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AN ELDERLY COUPLE are recovering in hospital after an incident earlier this afternoon when their car crashed into a river in Boyle, Co Roscommon.
It happened at a bridge on the Boyle River shortly before 2pm. Their car crashed through the wall of the bridge and into the water below.
Local emergency services, including two ambulances, one fire brigade unit and at least eight gardaí responded, according to an eye-witness at the scene.
The couple the car for around an hour before they were freed and taken ashore.
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The man (84) and woman (82) were then taken for treatment to Sligo General Hospital.
A garda spokesperson said the couple were suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Locals said the car — an automatic vehicle — was seen accelerating before the crash happened.
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Seriously how can people in their 80′s be safe drivers? Vision, reaction, perception of speed and distance are all factors needed to drive safely and I don’t think these functions are at their sharpest in 80 year olds
It’s entirely reasonable to suggest that the driving abilities of someone should be reassessed when they reach old age. That has nothing to do with “waiting at home until they die” and everything to do with common sense.
My grandfather is in his mid eighties and has never had any issues with his driving.
I feel alot safer when travelling in the car with him than I do with alot of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Experience plays a big part in this, and the older drivers often slow down their driving and approach things with more caution than a younger person might. This allows for the drop in reaction times etc.
They should be banned from driving over the age of 80… menace on the roads they great free travel ffs. I could have been out walking on that bridge when the car came hurtling toward me.. its like grey dawn all over again.
Eoin sorry but its because of those slow reaction times that he shouldn’t be driving and driving unduly slowly isn’t safe either especially on main roads.
Over 70 people have to be deemed fit to drive by their GP I think every 3 years and over 80 it is more frequent. Eyesight has to pass, I do not know if there is a standard test for reaction speed or stamina, I think it is down to the GP opinion. Which is a two edged sword, the family doctor would be reluctant to deprive an older person of their independence. Most older people self limit, drive shorter distances, drive only in daylight, drive more slowly. It is a tricky one to get right so everyone is fairly and safely treated.
Who said anything about letting them sit home and die but should people who’s driving skills don’t meet the required standard just go unsupervised and wait until they kill themself or others.
If he’s able to drive and has all the skills needed included vision, reaction speed, perception etc then fine but this is a safety issue that needs some guidelines other than the live long family friend GP.
Your correct, it’s the GP that normally tends to decide fitness to drive. This is however changing slightly. GP are referring people for Driving Assessments where a report is sent to the GP outlining driving performance and behaviours to help them determine someone’s fitness to drive.
@michael Walsh In addition to your comment, A GP can refer to An occupational therapist who can assess performance components for driving when there are concerns, using standardised tests to assess motor skills required, visiual / perception skills, cognitive skills such as attention, working memory, reaction speeds etc. if concerns remain after this assessment then an on road assessment by a driving assessor can be completed. In many countries such as USA and Australia, many OTs are qualified in both on road and off road assessment. As has been mentioned many older people have been proven to be amongst the safest groups on the road.
How can complex computer-driven vehicles with glitches inherent in the electronic throttle control system software be allowed to be on the roads…especially in the absence of an effective and reliable fail-safe? Well, they are! Many of these vehicles are suddenly accelerating even from a standstill in parking lots and end up crashing into storefronts, buildings, and homes. Some of these incidents are initiated with braking…that’s right…before any accelerator pedal depression. It seems to many of the victims that their vehicle has a “mind of its own.” Indeed it does for the seconds in the SUA event! The electronic glitch causes the engine to do something you didn’t intend for it to do…it isn’t you using the wrong pedal at all. Most of the public assumes that the sudden acceleration events are mechanical only. At least tests what Toyota led the public to believe during the now infamous criminal investigation .
These SUA events are not age, gender, or medically-related. It seems the automaker reputation management company representatives would like you to believe they are. There is a concerted effort to bombard the readers with the information that this is solely a “driver error”…a.k.a. “pedal misapplication” matter. No, this is a potentially DEADLY event…to drivers, their passengers, by-standers, and those anywhere in the bizarre path these glitch-controlled vehicles take. Braking and steering are not effective…so BE CAREFUL.
I would say a lot of elderly drivers rely on their cars to get out and about and do their shopping and such things but agree that they should be tested at a certain age to make sure they are no harm to themselves or anybody else on the roads. That goes for people who may have heart conditions or any medical reason that may cause an accident. At least they are both ok and nobody has been seriously hurt.
I wouldn’t agree that all older people should have their driving assessed, some stats show that children are safer in their grandparents car than own parents. Older people also tend to cause less accidents per kilometre travelled than any other group. Those with medical conditions that may affect driving can be assessed by a Driving Assessment Specialist both young and old. Sláinte agus Tiomáint is the new guidelines on Medical Fitness to Drive. I work in this area and family’s who are concerned about older family members driving should consider discussing it with their GP and referring them for an assessment if required.
Talk about a sweeping generalisation with absolutely no evidence of any kind behind it. If any age group were to be banned from the road based on accident statistics it would be young male drivers.
Yes sunshine, let us ignore all of the scientific data about old age causing slower reactions, vision impairment, hearing difficulties, memory loss and dementia.
PS: You’re overlooking the impact that elderly drivers have on the road in general. i.e. What do you think happens when somebody is driving 20 under the limit? Traffic gets obstructed and people begin to overtake.
They really made a mess of that pretty bridge in the middle of town. The car must have been going very fast in the town centre to punch a hole through a solid stone wall like that. Lucky no pedestrians were killed.
The guards didnt arrive till after d ambulance and fire brigade so they wouldnt get wet FACT even though d garda station is less than 120 seconds frm d bridge
Have to agree with Johnny Five on this. There is absolutely no doubt but that very elderly drivers are a greater potential hazard than younger drivers.
You cannot invoke traffic accident statistics as they will obviously show more accidents involving younger drivers due to the sheer number of younger drivers on the road compared to elderly drivers.
What was the make, model, and model year of the vehicle? Toyota is #1 in cases of sudden unintended acceleration and FORD is #2. The current unintended acceleration plaguing newer vehicles is the electronically-induced type. The engine throttle control systems depend on computer software to command them. Sometimes glitches occur…like in some of your other electronic devices…which can cause the command to be different than what you desire. The evidence of the glitch is often undetectable after the vehicle is restarted. Unfortunately, the EDR (black box) is not always accurate as shown by expert Dr. Antony Anderson in his analysis of a 2012 Toyota Highlander. The EDR results indicated the driver was not braking when she was doing so. The EDR results are inconsistent.
The key to avoiding a horrific crash during a SUA event is whether or not the vehicle has an effective fail-safe in the event a glitch occurs. If it does not, as in the case of the glitch-prone Toyota ETCS-i, then the vehicle may become a runaway with an ineffective means to stop it. Unfortunately, the safety standards aren’t as strict in automobiles as they are in airplanes. Some manufacturers have more effective fail-safes than others. In the case of Toyota, an embedded software expert, Michael Barr (see Oklahoma Bookout vs. Toyota court case involving a 2005 Camry) found that an electronic glitch could induce a SUA event. Another expert, Dr. Henning Leidecker, found that a SUA event could also be triggered by “tin whisker” formation, particularly in 2002-2006 Toyota Camry vehicles.
SUA events have been DEADLY for vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians and people in storefronts, buildings, and even homes. The numbers of such crashes are ever-increasing with the advent of the very complex ELECTRONIC throttle control systems.
With the increase in such serious vehicle crashes, there is a concerted effort to show driver “pedal misapplication” or a “medical condition” or some other reason for the incident…anything other than a vehicle defect. Investigators aren’t scrutinizing the buggy electronic throttle control software or other conditions that can elicit a terrifying sudden unintended acceleration incident. They usually just examine the *mechanical* causes which tend to be just red herrings in these cases. Investigators simply don’t have the expertise to find such electronic glitches. In fact, the staff at the NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, do not have this very specialized training!
Think of it…the next step in electronically-controlled vehicles seems to be so-called “self-driving cars.” Do YOU want to be in a such a vehicle when there is no evidence that strict safety standards, particularly in the throttle control system’s software, have been adhered to? Will you just BLINDLY trust the automaker (criminally-investigated and nearly-prosecuted Toyota and soon-to-be GM and others?) to come through for you and your family’s safety *on its own*?
A recently published article speaks to these very issues and poses tough questions about Google’s “driverless” vehicles. Educate yourself carefully before you put your faith in automakers who have knowingly lied to their customers and the government for decades. Study the issue of vehicle electronic sudden unintended acceleration and ask WHY we aren’t seeing it addressed publicly. WHY is blame placed on the driver with little more than speculation about which pedal was used or with little more than an assumption on medical condition. This is being done *even when the drivers steadfastly cite a VEHICLE PROBLEM as the cause of the crash. Absence of proof is not proof of absence of a serious ELECTRONIC computer glitch or other electronically-caused SUA.
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