Luckily all St Helliers bikers survived this one

[YellowDog]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10692470&ref=rss

An elderly woman crashed her car into the BNZ bank on Polygon Rd in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers at around 10am this morning.

After the driver had hit the bank, she reversed, hit another vehicle than drove into the bank again.

Witnesses said the front of the woman's car was badly damaged, but she was understood to have suffered only a sore knee.

The bank's glass doors were broken, while the vehicle the woman backed into had damage to its left door.

Why are old people allowed to keep their licenses when they are not fit to drive and are a danger to all other human beings?

[Spearfish]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10692470&ref=rss

An elderly woman crashed her car into the BNZ bank on Polygon Rd in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers at around 10am this morning.

After the driver had hit the bank, she reversed, hit another vehicle than drove into the bank again.

Witnesses said the front of the woman's car was badly damaged, but she was understood to have suffered only a sore knee.

The bank's glass doors were broken, while the vehicle the woman backed into had damage to its left door.

Why are old people allowed to keep their licenses when they are not fit to drive and are a danger to all other human beings?

Because they don't stand out from the crowd? :facepalm:

And they fought a war for us...:violin:

[Hans]

Because they don't stand out from the crowd? :facepalm:

And they fought a war for us...:violin:

Nope. Because they can vote.

[nosebleed]

If it hadda been Starbucks, woulda been whole different outcome for Akld bikers :innocent:

[pzkpfw]

It's like when some nice old guy drives the wrong way up the motorway, mistaking an off-ramp for an on-ramp.

Sometimes it's not 'till they really screw it up that they realise that they are past it.

Sad.

No offence meant: I'll be an old crazy driver one day, too.

Government could maybe do a scheme where they take the old folks cars off them, and in return subsidise Taxi fares. (Not totally, as they would have been buying petrol and servicing their cars and paying for WOF & Lic anyway).

[Tink]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10692470&ref=rss

An elderly woman crashed her car into the BNZ bank on Polygon Rd in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers at around 10am this morning.

After the driver had hit the bank, she reversed, hit another vehicle than drove into the bank again.

Witnesses said the front of the woman's car was badly damaged, but she was understood to have suffered only a sore knee.

The bank's glass doors were broken, while the vehicle the woman backed into had damage to its left door.

Why are old people allowed to keep their licenses when they are not fit to drive and are a danger to all other human beings?

We as human beings are childlike in two stages of our lives, obviously from a baby to 16 and as an elderly person, we can loose all sense of ourselves (or not). Not ALL old people are useless drivers, just like not all young teens are loose cannons with a bullet at the end of their finger tips BUT we are all kin to someone, and if that someone is showing signs of not being in full capacity, then DO something about it.

Just spent the day on a course, and I was impressed with how Health and safety is paramount, and how ignorant human beings (some) are and can ignore the basic principles of courtesy, and helpfulness, to another human being. Kinda doh really!!

I hope that her family do something in this case to help her, but in saying that i hope she is charged with driving carelessly.

[firefighter]

If it hadda been Starbucks, woulda been whole different outcome for Akld bikers :innocent:

Starbucks? Why's that? No pubs where you're from? :drinkup:

[Mom]

My Mom was very frail in the last years of her life, she owned an 18 year old Toyota Corolla with no power steering or brakes. She was fiercely independant and continued to drive until she was too sick to walk any distance.

Every time I went down to see her there were additional dents in her car, a scrape here a dent there, then the rear tail light got broken. When I asked her about it she said she had no idea how it happened, someone must have hit her. I believed it the first time, but not the second etc. I could have made a bif scene about it, but decied to leave it, fortunately this stage only lasted a few months.

Mom lived in small town Thames and only ever drove to the doctors, or chemist, or the library, a short trip on quiet roads, I doubt I would have left her driving had she lived in Auckland with all its traffic.

[Brown Bear]

They do get cheap taxi fares already.

[neels]

And another one....

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/4429342/Elderly-driver-hits-wrong-pedal

You'd have to hope that's the end of her licence, once you've forgotten which pedal is which you probably shouldn't be driving any more.

[george formby]

Incidents like this chill me. I have a dear friend in his eighties who is still pretty able & sharp but his driving has reached the point were I now refuse to get in the car with him. He is completely oblivious to crossing the white line through corners, doing 80k in a 50k zone, potential hazards etc. Last time I was in the car with him I was terrified. All characteristics of bad drivers but in his case it's the clock ticking. He recently blacked out at home in the company of friends, click, like a light. The doc said it was probably a one off & doe's not affect his driving...:gob:
If he loses his licence then he will be screwed, another lonely old man stuck at home hoping for a visitor.
A lot of us will face this situation in years to come, I just hope that cars are driving themselves by then so I can travel drunk & dottled & safely.:yes: