A wild motor vehicle accident on the streets of Gilbert, Arizona left multiple people injured and the police looking at an older driver as a possible reason why the wreck occurred.
According to the police, an 81-year-old driver made a left turn in front of another vehicle. Those two cars collided, but the 81-year-old’s vehicle kept spinning out of control after the initial wreck, eventually striking a third vehicle. After the second collision, the 81-year-old’s car kept going and eventually struck two pedestrians at the scene. Those pedestrians, though seriously injured, are expected to be okay.
Though few other details have been made public, the source article hints at the 81-year-old being at fault for the car accident. While it is not known if that is true, elderly driving is a serious issue and it is something that will confront us all in our lives (well, at least until self-driving cars become the norm).
As we age, there is an inherent degeneration process. Our skills diminish, and acts that we once took for granted suddenly become hard to perform. It is inevitable. Even with this caveat, when viewed through the prism of “driving,” it does not make it acceptable for people to make negligent driving decisions. Negligence is negligence, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter if you’re 19, or 30, or 50, or 80: if you drive dangerously or recklessly, you could be at fault for an accident.
The question then becomes “what can we do about this?” Yes, the victims of such accidents can file civil lawsuits — but the greater issue of elderly driving won’t be solved that way. In fact, it isn’t even clear if this is an issue that needs “solving.” Maybe there are new rules that could be put in place to further regulate drivers when they reach a certain age.
FOX 10 News, “Two pedestrians injured in Gilbert car accident,” Feb. 8, 2014