By: Don Caldwell
One can be too young to drive, but can one be too old?
Excerpts Italicized:
Pennsylvania State Police questioned an 84-year-old female from Wilmington in connection with a wrong-way driving incident on I-95 Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses say she was travelling east in the westbound lanes of Route 322, and then she got on the southbound lanes of I-95 travelling northbound, causing a number of crashes along the way.
It was shot on a cell phone by a citizen by the name of Tim Fleming, who says the situation could have been a lot worse.
“She just kept on staring straight and had her hands on the wheel staring straight. Just oblivious like she didn’t even know. It was just so surreal. Hundreds of people. they were extremely lucky they didn’t die,” said Fleming.
Fortunately, there were no reported injuries from the crashes.
Trucks and cars had to swerve to get out of the path of the Buick Century station wagon.
The elderly woman has not been formally charged with a crime at this time.
The age of a person should not by and of itself disqualify one from driving, rather we should think about whether we should have a policy of testing citizens at a certain age. Would testing for such things as: eye-sight, mental competence (Alzheimer's?), overly frail physical state, etc….be fair? Would that perhaps have prevented this from occurring? What harm would it cause someone emotionally, if we took away something that is considered so necessary in our society, from someone who has done for decades? Is public transportation in place to offset the possible lack of personal transportation? Should that really be the focus? And last but not least, would families come together to take care of their elders?
(ORIGINAL LINK) Elderly Woman Drives ‘Wrong Way’ On I-95 « CBS Philly – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of Philadelphia
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