Castanet

Quick poll for all those stick drivers ... how many times have you accidentally stalled your vehicle?

Never.

2 feet for 2 pedals? weak. I use 1 foot on 2 pedals at the same time.

kumazatheef wrote:Quick poll for all those stick drivers ... how many times have you accidentally stalled your vehicle?

What has that got to do with punching the gas instead of the brake?

Quick poll for all those stick drivers ... how many times have you accidentally stalled your vehicle?

Not very often. I actually removed my clutch pedal from my chevy pickup and drove it around for almost a year... not because it was confusing me though

Here's another:
http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#84024

A 53-year-old man has lost his lower leg after being hit by a minivan outside a mall in Kamloops.

The RCMP say the 68-year-old driver of the van has admitted she accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake as she was parking Sunday in a handicapped spot outside Coopers Foods in Lansdowne Village.

Her vehicle lurched forward and pinned the man against a concrete post, severing his lower leg.

Police have ruled out alcohol, drugs, or a medical issue as factors in the accident and they've sent the vehicle for a mechanical inspection.

The Mounties are also asking witnesses to contact them.

I don't think I will ever forget the screaming of the young teen who was pinned against a store wall when a mom with a couple kids in her car put it in drive instead of reverse to back out of a parking stall on Bernard and jumped the curb.

It isn't just old folks who "confuse" things.

zzontar wrote:Here's another:
http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#84024

A 53-year-old man has lost his lower leg after being hit by a minivan outside a mall in Kamloops.

The RCMP say the 68-year-old driver of the van has admitted she accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake as she was parking Sunday in a handicapped spot outside Coopers Foods in Lansdowne Village.

Jesus.

Take away her license.

grammafreddy wrote:I don't think I will ever forget the screaming of the young teen who was pinned against a store wall when a mom with a couple kids in her car put it in drive instead of reverse to back out of a parking stall on Bernard and jumped the curb.

It isn't just old folks who "confuse" things.

Agreed.

Distracted, uneducated, confused, ignorant, etc. Age seems to always be a focus, when ultimately the "cause" falls under one of those other descriptions.

PS - 68 is elderly now? I should warn my parents! I'm in my twenties...but by these definitions I should be middle aged in a year or two.

bluehairs should be road tested yearly & strictly



(this should get fun)

grammafreddy wrote:It isn't just old folks who "confuse" things.

This is true.

But it's equally true that it's usually old folks who "confuse" things, like where to drive and where not to.

No stats for ya, just an anecdotally overwhelming number of news reports about seniors, not non-seniors, jumping curbs and ramming into those pesky buildings.

In 2010, my (then) 78 year old mom (who is a right-foot-only driver), while approaching a stop sign, somehow managed to launch her car directly across two lanes of traffic, up and across a (curbed) 8 foot wide grassy median of a divided boulevard, before t-boning some poor unsuspecting slob on his way home from work. She was going so fast that both cars were total write-offs. She spent 8 days in hospital for medical "tests", but she never had any subsequent drivers' test. Insurance bought her a new car and she's still driving today... even though she can't walk (due to age-related severe arthritis in her hips, knees and ankles). She continues to insist she's "just fine" to drive.

So, yeah... I think there's a problem our politicians are choosing to ignore. (God help the first one who suggests amendments to the MVA intended to address this life-threatening elephant in the room... amendments without which the cops remain basically powerless to deal with.)

bipti, did it ever cross your mind that this is YOUR mother
you are talking about.
Take some responsibility, take some action.

You do have the ability to remove her licence for the good of all.
She made decisions about what was best for you while raising you, now
it is time for you to make a decision for her for what is best for her.
It's time!

Oh, I absolutely agree with you DB!!!

Unfortunately, for various reasons, there is not much I can do. (I know this statement looks like I’m unwilling to step-up, but trust me when I say that’s not the case.)

Mom’s still mentally sharp, but Dad (who’s 86 and quite adept at concealing his age-related "issues" for short periods) is noticeably slowing down, physically and mentally. Nevertheless, they continue to receive clean bills of health from their doctor so long as they keep showing up for their regularly scheduled appointments. Also, they assume they’ve been deemed competent behind the wheel because they had no difficulty transferring their licenses from Quebec to Ontario when they recently moved, even though no driving test was given.

Essentially, it boils down to the fact that my parents will only accept what’s required of them by the same office who control and issue their driving licenses… and reluctantly at that. You know the arguments; "Why should we be retested every five years... that's ageism!", and; “Who are you to tell me I can't drive?!”. Disagree with that point of view and you’re in for a real dogfight and many months of excommunication, as I've already found out. Life is too short to be wasted in resentment and indignation (especially now), so all I can do is hope they only kill themselves and not anyone else in any possible worst-case scenario. Evidently, Canada's lawmakers agree.

That said, I only wanted to offer up Mom's “accident” as an example to illustrate a point concerning old-aged drivers and left/right pedal confusion issues.

Gotcha.

keeny wrote:..... getting your license nowadays requires a lot of knowledge......

That's a joke right!
Drivers education in this country is very poor, it's so easy to get a licence, and it's treated as a right, and not privilege/responsibility.

If you think it's only seniors who are bad, you are deluding yourself. (Just watch CWD8!)

But on topic, I am one of these people who think we should be retested when we get to a certain age, and then again at regular intervals after that.
We should also be tested after major life changing illnesses, such as strokes, head trauma etc, that can impair you, and your reactions