Confused and dangerous

[j.m@talk]

Moves to introduce age-specific driver tests in the United States have met with resistance from older drivers, despite evidence that oldies can confuse the accelerator and brake pedals in automatic cars. Police cite as examples the 90-year-old man who crashed into a chemist's in Scarborough, Maine; the 83-year-old who drove off the second floor of a parking building in Las Vegas; the 80-year-old who drove into a Veterans' Day parade in Whitman, Massachusetts, where one person died; a 74-year-old man who crashed into a coffee shop in Corvallis, Oregon; a 74-year-old man who struck and killed two pedestrians on a footpath in Montreal. In the most prominent case, George Weller, 87, heads back to court this week after pleading not guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the 2003 Santa Monica farmers' market "massacre", in which 10 people were killed and 63 injured when Weller couldn't find the brakes at 100km/h. :eek:

Linky-Woos (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=9&ObjectID=10007067)

[mireland]

old people should be given a driving test every 30 to 60 days! :mad:

[leprechaun_40]

Hey, if yer that bad off, you shouldn't drive at all, geeeez, I hate old people driving, scares the bejebers outa me.:eek:

[j.m@talk]

Well its not all of em ...... But some really do take the biscuit :t

[j.m@talk]

George Weller, 87, heads back to court this week after pleading not guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the 2003 Santa Monica farmers' market "massacre", in which 10 people were killed and 63 injured when Weller couldn't find the brakes at 100km/h.

Jeeeez, had he done that in Baghdad not so long ago he would of got a purple heart :D

[Johnny Fist]

Yup, they're as bad as drunk drivers.

[mireland]

Originally posted by j.m@talk
Well its not all of em ...... But some really do take the biscuit :t

and at the other end of the spectrum there is those stupid ******* 16 year olds who just recieved their license---scary:mad:

[j.m@talk]

Its 17 here & I fink dats too young :-@

[Happy Joe]

Its not just oldsters that get confused... why do you think that they had to put brake interlocks on transmissions? Too may people were sueing because they ran into, over and through things while standing on the gas after starting their cars (they thought it was the brakes).
Poor drivers have no business behind the wheel (whatever their age).
Enjoy!

[j.m@talk]

No requirement for such things here .......... I thought it was just the Japanese that were that dumb :rolleyes:

[zybch]

Originally posted by Johnny Fist
Yup, they're as bad as drunk drivers.

With all that medication they have to take they ARE drunk drivers.

I think perople over 60 should have to take a refresher test every 2 years, and those over 70 must take it EVERY year.
Old people are a mennace on the roads.

[j.m@talk]

I thought the Aussies had quite a stringent test for their seniors (Old Gits)

Dunno how often they gotta take it tho :t

[Johnny Fist]

Originally posted by zybch
With all that medication they have to take they ARE drunk drivers.

I think perople over 60 should have to take a refresher test every 2 years, and those over 70 must take it EVERY year.
Old people are a mennace on the roads.

Finally we agree on something.

[Billforce]

Originally posted by j.m@talk
Well its not all of em ...... But some really do take the biscuit :t

At 71 years, I can still drive the wheels off most any car or for that matter most drivers....I drove a race car most of my life and fortunately still seem to have almost all of my faculties. With that said, I totally agree that any driver over 70 should be tested fairly often like at least once a year. :t

[Billforce]

Scary, isn't it?