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Witnessed a bizarre accident this AM

Midlife

Midlife

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I was driving to work at 6:15AM, and it's dark. I'm approaching an intersection with a green light and proceed at 35 mph (the speed limit) through the intersection. Just prior to entering it, I noticed a car up ahead making a right turn into my single lane. OK...he's far enough ahead that I don't need to brake. He makes the turn from a rolling stop and goes a bit too fast and wide: he goes partly into the oncoming turn lane where there are three cars waiting for me to go through the intersection. At first, he goes about 2 feet into their lane and I thought he just missed them! Crap: why is he making such a wide turn? He straightens out but hits one of the stopped cars and I see three large pieces of plastic or sheet metal come flying off! I slow down through the intersection and watch his jerk pull off the road (partly), now blocking my lane. By this time, I'm doing 10 mph, so I carefully pick my way around him and wonder what was this guy thinking?

I don't think he was drunk, because he pulled over almost immediately. But why risk a RH turn when I'm about to enter an intersection, and why take a turn so wide and fast that he clips stopped cars?

Dumb...that's all I can say.
 
No offense to old timers, but I'm sure age may have played a part in the great Retirement state of Florida.

We have a similar problem here in Tucson, AZ. I was rear ended at a stop light, sitting 3 cars deep. When I got out to talk to the other driver, the first thing the old guy says is "Where's Sears, I need to get my brakes fixed!" I told him it was too late and he needed to pull over. The cop checked his brakes, he had none...told him to have it towed home. I was so shaken up, my wife and I went across the street to lunch. When we came back, we got there just in time to see the old man climb back into his truck and drive off! I should have dialed 911.
 
Assumptions......Old age only applies if in fact, the driver was old.....and a poor driver. When I lived in Phoenix, I read where a survey showed very few elderly drivers lacking skills were involved in accidents. It was the other drivers trying to avoid them.

Yesterday, a car with Tenn. plates, coming towards me, made a U-turn on a two lane street, into the ditch and back up, and out in front of me. His car was 10 feet in front of me when he came back on the road, I was stopped in the Mustang with driving lights on. He was a young man, possibly a student on spring break, and a cell phone in his hand. He turned 50 feet up the road.
 
Ah................ Would it not be fair to say just about anything "You" (Midlife)
have anything to do with can be considered to flirt with Bizarre?
 
"Bite Me" said:
Ah................ Would it not be fair to say just about anything "You" (Midlife)
have anything to do with can be considered to flirt with Bizarre?
Click to expand...

Fair! But I prefer to flirt with brassieres if I can! :weas
 
"ZFORCE" said:
No offense to old timers, but I'm sure age may have played a part in the great Retirement state of Florida.
Click to expand...

+1 on the assumption. Age doesn't always enter into it. Many "old timers" are also good drivers. Probably a younger person texting.
 
All I know is that all the old drivers here in Tucson end up in the fast lane in front of me and I am sick and tired of it.
 
When you reach 80 you are in the same statistical category are teenagers for causing accidents. Their lower premiums results from not driving as often.

Perhaps it was a medical condition.
 
I had an old (80+) guy pull out in front of me from a stop sign on a side street, right in front of an auto shop. I smacked right into the side of his cad with my (now ex-)gf's saturn. Saturn was totalled, caddy had minor fender and door damage. Everyone at the auto shop saw the accident.

A couple months ago I was at the DMV to renew my license. While I was there, an elderly man walked in and walked up to a desk to stand in line. In most CA DMV's, you start at the front desk to get a number, then go up to desk X when your number is called. The DMV employee explained to the man that he needed to get a number before he could talk to someone about taking a driving test. As I was driving away, I watched the man park his car in the middle of the isle in the parking lot, ignoring the two driving test lanes 5 feet away and blocking parking lot traffic, then get out and walk inside. I suspect he still got his license renewed.

I sell parts all day. You wouldn't believe the people I see come in that actually drove their car. They get out, hobble inside with their cane/walker, can barely speak in complete sentences to explain what they need, and their hands are shaking so bad that they can't pull cash out of their wallet.

Yes, some elderly people are still perfectly sharp and capable of driving, but not all of them. Age affects motor skills, eyesight, and quick decision making skills. If I had my way, people over 65 would have to retake a driver's test every couple years. I don't see their inconvenience as worth more than my safety.
 
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