This kind of senseless death really bothers me. (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Nicholls]

If you guys are into assessing blame, here's another case for you to wrangle over:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...arket_accident

 

[Max Leung]

Egads...that stinks.

 

[Scott_lb]

Yup, it does suck. It's only about three blocks from where I live too. It (once again) re-affirms my belief that when people reach a certain age, they should be continually re-tested for their drivers license. There's no logic behind the fact that a 15 year old who is physically and cognitively capable to drive a car and yet not qualify for a license, however, someone who is "older" and is clearly physically or cognitively capable still holds a license. I don't know the specifics of this case, but I've been personally involved in others (obviously not to this magnitude) where this was the case. This lack of logic in the law could have caused the deaths of 8 people (provided that his lack of physical or cognitive functioning is indeed the root cause of the accident- it very well might not be).

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Dennis,

That car in the farmer's market incident is a Buick LeSabre. I've been backed into twice in parking lots by old geezers in LeSabres who can't turn thier heads to look where they're going.

I am always extra careful to give Buick LeSabres plenty of room and stay out of the old bastard's way.

 

[Malcolm R]

Mine too.

Hope this guy has lots o'cash, cuz he's going to be paying to settle dozens of lawsuits.

 

[Micheal]

OC Transpo Bus Accident

It has just been reported that the car also had it's 4 way hazard lights on and that the bus driver was heard saying "What the...?" a split second before hitting the car. Witnesses on the bus also say that the bus did not brake or swerve at any time before impact.

:frowning:

 

[Micheal]

Here is a clip from this mornings paper..

The road safety expert says white diamonds painted on the road surface, a "universal sign for a bus lane," are conspicuously absent on Highway 174.

"They're not there and they should be," said Raynald Marchand, a manager at the Canada Safety Council.

Derek Britt, 43, who narrowly missed witnessing the Sunday morning crash, agrees.

"They don't paint anything in the bus lane that says 'bus lane only' like they do down Rideau Street," he said. "This car is from out of town, it doesn't know that this is a bus lane. The signage is terrible."

 

[Malcolm R]

Re: Farmer's Market Massacre

Police wonder if 86-year-old driver who plowed into crowded farmers' market, killing nine, was competent to be behind the wheel

Hmmmm. Something leads me to believe Captain Obvious is vacationing in California this week. :rolleyes

 

[BrianW]

Given that the car was in a bus-only lane devoid of passenger-car traffic, and given that the dispatcher had (and apparently used) the ability to warn the bus drivers of the stalled car, and given that the traffic was reasonably light, and given that the visibility was high, I think advising them to stay in the car was not a bad thing to do. Nobody would ever have predicted or guessed that it would be possible that a bus could plow into the car at full speed under these circumstances. It’s just too ludicrous to be believed.

Not only that, but for every story I read like this one, I also read one in which people get out of their cars to wait in a safe area, away from the road, only to be mowed down by someone swerving off the road and into the grass or flipping over the guardrail in order to avoid hitting the stalled car. Just a few months ago, here in Dallas, a hit-&-run BMW driver killed someone in a wide field of grass because he swerved way off the road when he spotted the stationary car in the breakdown lane. (In fact, we’ve had an epidemic of BMW drivers causing high-speed, fatal accidents in this city and not stopping to render aid, but that’s another story in itself.)

 

[TonyD]

He said the driver of the car looked like he might be having a heart attack.


"His arm was straight on the wheel and his body was stiff," Allwas said

well in response to the discussion of the elderly man who ran over all those people. that quote from the linked article was never mentioned.

you can test people all you want for driving skill, but you can never test to see when someone will have a HEART ATTACK.

 

[TonyD]

and on the other hand from the following article....

Police searching Weller's home for medications and evidence of his fitness to drive found that Weller recently "struck the back of his garage at least twice" with his car, Butts said Thursday on ABC's Good Morning America. He didn't elaborate on how investigators knew Weller was to blame for the mishaps.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/20...137766-ap.html

doesn't look like a man who just had a heart attck, nor does the article mention the possibility.

 

[Malcolm R]

Perhaps, but the driver has since been examined, evaluated, and processed by the authorities and there was no heart attack confirmed.

 

[Micheal]

Given that the car was in a bus-only lane devoid of passenger-car traffic, and given that the dispatcher had (and apparently used) the ability to warn the bus drivers of the stalled car, and given that the traffic was reasonably light, and given that the visibility was high, I think advising them to stay in the car was not a bad thing to do. Nobody would ever have predicted or guessed that it would be possible that a bus could plow into the car at full speed under these circumstances. It’s just too ludicrous to be believed. Not only that, but for every story I read like this one, I also read one in which people get out of their cars to wait in a safe area, away from the road, only to be mowed down by someone swerving off the road and into the grass or flipping over the guardrail in order to avoid hitting the stalled car.

I agree 100%

 

[Micheal]

doesn't look like a man who just had a heart attck, nor does the article mention the possibility.

He looks fine! His great grandson doesn't look too pleased though....

 

[TonyD]

Malcom, i said that in my follow up, just before yours.

 

[Malcolm R]

Sorry. Just now noticed that. :b

 

[Leila Dougan]

And from this article: http://msnbc.com/news/939947.asp?0sl=-31

"Manahedgi said that when he went to pull the driver out, “I said, ‘Do you know what the hell you did?’ He said, ‘No.’ I just opened the door. I pulled him out.”"

If he STILL didn't have a clue what he did after he did it, then I'd certainly say he was an unfit driver.

 

[MarkHastings]

If he STILL didn't have a clue what he did after he did it, then I'd certainly say he was an unfit driver.

He could have been in shock. They are also inspecting the car for mechanical problems. I couldn't tell what kind of car it was, but I know of similar cars (I forget which model/make) that had similar problems where the car would just take off without warning.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a killjoy here, I realize that the man killed and injured many people, but I don't like to hear the immediate response of "He's an unfit driver" without knowing every fact.

 

[Prentice Cotham]

If someone drives a car into a crowded steet-market at 60 miles an hour, he is an unfit driver. This smells of the classic case of an old person mixing up the gas with the brake. I hear these stories all the time but this is the worst one ever. I'm not for re-testing old people. I'm for a limit to the driving age. Once you past 80 for example, you do not have the privelege of driving.

 

[SteveA]

Once you past 80 for example, you do not have the privelege of driving.

It'll never happen, because old folks vote in very large numbers. Any politician who proposed such a law would be kissing their career goodbye.