Talking to a loved one about giving up their driver’s license can be upsetting for everyone involved, and in many cases there are alternatives that can help older people maintain their independence for as long as possible.
However, elderly drivers can be very dangerous. One of the most common mistakes elderly drivers make, leading to an accident, is confusing the accelerator and the brake.
December 7 – 11, 2015, is Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. In an effort to help prevent car accidents, we’ve created this list to illustrate the dangers of driving beyond our abilities as we age.
Here are four of the worst elderly driver accidents of 2015:
In February, 2015, a 92-year-old Wisconsin man crashed into nine cars in a Piggly Wiggly parking lot. Police say his foot got stuck on the accelerator and he panicked. The driver and passenger of a truck that he hit jumped out and helped him get his vehicle under control. No one was injured and the driver was not charged or ticketed, but police said they would forward information about the crash to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In April, 2015 an 81-year-old woman in Georgia jumped the curb at the Paulding County Government Center, striking five people. A 71-year-old woman was killed. The driver was trying to park when she lost control of her vehicle, hopped the curb and barreled down the walkway. She was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide.
In September, 2015 an 80-year-old woman smashed through the entrance of the LifeStyleRX gym, in Livermore, California, killing a research executive and injuring five others. The driver was trying to park her car when she confused the brake and gas pedals. Her car rushed nearly 70 feet into the lobby, hitting an exercise room and was only stopped by colliding with a wall. Police said the driver was very upset and in shock, and that they did not believe that drugs, alcohol, speeding or reckless driving were involved.
In October, 2015, a young mother was killed and six others, including her 2-year-old daughter, were injured in an H-E-B grocery store in Houston when a 74-year-old woman slammed the SUV she was driving into the store. The driver was parked in a handicapped spot and suddenly reversed the vehicle through the front doors, taking out cash registers along the way. The victim’s husband is suing H-E-B for having substandard pillars in front of the store, the owner of the vehicle for allowing an incompetent and/or reckless driver to use the vehicle, and the driver herself.
Don’t let this happen to someone you love. Download our free Elder Driver ~ License Checklist today.
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