Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This recently happened in Florida. Elderly woman, man killed dining outside at restaurant. Woman not charged, because it was an "accident."

Honestly I think after 65, everyone needs to be retested every 5 years.

Hell, I wouldn't mind everyone being tested every 5 years, because lord knows there are so many people who never should have received licenses in the first place

AARP now has the most well funded lobbying arm in DC. The testing you suggest will never happen.

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Anonymous wrote:I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that their elderly parents driving (NOT a right, but a privilege, at that) takes any sort of precedent over innocent people living; and avoiding the wrath of a car driven by someone who shouldn't even be driving jumping a curb and ending it right there.

I don't see anyone here thinking that. But adult "kids" don't have the legal authority to "take away the keys" as some here suggest. Like it or not--theft is a crime! If I literally strong arm my parent and STEAL his keys, I can go to prison for many years! Same with tampering with a car to disable it--also a crime!
Then all we have is a normally law abiding adult in prison, minor children in the foster care system (because their parent is now locked up) and the elderly person still out and about driving.

Oh stop. No one is going to jail for taking their demented parents keys away. Seriously. Most people don't go to jail for taking a car nefariously. It's just not that high a priority crime. If your parent shouldn't be driving, then do whatever you need to do to keep them from doing it, even if it means hiding the keys or disabling the battery.

You're assuming the demented parents just leave the keys out where the adult child can take them. If the demented parent won't give them up and the adult child has to literally beat the parent unconscious to get ahold of them, I guarantee you the adult child will face charges.

Maybe the adult child should face charges for allowing their impaired parent to drive.

Children have no legal authority over their parents

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know of a service where I could call an Uber for my mother in another state? She does not use a cell phone. She is 82.

Use a cab service. Many places have a voucher system where you can pre-pay.

I wish that existed where my mom lives, but it does not.

Uber is there, but no cab service?

That's true where I live, too. There are a few cabs, but they mostly serve the (municipal) airport.

Ubers have been a godsend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the police released any updates beyond the statement that he was traveling at a high speed?

And that the driver is old. Very important piece of information.

Anonymous wrote:Have the police released any updates beyond the statement that he was traveling at a high speed?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that their elderly parents driving (NOT a right, but a privilege, at that) takes any sort of precedent over innocent people living; and avoiding the wrath of a car driven by someone who shouldn't even be driving jumping a curb and ending it right there.

I don't see anyone here thinking that. But adult "kids" don't have the legal authority to "take away the keys" as some here suggest. Like it or not--theft is a crime! If I literally strong arm my parent and STEAL his keys, I can go to prison for many years! Same with tampering with a car to disable it--also a crime!
Then all we have is a normally law abiding adult in prison, minor children in the foster care system (because their parent is now locked up) and the elderly person still out and about driving.

Oh stop. No one is going to jail for taking their demented parents keys away. Seriously. Most people don't go to jail for taking a car nefariously. It's just not that high a priority crime. If your parent shouldn't be driving, then do whatever you need to do to keep them from doing it, even if it means hiding the keys or disabling the battery.

You're assuming the demented parents just leave the keys out where the adult child can take them. If the demented parent won't give them up and the adult child has to literally beat the parent unconscious to get ahold of them, I guarantee you the adult child will face charges.

Maybe the adult child should face charges for allowing their impaired parent to drive.

Children have no legal authority over their parents

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know who causes most of the traffic fatalities in the US - men under 25, but yeah Pick on the old people.

This point has been brought up several times but no one seems to want to comment on it. If people want to advocate for testing older people every year then they should support doing the same for MALES of certain age groups, as they have the highest fatality rates.

Males under the age of 25 were literally just tested/evaluated within the last decade.

Drivers over the age of 75 haven't been evaluated in 50 years!

Holy crap, when you put it that way, it really is terrifying that they are still on the road.

PP you quoted here. It really is! And actually, I did the math wrong--for most of them it's 60 years (assuming they got their license at 16.)

I am 46--I haven't had to take any type of test or evaluation since I was 16--30 years ago! I moved from the state I got my license (CA) to VA almost 16 years ago. To get my VA license, I just had to submit some paper work, pay a fee, and have my photo taken. I didn't have to take a test or have my driving evaluated--even though some traffic laws are different in CA compared to VA. That's actually not a good thing.

If your theory is correct, males under 25 should be the safest on the road having been most recently tested. I doubt that's true.

Males under 25 are some of the most skilled drivers but they take unnecessary risks that result in higher numbers of crashes. Someone who hits the gas instead of the brake is a completely unqualified driver who lacks even the most basic skills of driving.

+1

It's not a common occurrence, but it is a possibility not just for seniors. What you're really pointing out is that driving is pretty unsafe.

If cars weren't so big / high powered it would be less of a risk. Imagine what a 4 cylinder lower/smaller car would have resulted in?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that their elderly parents driving (NOT a right, but a privilege, at that) takes any sort of precedent over innocent people living; and avoiding the wrath of a car driven by someone who shouldn't even be driving jumping a curb and ending it right there.

I don't see anyone here thinking that. But adult "kids" don't have the legal authority to "take away the keys" as some here suggest. Like it or not--theft is a crime! If I literally strong arm my parent and STEAL his keys, I can go to prison for many years! Same with tampering with a car to disable it--also a crime!
Then all we have is a normally law abiding adult in prison, minor children in the foster care system (because their parent is now locked up) and the elderly person still out and about driving.

Oh stop. No one is going to jail for taking their demented parents keys away. Seriously. Most people don't go to jail for taking a car nefariously. It's just not that high a priority crime. If your parent shouldn't be driving, then do whatever you need to do to keep them from doing it, even if it means hiding the keys or disabling the battery.

You're assuming the demented parents just leave the keys out where the adult child can take them. If the demented parent won't give them up and the adult child has to literally beat the parent unconscious to get ahold of them, I guarantee you the adult child will face charges.

Maybe the adult child should face charges for allowing their impaired parent to drive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driver said, ‘I’m glad nobody died’ when he was on the scene.

Wow. That is telling. Did he even know where he was?

For PP is that pro "let them drive" - wait until your family is one of the victims. It is more common than you care to admit.

Your elderly parents privilege (it is not a right, though you seem to wish it so) to drive can and should be revoked when it is known their driving skills are impaired. By continuing this argument, you are acknowledging that you know that one or more of your parents should not be driving, yet you continue to allow them to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.

The reason I know this and that he said that, is I know someone that works there and was on the scene. He and 3 waiters pulled one person out of the wreckage, and when the 80 year said that to my friend, my friend said, ‘not yet’ as he knew a couple of them weren’t going to make it. He said it was like a war zone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that their elderly parents driving (NOT a right, but a privilege, at that) takes any sort of precedent over innocent people living; and avoiding the wrath of a car driven by someone who shouldn't even be driving jumping a curb and ending it right there.

I don't see anyone here thinking that. But adult "kids" don't have the legal authority to "take away the keys" as some here suggest. Like it or not--theft is a crime! If I literally strong arm my parent and STEAL his keys, I can go to prison for many years! Same with tampering with a car to disable it--also a crime!
Then all we have is a normally law abiding adult in prison, minor children in the foster care system (because their parent is now locked up) and the elderly person still out and about driving.

Oh stop. No one is going to jail for taking their demented parents keys away. Seriously. Most people don't go to jail for taking a car nefariously. It's just not that high a priority crime. If your parent shouldn't be driving, then do whatever you need to do to keep them from doing it, even if it means hiding the keys or disabling the battery.

You're assuming the demented parents just leave the keys out where the adult child can take them. If the demented parent won't give them up and the adult child has to literally beat the parent unconscious to get ahold of them, I guarantee you the adult child will face charges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driver said, ‘I’m glad nobody died’ when he was on the scene.

Wow. That is telling. Did he even know where he was?

For PP is that pro "let them drive" - wait until your family is one of the victims. It is more common than you care to admit.

Your elderly parents privilege (it is not a right, though you seem to wish it so) to drive can and should be revoked when it is known their driving skills are impaired. By continuing this argument, you are acknowledging that you know that one or more of your parents should not be driving, yet you continue to allow them to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.

The reason I know this and that he said that, is I know someone that works there and was on the scene. He and 3 waiters pulled one person out of the wreckage, and when the 80 year said that to my friend, my friend said, ‘not yet’ as he knew a couple of them weren’t going to make it. He said it was like a war zone.

Why are people allowed to drive such dangerous vehicles? We should have safety standards for people outside of the car, not just inside.

We do. Curbs, drivers licenses, pedestrian right of ways, crosswalks, stoplights, school crossing rules, lanes for cars and sidewalks for pedestrians....

None of that addresses limits on the cars themselves. Height, weight, engine power. All those things make curbs and such less meaningful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driver said, ‘I’m glad nobody died’ when he was on the scene.

Wow. That is telling. Did he even know where he was?

For PP is that pro "let them drive" - wait until your family is one of the victims. It is more common than you care to admit.

Your elderly parents privilege (it is not a right, though you seem to wish it so) to drive can and should be revoked when it is known their driving skills are impaired. By continuing this argument, you are acknowledging that you know that one or more of your parents should not be driving, yet you continue to allow them to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.

Where did you see anyone say "let them drive?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know of a service where I could call an Uber for my mother in another state? She does not use a cell phone. She is 82.

Use a cab service. Many places have a voucher system where you can pre-pay.

I wish that existed where my mom lives, but it does not.

Uber is there, but no cab service?

That's true where I live, too. There are a few cabs, but they mostly serve the (municipal) airport.

Ubers have been a godsend.

This is true in many towns. However, Uber only serves people who have and know how to use smart phones. This is not the case for most elderly. Also many cannot afford one on their fixed income. Ask me how I know.

My 80-something mom has the customer service department of whatever store she is at call her a cab. It is often an hour or two wait time.

My teen DD has a Uber account. I observe that she taps in a pick up address and a drop off address, and a car appears.

Couldn’t someone do that for an elderly relative: Tap in the pick up address (location of elderly relative) and drop off address (where elderly relative wants to go)?

Lots of potential objections to this scenario: elderly person needs to contact relative with cell phone, relative with cellphone has other things to do, relative with cellphone has to pay for Uber. But would that work technically?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driver said, ‘I’m glad nobody died’ when he was on the scene.

Wow. That is telling. Did he even know where he was?

For PP is that pro "let them drive" - wait until your family is one of the victims. It is more common than you care to admit.

Your elderly parents privilege (it is not a right, though you seem to wish it so) to drive can and should be revoked when it is known their driving skills are impaired. By continuing this argument, you are acknowledging that you know that one or more of your parents should not be driving, yet you continue to allow them to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The driver said, ‘I’m glad nobody died’ when he was on the scene.

Wow. That is telling. Did he even know where he was?

For PP is that pro "let them drive" - wait until your family is one of the victims. It is more common than you care to admit.

Your elderly parents privilege (it is not a right, though you seem to wish it so) to drive can and should be revoked when it is known their driving skills are impaired. By continuing this argument, you are acknowledging that you know that one or more of your parents should not be driving, yet you continue to allow them to do so.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.

The reason I know this and that he said that, is I know someone that works there and was on the scene. He and 3 waiters pulled one person out of the wreckage, and when the 80 year said that to my friend, my friend said, ‘not yet’ as he knew a couple of them weren’t going to make it. He said it was like a war zone.

Why are people allowed to drive such dangerous vehicles? We should have safety standards for people outside of the car, not just inside.

We do. Curbs, drivers licenses, pedestrian right of ways, crosswalks, stoplights, school crossing rules, lanes for cars and sidewalks for pedestrians....