling with my MIL as I do not feel it is safe for my FIL to drive and yet she doesn’t want to make him feel badly. (sorry this is a very hot button issue with me)
I also don’t think we should wait until 76 to retest. It should be something periodically done throughout our driving careers. Unfortunately not having a license does not deter some of the most dangerous from getting behind the wheel of a car.
My parked (thankfully) car was plowed by a woman with no license who was on too many painkillers in a car that was not her own.
Philster - I’m on the fence with this one. I was thinking about the lives that were ruined first, then my wife piped in about the poor old man. I mean Geez what if it were YOU walking our three year old down a farmer’s market and they got hit by an elderly man… Then how would you feel about him?
This is such a tough issue. I’m going to be dealing with my 60 something father and mother one day and am very worried about taking away some of their rights. If my dad can’t drive due to reduced reflexes etc…etc… he should not have his license. It’s hard to imagine having to take care of your own parents. Luckily both of mine are very active.
I truly believe exercising your brain keeps you healthier and younger. My little ol grandmother died at 94…
Oh, sorry, just being Little Miss Copy Editor . . .
I think all drivers should be retested for skills every five years, no matter what their age. My mother is 82 and will not drive after dark, because she’s afraid her night vision isn’t what it used to be—but other than that, she’s a much better driver than most teenagers (who, if I recall, cause more accidents than do the elderly).
Do you think retesting could’ve foreseen this guy’s apparent mental breakdown? He could’ve been retested, found to have perfect eyesight, hearing and reflexes, but witnesses said he looked increasingly confused as the incident went on. Lapses in mental sharpness, moments of confusion, and increasing senility are things that don’t usually register in driving tests.
Reading this story made me queasy.
Happy
I think it’s very easy to misjudge your own ability to drive. I’ve noticed that while driving, people tend to yell at other people for the exact same mistakes they make. Add failing eyesight and slower reaction times to those mistakes and you have tons of accidents just waiting to happen.
As for me, I love driving - this is why I’d probably drive until they drag me out of my car by force.
And that’s exactly why I should be tested for everything that is to be tested because I don’t want to endanger anybody. If you demand tests for the elderly, you need to accept that you yourself will have to be tested at one point and your license probably will have to be revoked.
Exactly. Everyone should be retested at least every five years, perhaps more often.
Philster: I posted this in the MPSIMS thread:
IMO age might not have been a factor. It could have been, but maybe not.
The car was finally stopped when it ran into a pickup truck. That might explain the extensive damage. (Although the damage to the windscreen was said to have been caused by bodies hitting it.)
So deaf people shouldn’t be allowed to drive? 
(Just nitpicking.)
Recurrent practical testing of drivers of all ages would be a pain in the ass. It would be an inconvenience and an expense that people would chafe at. But it might be a good idea.
What about the fact that a 90 year old simply does not have the physical strength to control a vehicle should something go wrong (blown tire, accident, loss of control).
Couldn’t his expression have been the result of panic? I don’t think that that’s evidence that he was mentally incompetent. And appearing “dazed and confused” afterward would be normal for anyone who has been in a bad accident, regardless of age.
Don’t get me wrong; a lot of elderly drivers (and a lot of others) should not be driving. But in this case age might only be incidental and not causal.
This is slightly tangential, but I think it’s too bad that in most communities one needs to drive to remain independant. Perhaps getting incompetent people out from behind the wheel would be less of a challenge if it didn’t mean a loss of self-sufficiency.
As I said in the other thread, my grandmother did exactly the same thing a few years ago.
My feelings in this regard:
- Automatics are more dangerous than stick-shifts for this kind of error.
- I support compulsory testing above a certain age. And maybe below that certain age too - though perhaps not as frequently. I mean, I was issued with a 50-year license when I passed my test in 1985, aged 18. That’s a bit silly.
In that case your observations might be trué. Nevertheless, age probably did not aid the momentary confusion of pedals.
And there definitely is an influence of age related deficiencies on driving ability. AFAIK, Accidents are most common among young drivers (because of lack of experience) but there’s a statistical rise after the age of 75 I think (can’t find a cite unfortunately).
I agree with Eve about the value of testing everybody periodically. If that’s too expensive, though, one could at least start testing at the statistical age where numbers begin to go up.
Panic? Sure. But this guy couldn’t find the brake for three blocks! There has to be some sort of mental lapse for a person to drive through a crowd of people, hitting a number of them, and not being able to figure out what to do to remedy the situation.
I’m not saying the guy’s bonkers, it’s just that as people get older, the mind ain’t as sharp as it once was. And the sight, hearing and reflexes could all be jim-dandy, but is there a test for mental sharpness? How would you go about testing for something like that?
And in all honesty, mental sharpness or not-- panic mode or not-- this guy’s reflexes can not be all that swift if after three blocks of plowing people over he still can’t figure out what he needs to do.
Maybe it’ll come to the point where we (a) have to decide to limit the elderly’s driving priviliges (as many states limit young drivers’), or (b) accept that there are going to continue to be old ladies driving through the fronts of beauty salons, old guys turning their vehicles onto train tracks, and horrible situations like the one we’re discussing here.
Or maybe I’m way off base. After all, I think we all have moments where we aren’t exactly giving our full attention to the road ahead of us.
Happy
Oh, and my opinion on apostrophizing plurals… you don’t want to hear.
This post brought to you by The Apostrophe Nazi[sup][size=1]TM[/sup] - kind of like the Cookie Monster except really mean and nowhere near as cute.[/size]
I’d even venture to say that on a whole I’m paying full attention to driving 60 percent of the time. I’m 33. I have a routine, I drive to the store, to home depot to the docks, to the inlaws, and to work during the school year. I know every corner, every speed limit, and ever place cops hide. Again I’m 33.
Apparently the guy driving didn’t realize, remember the farmer’s market was set up. He was coming from the post office. He’s 53 years older than I am. His routine - if he lived in Santa Monica for even the majority of that time - is well defined. I doubt he’s going to be held criminally responsible. Certainly no jail time.
I feel horrible for the families affected, and for him.