Four cars, two pedestrians in north-end crash
Four cars and two pedestrians were involved in a crash in the north end on Friday afternoon. It’s so sad to read that a ten-year-old “sustained severe injuries to her face and upper body, but is expected to survive.”
A bit more description from La Presse. As noted in Tim S.’s comment below, the driver who caused the crash is 76.
Tim S. 21:42 on 2019-09-13 Permalink
The driver was 76. As the boomers age, we really need to start implementing more frequent testing, including road or simulator testing.
So many driving problems that need to be fixed. I’m sometimes hopeful for driverless cars, and sometimes think it’s a crazy idea that will just lead to rich people using robots to kill others.
Kate 08:48 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
Lots of people older than that are still driving and not making mistakes. Maybe doctors should be made more responsible for taking note of older patients whose fitness to drive is becoming doubtful, and be empowered (if they aren’t already) to send them for a re-test to keep their licence?
Kevin 08:57 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
At age 75 the SAAQ requires a vision test and a doctor’s certification that a driver is medically fit.
Repeat at age 80, and every 2 years after that.
I’d like to see all drivers restested every decade or so.
Meezly 10:18 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
How can you mistake the brake for the gas pedal long enough to plow into 3 vehicles, one with enough force to hit 2 people, then continue to hit a 4th vehicle, unless you weren’t in control, ie. suffering from a stroke or seizure?
Tim S. 10:19 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
Yeah, but a vision test doesn’t really account for reflexes or judgment, and I don’t see how well a doctor can observe those things during an office visit. They may also be reluctant to give such bad news to their patients face to face.
Walking around town, I see many elderly drivers who haven’t yet made mistakes with such catastrophic results as this one, but who really don’t inspire confidence – excessive hesitation at very simple tasks like turning, slowing down at green lights, parking on sidewalks, confusing driveways and streets, etc. My own grandfather totaled 2 or 3 cars in the last decade of his life. Nobody took away his license, alas.
Kevin 10:43 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
I talked with my wife ( a new MD) and the SAAQ medical test is lame.
Does the patient have diabetes, cardiac issues, vision problems, musculo skeletal issues? Do they need to be seen by a physiotherapist or occupational therapist?
That’s it. It does not provide any concrete way to say a person is unfit to drive, and doesn’t have any way of recommending a reflex test, which the SAAQ doesn’t have anyway.
Chris 12:31 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
Tim S. doctors give bad news to patients daily, doing so for drivers licences is not a problem for them.
thomas 14:04 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
Once a driver reaches age 80 in Ontario, besides a vision test, one must under go an interactive cognitive exam that measures short term memory and reaction times.
qatzelok 18:27 on 2019-09-14 Permalink
At the same time, a lot of older boomers live in car-dependent suburbs. Some car-dependent suburbs (of many North American cities) are majority seniors.
What are these millions of dementia-approaching seniors supposed to do? Abandon their homes en masse?
For me, this story, of seniors plowing into people, is another hideous side-effect of suburban sprawl.
Seniors are also incredibly isolated behind their lawns.
Michael Black 08:39 on 2019-09-15 Permalink
People shouldn’t be dependent on cars.
But if you have, “old age” is not the time to give up a car.
The older people get, the less mobile they are, while the need to get around is the same, or greater. I have always walked, but five weeks before I turn 60, I am the least mobile I’ve been since I started walking as a baby. I started off in great shape, leg muscle wise, but I see people here in rehab who look older, and were either more sedentary, or had a broken leg so it’s more than regaining muscle. I’ll finally be out this week, but I won’t be very mobile for a time, and suddenly I’ll have to be more mobile for doctor’s appointments than in the past.
My mother ‘s world kept getting smaller the more she couldn’t move as much, which in turn meant she was less active. She stopped having the temporary use of a car, so she gave up her license before she was forced to.
So yes, there probably should be a structure in place to make better sure that older drivers still are capable of driving, but this shouldn’t be about getting more cars off the road. One has to understand in order to make decisions.
Michael