On the news tonight - there are 87 people over 100 in Nebraska that

[acmavm]

still have driver's licenses.

Now, in light of that statement, let me post the newspaper article about what happened to my son's best friend's mother...

Published Thursday | May 3, 2007
Woman dies after being hit by car, pinned underneath
BY JENNIFER PALMER AND ABE WINTER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS



Suzanne Nogowski liked to take walks over her lunch hour.

That's what the 41-year-old Omaha woman was doing Thursday when she recognized someone in a Kia Spectra at a stop sign on 21st Street at Cuming and stopped to talk.

Meanwhile, 94-year-old Dorothy E. Anderson of Omaha was driving down Cuming Street in a Cadillac. That's when their lives tragically collided.

Anderson, who police said had a prior health condition, lost control of her car. The Cadillac hopped a curb, barreled between a power pole and a light pole, and nearly struck a man on a cigarette break.

The Cadillac then struck Nogowski and the Kia, stopping partially on the sidewalk.

Nogowski was pinned under the car.

Employees of a nearby business used a forklift to get the car off her, said Officer Bill Dropinski, an Omaha police spokesman.

Nogowski was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, where she died.

Anderson was also taken to the hospital, where she was listed in fair condition Thursday night.

Mark Nogowski, Suzanne Nogowski's husband of 10 years, said he was told Anderson had lost consciousness before the accident.

Anderson's driver's license is listed as valid until June 2010. She has no convictions or accidents listed on her record.

________________________________________________________________________

Why the hell would anyone that old be allowed to drive? This woman's license wouldn't expire until she was 97 friggin' years old. She did not have conscience enough to keep off the streets even though she had health problems.

I think this is a travesty. Am I wrong?????

[Fresh_Start]

1. drivers and gun owners both ought to have regular

certification of competence.

[TwilightGardener]

2. I didn't read that today--but absolutely awful. Someone should

have had the judgment in her family to take her license--I hold her relatives as responsible as the elderly lady. Take the damn Caddy and the keys!

[rodeodance]

3. you are wrong-Age may be a factor--but each case is individual.

[acmavm]

7. No, not really. All it takes is that one time when their health or mind fails.

And at that age, it happens all the time.

It's not a disgrace (except in this case where this horrid old woman didn't have the decency to keep off the roads when she knew she had health issues).

[bamacrat]

4. Totally right, people above 70 should have to take yearly driving tests.

I know there are many 80 year olds who are in perfect shape and are completely competent when it come to driving. But, it is fact that as people age their reflexes slow and the eye sight diminishes, testing old people routinely just make sense.

[Catherine Vincent]

5. That's so sad.

If I make it that age, I wouldn't want to drive for fear that something like that would happen. :(

[no_hypocrisy]

6. No, I agree with you.

Here's the problem. Unless new laws are passed, one of two ways can geriatric drivers be made to stop driving. One: Their kids take away their keys. (Unlikely unless they are sure "Dad" is inevitably going to kill someone.) Two: If a driver (of any age) reports three accidents to their insurance carrier within five years (I think), their name is given to the state's DMV and another operator's test is required when the license is renewed. (This is easy to get around if the accident-prone driver doesn't kill someone and pays for the damage w/o a police and insurance report.)

And as a member of the Baby Boomers, consider this: a large demographic of old people who refuse to be told what (not) to do. Even if you are a good driver, there will be a lot more stories like the one you cited in a few years.

[acmavm]

8. Yep, I know. I have about 8 mini strokes and two major strokes in a

14-hour period. I didn't drive for a long time. Not until I was back to normal. Luckily I had my strokes in a 'good' place where I could recover. If I hadn't made a full recovery, I would NEVER have gotten behind the wheel of a car ever again. For my son's safety, for my own safety, and for everyone else as well.

[parasim]

9. Yet, drivers under 25 are worse, statistically...

According to these studies, teenagers are the real threat on the highways. Of course, as the population ages, there will be more car crash fatalities involving the elderly, but still, it appears that keeping kids from getting driver's licenses in the first place would have a similar effect to keeping folks above 75 off the road.

http://www.luhs.org/depts/injprev/Transprt/tran3.htm

on edit: ok, i checked out those statistics more closely and it does appear that elderly drivers are more of a threat to the safety of others, as most of the older folks' accidents involve other vehicles and pedestrians and the kids' are involved in more single car accidents. Anyway, I learned some new stuff this afternoon, thanks to your post. :)

[valerief]

10. You're right. Cars, like guns, are weapons of destruction. nt