To drive or not to drive

Mark Dalton · 04-20-2010, 01:37 PM

I see people parking in handicapped spots all the time that should NOT be driving. Not long ago I was walking down the sidewalk and came upon this elderly woman sitting in her car. She stopped me and asked me to help her out of her vehicle and then assist her into the store she wanted to go into. She had literally been sitting in her car waiting for someone to come along because she was unable to stand or walk without help. I recall thinking, why in the world is this woman still driving? Should she really be behind the wheel of a 3000 lb hunk of metal? I think not.

Not sure what the law is regarding this but dayum!

quasar05 · 04-20-2010, 02:05 PM

The fact that she had to ask you to help her should answer your question. She apparently has no one else that can take her places. My father-in-law is 87 and still drives, but he knows his limits. He's very careful and only drives during the day at non-peak times, and then only to Publix and back. When you take that away from them, many of them give up and die.

vett boy · 04-20-2010, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quasar05

The fact that she had to ask you to help her should answer your question. She apparently has no one else that can take her places. My father-in-law is 87 and still drives, but he knows his limits. He's very careful and only drives during the day at non-peak times, and then only to Publix and back. When you take that away from them, many of them give up and die.

I have to agree .Not all elderly should be driving but sometimes have little choice .My mother gave up her license at 90 but she couldn't drive all that well at 30 .My dad died with the keys in his pocket .

Mark Dalton · 04-20-2010, 04:17 PM

I understand being independent and not wanting to give up the freedom to drive. I went through very much the same thing with my mom. But I think there's a larger issue to consider here, and that is, public safety. Not long ago, an elderly gentleman turned off of a busy street and right through the wall of one of our stores. He apparently thought he was turning onto another street. Thank god no one was next to the wall at the time. Many of the elderly drivers are easily confused and their reaction times are nowhere near what they once were and they may not be able to react fast enough in an emergency situation. If it's a matter of noone being available to drive them, there are ways around that as well. Taxis, busses, and in our county, there's a no charge public transport available. They'll pick you up at your house, take you where you need to go and bring you back.

quasar05 · 04-20-2010, 05:29 PM

Last Sunday morning around 5:30am an 18 year old man was killed in Mandarin when he clipped a curb and over-corrected, sending his car into a power pole, driver's side first. DRT. Just sayin'. Those are the people I would rather keep off the streets. Unfortunately for him, he took care of that problem himself.

als2052 · 04-20-2010, 08:15 PM

Good arguement for yearly testing for 65 and over...