The Elderly Under Scrutiny Again

[Grennan]

An 85-year-old man struck by a car as its driver was parking at Rosebud (Victoria) yesterday, has died in hospital. Police say the elderly driver was parking on a service road when his foot slipped and hit the accelerator

The car crashed into a bench where a man and woman were sitting.

The bench was then pushed three metres into the front window of a bank.

Since the crash yesterday there has been talk of stricer licensing of Elderly Drivers, however Victorian Premier Mr Brumby has denied there should be any reason for concern saying "he did not believe it should prompt stricter controls of elderly drivers, whose licences are renewed every three years, once they are aged 75, though they are not tested."

Mr Brumby said "The onus should remain with drivers themselves and their friends and family."
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The problem i see with the above statement "The onus should remain with drivers themselves and their friends and family" is that in many instances people deny they have a problem and often believe they are better than they actually are.

[Hot-Rod]

hmm, pickel of a dickel a.

[Boonz]

they should be tested every year in my opinion.... everybody knows how rapidly the elderly deteriorate.... they just dont tell anyone and try not to show it

[Sabbath']

Apparently its happened at least 4 times in the past year in that same shopping strip, none fatal, but all the same, old people getting confused.

There was the case in Glen Waverley i think it was mid year when an old guy did the same thing and killed somebody, and also an old woman went through the front of a dentists surgery.

[AttaBoy]

Elderly drivers is like putting a 15 year old behind the wheel. They are dangerous and I got a couple of near misses on the way to work in the past month. Its shocking seeing how many elderly drivers in Dandenong (Vic)!!!

[Grennan]

Just a bit of an update that i read from yesterdays paper. The driver had his license suspended at the time of the crash due to eyesight problems.

[minux]

they should be tested every year in my opinion.... everybody knows how rapidly the elderly deteriorate.... they just dont tell anyone and try not to show it

EVERYONE should be tested once a year!!

[Morton]

Yeah, but testing isn't the issue for most people imo. A person under test conditions will always be more cautious and drive more slowly than a person on their way to work, or late to an appointment. The majority of clumsy, rekless driving happens when a driver's mind is occupied with issues other than driving.

[nicko]

i agree that people should in some way shape or form be tested by its not going to happen. we dont live in a perfect world. Both my grandparents handed their licences in when they felt unsafe behind the wheel. None of them had accidents and then thought oh id better give this up. Doctors of the elderly/ if not everyone should be able to make the call to have a person tested or reviewed.

But yes this is a pickle

[crazyspoon05]

If it's not viable to have a full on road test each year everyone who holds a licence should be sitting an eye sight and reaction test every year IMO

[Spaced]

Why don't we force them to all get the old school Volvos the ones where you put your foot down and they take off really really slowly. More time for them to realise they have hit the accelerator and not the brake.

[Sabbath']

Over the age of 55 you should be sitting eye and reaction tests. Doesnt make sense to do it for everybody.

[crazyspoon05]

Why don't we force them to all get the old school Volvos the ones where you put your foot down and they take off really really slowly. More time for them to realise they have hit the accelerator and not the brake.

That's no good, we all know Volvo's don't get damaged during accidents so they will be able to cause never ending havoc and the cars magically rebuld themselves like Christine...

[iRiot]

i agree my mother in law is the wosrt driver i have ever me and the thing is all they did when they got there licence all they do is a writen test so they should have a driving test for over 55 every year cause she has crashed or near had or caused a crash every year

[Dayvo]

Elderly drivers is like putting a 15 year old behind the wheel. They are dangerous and I got a couple of near misses on the way to work in the past month. Its shocking seeing how many elderly drivers in Dandenong (Vic)!!!

Have you ever got stuck behind that old fart in the old citroen who drives around Dandenong ? Real pain in the butt . Every set of lights he comes to he turns the engine off and the car sinks to the ground . then starts it up when the lights turn green then the suspension pumps up and the car rises.
Its funny for the first minute or so then it pi**es you off .He drives everywhere at 50 kays in the right hand lane and blows you kisses if you stare at him .

[scrabet]

haha throw a brick at him that will hurry him up

[PaRaDoX]

i saw this happen in croydon (arndale shopping centre, i used to work at the safeway)

seniours club over the road, old man was parked on a split higher level (1 meter raised) jammed wrong pedal, over he went landed ontop of 2 cars... it happend 3 more times..

seriously tho old people are really bad for that and retarded people...

young people behind the wheel is not the same, so dont compare them, young people have fast reaction times and generally good eye sight and hand eye coordination, old people have none of that and tend to forget which pedal does what

[Sabbath']

Young people generally drive dangerously by choice

Older people generally drive dangerously because they have no idea

[LUMPY 8]

An old granny wrote off my mums car a few years bak and reacently the same granny wrote off 1 of my m8s vns

[Grennan]

We have to display P plates, maybe the elderly should have some sort of warning system so people can avoid them.

[commsirac]

Why don't we force them to all get the old school Volvos the ones where you put your foot down and they take off really really slowly. More time for them to realise they have hit the accelerator and not the brake.

Its the design of the automatic that is most in need of attention. We can test these senior drivers and they'll probably come through their driving test with flying colours......some maybe not.......but worth testing them every two years or so after 70 for sure.

More often than not it is a simple mistaking the accelerator for the brake, while parking/reversing that causes the problem. The reaction from what I can gauge is they press what they think is the brake, the car doesnt appear to slow down, so they press harder and the car quickly accelerates and before they can process what is happening they have gone through a shop window, their own garage, person on pavement etc.
The challenge has to go out there to the designers to make it impossible for this type of thing to happen. What's the best solution, not sure, but feel that having the brake and accelerator so they can be cant comfortably be reached by the same foot would solve this problem.....ie left foot braking......open it all up for comment....lets get some ideas happening rather than just getting all the old codgers off the road. Its not just older people that this has happened to and there have been many needless deaths caused by it.

[PRH]

Hmmmm
I hope all you "perfect" drivers remember all your comments when (actually IF) you get to the age of 50 let alone 75.
Phillip 52 : years young

[AttaBoy]

Have you ever got stuck behind that old fart in the old citroen who drives around Dandenong ? Real pain in the butt . Every set of lights he comes to he turns the engine off and the car sinks to the ground . then starts it up when the lights turn green then the suspension pumps up and the car rises.
Its funny for the first minute or so then it pi**es you off .He drives everywhere at 50 kays in the right hand lane and blows you kisses if you stare at him .

Hahaha, actually I work next door to that guy!!!!!

Is the car with the ass end so low and the front is so high up??? It grey in colour?? If it is then thats him!!!!

[Sabbath']

Hmmmm
I hope all you "perfect" drivers remember all your comments when (actually IF) you get to the age of 50 let alone 75.
Phillip 52 : years young

P-Platers, certainly not the ones in this thread have ever claimed to be "perfect" drivers. We are simply saying that older people need to come under scrutiny themselves, instead of sitting back and critising the younger drivers.

[Dayvo]

Hahaha, actually I work next door to that guy!!!!!

Is the car with the ass end so low and the front is so high up??? It grey in colour?? If it is then thats him!!!!

Ha Ha , Thats him . He drives so slow he should be booked for illegal parking