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'IT'S TIME TO REIN IN THE ELDERLY BEHIND THE WHEEL'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:34 pm    Post subject: 'IT'S TIME TO REIN IN THE ELDERLY BEHIND THE WHEEL' Reply with quote

IT’S TIME TO REIN IN THE ELDERLY BEHIND THE WHEEL.

The following story appears in today’s New York Times; (see personal comment below).

14 Injured at Hanukkah Event

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 25, 2008


WOODMERE, N.Y. (AP) — A car ran into a building where Orthodox Jewish families were celebrating Hanukkah on Thursday, injuring 14 people, the police said.

At least six of the injured were young children, hospital officials said.
The families, who live on Long Island and belong to the Chabad Orthodox Jewish movement, were at Chanukah Wonderland, an all-day celebration with activities for children, including crafts and a theater. Thursday was the fourth day of the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights.

About 150 people were in the building when a 78-year-old man lost control of his car and drove through a window about 2:45 p.m., the police said.

“He makes an abrupt left turn. It actually forces the car that’s parked along the side of the road up onto the sidewalk,” Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police said at the scene. “His car careens through several plate-glass windows, enters the building.” The car did not stop until it ran over several people, he said.

The police said that the injured people ranged in age from 1 ½ to 40, and that four were hospitalized in serious condition. Two girls, ages 8 and 4, were in stable condition at Nassau University Medical Center, said Dr. Justin Greene, who works in the emergency room there. One suffered a broken collarbone, he said.

Three children under the age of 5 were hospitalized at Winthrop University Hospital, two in serious condition, said John P. Broder, the hospital vice president for external affairs.

No charges had been filed against the driver on Thursday evening, the police said.

Chanukah Wonderland is sponsored by Chabad of the Five Towns and held in Woodmere, near the Queens border.

“We are doing whatever we possibly can for the families of these children during this most difficult of times, and urge all people of good will to keep them in their prayers,” Rabbi Zalman Wolowik, director of Chabad of the Five Towns, said in a statement on the group’s Web site.


COMMENT

This is just another of an ever growing number of incidences in which elderly drivers have lost control of their vehicles. You see the pictures in the papers and on TV almost daily of cars driven through store windows in shopping malls and virtually all at the hand of older people.

Five years ago in Santa Monica an 88 year old man plowed through (at speed) an open air farmer’s market killing eleven and maiming many more.

The standard excuse has been a stuck accelerator or stepping on the wrong pedal – both of which show a diminishing of driving skills!

I think we now have to act to curb this menace before more innocent lives (including our own) are jeopardized and there is a way to accomplish this;

Just as we are required to provide financial security each time we re-register our vehicles, I believe we should require all drivers over a certain age to prove medical competence at least every two years or risk loss of the right to drive.

I’m not talking about a cursory exam by a ‘friendly’ family physician who then merely signs the bottom of a form! (as they often do for handicapped placards) – I’m talking about a complete and certified work-up including scans of the brain and heart, a test of reflexes and a comprehensive eye examination at minimum.

This may not guarantee that the problem will disappear completely, but it will certainly make a dent in it!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr Linsky -

If it helps... Maryland is often a test bed for developing Federal Standard policies. One of the things being done here is the MVA actively pursues
a program of audit and supervision of licensed drivers of advanced ages. A particular driver's licensing is adjusted to recognize possible impairments.
There is Federal funding of the work...

I know a gentleman who is in this MVA program. In his case, the agency thinking translated into a limited "Class D" license, effective only within
a prescribed radius of home domicile. On balance, it is an attempt at fair treatment, and considers the deeply felt need for personal mobility...

..............Vern............
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 1:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vern,

I've read about a number of such programs that are either underway or on the drawing board (if they're on the drawing board right now, that's where they are going to stay until the federal bailouts come along!).

Anyway, I want to tell you what is most frightening to me; I go shopping at my local supermarket and invariably see an elderly person being led out holding on to a shopping cart that the bagger is pulling to their car - the customer can hardly walk!

Once the packages have been put in the trunk the customer hobbles to the driver's door, manages to open it and eventually sits themselves down behind the wheel!

It's at this point that I think to myself - what in G_d's name would happen if this person needed good reflexes to avoid an accident? you know! we all have close calls almost on a daily basis.

These are some of the problems that won't be eliminated by restricting these drivers to specific low volume areas at off times just so as not to make them feel useless by taking away their licenses.

Don't get me wrong! I have nothing against older people (being one myself) but we're talking lives and property here and I take it very seriously.

I will tell you this; there are exceptions - my mother in law (who just passed away at nearly 105) drove until she was over ninety and never had a major accident! and it was she who took herself off the road because her eyesight was beginning to fail.

Unfortunately, this honesty can't be depended upon in most cases - we will have to make these decisions for them!

Mr. 'L'
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr Linsky -

Whole heartedly agree! I'm not getting to be any youngster myself, either. (The two of us are about the same age, apparently.)

I'll venture that one of the values instilled by years of work in commercial highway transport, is that it instills a very acute awareness,
and a responsibility to follow through, on all safety related issues. We don't want to hurt people, or damage the customer's goods.

Your concerns are well stated, and we should all do our part in getting this heard before the right people...

....................Vern...................
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Dieseljim
Deceased



Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 548
Location: Perry, NY

PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:15 am    Post subject: It's Time To Rein In the Elderly Behind The Wheel Reply with quote

Having been through the dubious pleasure of a 55 mph head on collision back in 1997, I feel damn lucky I wasn' clobbered by one of these elderly folks when the car that plowed into the Ranger I was driving crossed the line and came right at me, otherwise, someone would have most likely been dead as a result of the crash, most likely the elderly driver, leaving me virtually distraut over the fact someone died. We have a number of elderly folks here in Perry,NY alone still driving, some of whom should not even be on the road. When they are driving at 30-35mph in a 55 zone, they are just about as dangerous as a drunk if not more so.Yes, I, too think they need comprehensive testing, including brain scan to determine their fitness to remain on the road. As what I just read here, some of your most dangerous drivers on the road are not just your drunks, but the elderly motoerists, especially the older ones, many of them in their 80s or so, to name an example. Granted, I am no spring chicken myself, but I have also been exposed to what a commercial trucker goes through on the road having ridden shotgun for many thousands of miles back in the 1990s.
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