84-year-old driver crashes car into pharmacy, injuring 3 people

How considerate! Just beside the hospital!

And a pharmacy roughneck :-)

They won't have to go far to get their wounds treated.

This morning I saw a late 20's driver sideswipe three cars and he ended up stopping on the footpath, narrowly missing a group of high school students. I was about 50 meters behind the accident, but saw it happen very clearly. He 'pinballed' off three cars and then mounted the curb. I don't know what caused it, but the driver was obviously multitasking and not paying attention during peak hour traffic on a major route. By the time I got there he was standing on the footpath scratching his head. Why isn't this incident in the news? The media really needs to stop focussing on elderly drivers. They make up for a very small percentage of accidents. There are far worse dangers on the roads than an absentminded elderly driver.

:Sigh: Not again!

People like this should have their permission to drive limited to cars with proven automatic braking fitted.

Just like they have different licences for cars with and without manual gears, they should have such restricted or stepped-down licences for people over a certain age, IMHO. As a first step anyway.

Maybe someone tried to whack him and rewired the brakes and accelerator?

Just this morning, 3 old men left their back door car widely open, i could see 3 golf bags. After few blocks driving they finally realize that the door was open and they pulled over. It was funny though.

@disillusioned Actually the elderly make up a big proportion of accidents, many fatal. Yesterday I watched a senior person make three attempts to get on the highway. Then later in the day, I saw another senior citizen try to drive on the off ramp. Luckily their was lots of traffic, so no collision.

Because old people are a menace and should not be driving at that age,there is a huge difference between criminally not paying attention ( which should be prosecuted) and someone with absolutely impaired ability to make even the simpliest decisions let along driving a few tons of metal down the road. In addition, while there is a deterrent in prosecuting a young driver ( life,career,family e.t.c.. ) - old driver has nothing to lose and might actually gain from free jail care... get the difference now?

So yea, anyone over 70 ( or earlier if have an actual mental issue ) should be disqualified from driving by default, with an exception given if proven to be fully sound ( at his own expense ) and actually having a need to drive.

Old people driving are the same as terrorists. In the end they kill innocent people.

There's plenty of young people who shouldn't be allowed on the roads, either.

I wonder how many other times in the past he pressed on the brake and the car didn't stop. May not be his first accident.

@Disillusioned - Shhh! You're making sense! The media will hear you!! (Or maybe they won't...)

"I pressed the brake, but my car wouldn’t stop.”

That would be the accelerator that would do that. Not the brake. The age limit should be set to 65. In my opinion.

People like this should have their permission to drive limited to cars with proven automatic braking fitted.

They should make it mandatory for all new cars sold, and mandatory for all cars on the road in 10 years or so (to phase it in). It's a problem with such an easy technological fix. How many more injuries and deaths need to occur before this happens?

Disillusioned: "There are far worse dangers on the roads than an absentminded elderly driver."

Yeah, but why wouldn't you do your best to prevent the preventable? The man in his 20's you mentnioned obviously broke the law in one way or another, driving while sleepy, drunk, or playing games or something, and will pay the price. Drivers after a certain age should have to go through rigorous testing, both physical and mental, related to driving, and not be allowed to keep their licenses if they fail. This goes for anyone, but after 70 cognitive and reaction tests should be added.

We should never excuse one type of accident or criticism of it simply because there are other types, too.

Mistaking the break for accelerator, and freezing in panic rather than reacting to what's happening in order to correct the situation, are classic examples of things that could easily be tested. Time to get on it instead of just reading about this day in and day out.

@Goodlucktoyou - Actually the elderly make up a big proportion of accidents, many fatal. 

Be careful what you state without checking the statistics. Drivers over 65 make up 7% of fatal accidents and 12% of non-fatal accidents. Is that a big proportion? Drivers between 18 and 30 make up nearly 50% of road accidents. Hmmmm?

@Disillusioned

totally agree.

Read the stats!

young men 18-25 are the most dangerous people on the roads.

Also agree oldies should be rigorously tested for competence though. If they pass then good luck to them.

@Blattamexiguus

Aye, are they not?