Old Joke Proves fatal

Published on October 21, 2005 By Dr Guy In Current Events

There is an old joke about a bunch of old people sitting around and complaining of what they cannot do any longer. The Punch line is "Yea, but we can still drive".

Maybe it is time to retire that joke for good. It appears an elderly man, suffering from dementia according to reports, struck and killed a pedestrian, and did not even know it! The man drove another 3 miles with the body sticking in his windshield before a toll taker saw it and called police.

Now Dementia can kick in quickly, but there is usually warning signs, signs that no one would have known about since:

Seniors age 80 or older must pass only a vision test when renewing a Florida driver's license.

I dont want to pull everyone's license once they reach a certain age, but come on! Can't they at least test the drivers with a written and/or ropad test once reaching a certain age?

If this was a unique incident, it would be a tragedy. But just a few months ago we were treated to an elderly driver drving through a street market! Old age is a fact of life. Maybe those who reach it should start taking more responsibility for the fact they are not a rutting 25 year old buck any longer.

Comments

singrdave

on Oct 21, 2005

It's okay, guy...
Florida pedestrians can pull out their firearms and divert the driver, who thinks that bus stop is a drive-thru.

JillUser

on Oct 21, 2005

I have so many incidents involving this subject from my personal life but will only share two. 1)Not serious but had the potential to be- elderly neighbor backed out of the drive across the street, all the way into the yard and smashed the driver's side of our car. He didn't even realize what had happened!
2)Elderly woman drives up the wrong way on a one-way street, hits someone head on and causes them to be permanently brain damaged.

I personally think that once you hit 70 you should have to take a road test every 2yrs to maintain your license. I know too many people who will allow their elderly parents to drive even after suffering a stroke because it is more convenient than having to drive them themselves.

Moderateman

on Oct 21, 2005

we just had an incident here in California about 25 miles Vacaville { where Cindy Sheehan is from} anyways this guy jumped the curb and ran down a bunch of school children, 2 dead and many injured, happened within the last 2 or 3 days.

Dr Guy

on Oct 21, 2005

Florida pedestrians can pull out their firearms and divert the driver, who thinks that bus stop is a drive-thru.

There was a story here about a guy who wanted to commit suicide. So he walked out into the middle of a busy highway. Mission Accomplished. But what about the guy that hit him? They have no thought of the innocent participants in their missions. Just as I would not be so fast to pull out a gun to take down a driver I thought was driving erradically.

Dr Guy

on Oct 21, 2005

I personally think that once you hit 70 you should have to take a road test every 2yrs to maintain your license

I agree. I know there are many elderly that are greast drivers well beyond that, but without testing, how are we to know which are which.

Dr Guy

on Oct 21, 2005

I heard. What made this story jump out was the fact he drove for 3 miles with the guy in the windshield!

BlueDev

on Oct 21, 2005

I agree with those who think that regular, periodic testing should be done. Heck, I know plenty of young people who could probably benefit from it. At a certain point, the reflexes just don't work like they used to and if using a potentially dealy weapon someone should know who isn't capable of using them appropriately.

Dr Guy

on Oct 21, 2005

I agree with those who think that regular, periodic testing should be done.

Some states require it, but Florida, one of the states with the largest concentration of retirees, does not.

MasonM

on Oct 22, 2005

I saw this story as well. Scary. Personally, I believe that everyone, regardless of age, should be regularly tested for license renewal.

Try riding a bicycle on the roads here in Florida and you'll understand what I mean.

Dr Guy

on Oct 22, 2005

Try riding a bicycle on the roads here in Florida and you'll understand what I mean.

I guess this one scares you more, and rightly so. Other states do have tougher laws, but I dont think any are good enough yet.

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