Elderly women drivers are dangerous!

[ozzy72]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - An 81-year-old woman preparing to take a test drive at a car dealership hit her husband, a salesman, a car and a tree before running into a wall. ``She must have panicked,'' said Joe Sica, sales manager at Honda of Fort Myers.
The new Honda Accord shot backward after Dorothy Byrum got behind the wheel and apparently stepped on the wrong pedal Wednesday.
The open car door hit her 88-year-old husband, Robert, and the salesman. Then the car struck the parked car, the tree and the wall. The air bag deployed, and Byrum was not injured.
Her husband was knocked down but was in good condition the following day. The salesman was released after treatment and is expected to be out of work for about a week, Sica said.
The car was written off.

[Craig.]

Old women drivers are dangerous here aswell. I got cut up on a dual carriageway doing 70mph by this really old woman obviously going faster, problem was, she pulled in front with only a few feet to spare and decided to slow down, had to hit the brakes. Damn OAP's :-/

[Hagar]

Damn OAP's :-/

Steady on. Don't let Fozzer hear you say that.

It's not just women & not all elderly drivers are like it. The problem (in the UK anyway) seems to be with older drivers converting to automatics. They end up confusing the Go pedal for the brake. This would not be possible if they were taught to drive them properly & put their foot on the brake pedal before starting the engine.

[jordonj]

Say what you want about elderly drivers, but the majority of accidents are still caused by Teenage drivers.

Sure, there are some elderly drivers who should no longer be driving (and are stubborn about admitting it), but they aren't the ones who cause most of the accidents.

[commoner]

Say what you want about elderly drivers, but the majority of accidents are still caused by Teenage drivers......

.....lol...most of which aren't even taxed and insured.......the young t**ts..........commoner.

[beaky]

Jordonj is right, but when it comes to drivers who should consider turning in the keys, let's be honest- the old man drivers are not so hot, either. Less likely to panic, maybe, but  just as likely to space out, or just go exruciatingly slowly (which can be dangerous!).
 One thing that's sure to get me cursing is to be stuck behind some old dude on a road where I can't pass, with him driving about 30 mph under the speed limit, and of course the turn signal going. Some of them do just fine, but if he's wearing a hat, you may as well pull over. For some reason old men drivers wearing hats drive worse than those without...
Not surprised that this tale of woe took place in Florida ("God's Waiting Room"). There are a lot of Cadillacs careening around down there, with only a tiny pair of wizened hands visible above the dash, clutching the steering wheel for dear life...
Must be awfully hard to let go of that privilege, but there's a time when most people just can't drive safely anymore.

[jordonj]

It's the status of being independent.   Don't get me wrong, I'm all for keeping people from being a danger to themselves or to others but it's amazing how for granted that people take the simple status of being independent.  Think of losing that and it's not hard to understand why some people fight so hard to keep it.

[Woodlouse2002]

I know someone who wrote off the car while taking their test. And the quirk is because the other car hit her she finished the test in a new car and a neckbrace and passed.

Then I know someone who took their test, got only three minors throughout the entire test and then reversed into a wall while parking back at the test centre. Ooops.

[ozzy72]

Still doesn't beat the world record for the fastest failure of the driving test, which is held by a Scottish mechanic (whose name eludes me).
He failed the test before the examiner got in the car. Parked outside the test center he used his horn to summon the tester. The tester came out and informed him that it is illegal to use your horn whilst you vehicle is stationary and not in traffic in the UK and went back into the center

[ozzy72]

OMG, check this out
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4447925.stm

[Tequila Sunrise]

lol tell that to cab drivers  :P

[Hagar]

OMG, check this out
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4447925.stm

Full marks for perseverence.

Good luck to him. Just because he can't read doesn't make him an idiot. Not sure how he will cope with warning signs though. Beware of 1,000 foot drop.......!