[shaggygrosser]

Did you all see this story?:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/07/16/farmers.market.crash/index.html

Should there be an age restriction or stricter driving requirements when handing out licenses? Something is nagging at me that this whole thing could have been avoided.


There was a situation here in Kansas around '96 where someone's grandmother that had Alzheimers took the family car out for a ride... down the wrong way of interstate-70.

 

[MMNineInchNails]

The old people are striking back!!!! LOOK OUT! They're looking to take over the whole world.

 

[shaggygrosser]

well, they've already got the monopoly on Depends. They could very well be on their way to world domination.

Seriously though, there's a 3 year old that's dead because an 86 year old man mixed up the brake & accelerator. Worst of all, one of the witnesses said that he wasn't just speeding, he was ACCELERATING. :disappoin

 

[MMNineInchNails]

Good ol' old people not having anything better to do. Dude if I were that lonely, I'd do it too. He probably has no family so he gets all his fun off by running over people. and he can almost get away with it too cause he's some old dude that doesn't know what the **** he's doing.





haha jk about doing it myself.

 

[bs4sho]

DAMN :shocked2:

 

[Mad'lac]

I say anyone over 65 should have to retake the driver's test. If you think we should ban old folks from driving then you should add anyone under 21 to this list.

 

[Elvis]

Watch the video of the old man. I really feel sorry for this guy. He doesn't look like he's "out of it" and he really looks about 70, not 86. His family is just as responsible for this as he is. They probably should've taken the keys away at some point.

If you look at accidents per total miles driven, teenagers are a lot safer behind the wheel than people realize. Yeah, they do a lot of stupid stuff, but just think about how much time they put in and how much cruising they do. The number of accidents is relatively low when you think about it.

A lot of senior citizens drive less than 50 miles a week and look at how many scrapes and bumps they get into.

 

[Mad'lac]

you are talking about accidents per MILES. Now try accident in age groups. You'll see that teenagers are by far the worst group out there. And they have more fatalities in that age group.

 

[AirJigga25]

That guy should go to jail...I don't care how old he is or if it is an accident, he killed 8 people.

 

[elwesso]

I think it is more the families respsonsibility..... If your loved one can handle driving, then they shouldnt do it... Sure it will help their ego, but its better to have a lessened ego and be alive than none at all!!!

The thing is, old people think they are as good as they were 30 years ago, when their reaction time, hearing, and sight has diminished..... Hopefully I will be responsible enough to realize that its time for me to call it quits!!!!

 

[AKPsiMC03]

That guy should go to jail...I don't care how old he is or if it is an accident, he killed 8 people.

agreed. My mom told me the day that she is too unsafe to drive i have ot take her car from her.

But If you think there are alot of old people now. wait a few years, the baby-boomers are just starting to retire now... soon they will be all over the road at 2:00 PM with nothing better to do.

When i get that old i hope somone in my family has the balls to take my car away. I dont wanna be a hazzard on the road.

 

[shaggygrosser]

Hopefully I can afford a chauffeur by the time I get to that age.

 

[shaggygrosser]

Teens can get pretty road-stupid. Shoot, I remember when I was in high school... Luckily my passengers & I always came out alive & kickin'

 

[Elvis]

That's why I said "per miles driven" in my post. If you looked at "hours behind the wheel" it would also show some pretty favorable numbers for teenagers.

My own belief is that nobody under 21 should be allowed behind the wheel after dark, but hey, I'm a f-ing Nazi when it comes to law and order. I'd make exceptions for work permits and that kind of thing.

Maybe it should be a "one strike" law--clean record? you drive. Mess up? Wait 'til you're 21 to get your freedom back.

Drivers over age 75 should be tested every 2 years.
---------------------------------------
But instead, what do we spend billions enforcing? Seat belt and child restraint laws. And at the same time, EVERY WEEK this summer a kid in this country will die of heat exhaustion after being left in a damn day care van all day long because SOMEBODY forgot to check before they locked it up.

Sorry, just venting.

 

[MMNineInchNails]

Ok, the thing with teenagers. I'm one so I can tell you what's going on. They don't know how to drive in a good menuverable way, basically most of them suck ass. I have a few friends that are good drivers, but most teens don't know shit about how to drive, and they try to drive fast. Doesn't work. More teens should go to a professional car driving school. one that teaches them how to countersteer and that kinda stuff. Most crashes are from not knowing what they're doing. say they're loosing the back end, they're going to slam on their brakes and make it worse. I myself am not a safe driver, but I do know how to drive to get myself out of a bad situation. I'm not safe because I like to speed. Good thing I bought a caddy now though, cause it's definatly for cruisin.

 

[AirJigga25]

That's why I said "per miles driven" in my post. If you looked at "hours behind the wheel" it would also show some pretty favorable numbers for teenagers.

My own belief is that nobody under 21 should be allowed behind the wheel after dark, but hey, I'm a f-ing Nazi when it comes to law and order. I'd make exceptions for work permits and that kind of thing.

Maybe it should be a "one strike" law--clean record? you drive. Mess up? Wait 'til you're 21 to get your freedom back.

Drivers over age 75 should be tested every 2 years.
---------------------------------------
But instead, what do we spend billions enforcing? Seat belt and child restraint laws. And at the same time, EVERY WEEK this summer a kid in this country will die of heat exhaustion after being left in a damn day care van all day long because SOMEBODY forgot to check before they locked it up.

Sorry, just venting.

I agree that drivers over 75 should be tested every 2 years.

I also agree that young drivers suck. I'm 22, when I was 16 I got in 4 minor accidents, and they were all on snow or ice. Wait, maybe not minor, I flipped my 88 taurus because I was on ice and didn't know how to pump my breaks. I was a bad driver then. However, from ages 17-almost 23 ...I haven't gotten in 1 accident. So I don't agree on the 21 thing.

New Hampshire used to have a law where if you got a ticket, you lost you license for 90 days if you were under 20. They got rid of it though...

 

[Katshot]

The problem is that most families are relying on the Government to take the keys from their unsafe family members. They don't want to be the "Bad-Guy". If the Government, through the DMVs doesn't step up and get pro-active on this subject, it is DEFINATELY going to get worse.

 

[GTFiero1]

Sounds great to say it is family responcibility to take car away. Have you ever tried it? Unless you go to court and get them ruled unsound you don't really have the power to do this. It's there decision. I'm sorry but this is one time that it does take a law to force older drivers to take retests.

 

[HotRodSaint]

I seem to recall that California tried to pass a law governing older drivers. But the cowardly Democrats who run that state, backed down after the AARP (a special interest group for retired people) put their weight against the effort. I guess 8 dead people is better than 8 out of work Democrats. *******$. They should be the ones going to jail.

Liberals just worry about making the cars safer and never about making safer drivers (cars don't vote). Watch, some liberal moron will blame it all on the auto maker because they didn't make their bumpers safe enough for pedestrians.

 

[ljklaiber]

Well!
I admit to being a resident old guy here...(63), but when I get SUV headlights 6 foot off my bumper at 7AM in the morning , it is usually a 'Yuppie' drinkin coffee, whatever, that dont give a s..t! I usually run 5 to 10 over the speed limit...too slow I guess...lol