Old people & driving

So here I am, running code at night, which makes the red & blue lights even more visible, so you'd think people would see, right??? You'd think that clearing an intersection would be easier because people can see the red & blue lights from a mile away, right??? Wrong!!! Think again!!! :evil:

So as I approach this intersection with loud red & blue lights, I slow down to about 20 mph because there is one (count'em -- 1) car to my right who might pull in front of me. Sure as sh*t, his light turns green, so he starts to pull out into the intersection, so I come to a full stop to let him go (because he's not yielding) and he gets halfway into the intersection and then he sees the big red & blue lights and he stops. If he can't see red & blue lights at night that are almost directly in front of him about 20 feet away, then what else can't he see while he's driving??? :roll:

So while we're on old people stories...

My light turned green, so I began to pull into the intersection. I had only gone about 6 feet into the green light when an 87 YOA woman runs her red light. After stopping her, she's really pissed off and she argues that the light was yellow (the last time she looked at it). All my loving memories of grandpa & grandma get tossed out the window as this really really old woman really lays it on me. :roll:

I don't want to be mean, but I gave her a ticket for running a red light (even though she's old).

Sometimes when a person says, "I still drive," it's the same as saying, "I'm not really old yet."

http://www.helpguide.org/life/senior_ci ... riving.htm (http://www.helpguide.org/life/senior_citizen_driving.htm)

Gosh did you hit the nail on the head w/that one. My biggest problems of driving all day are doing defensive driving tactics against these old geezers. It's just not fair they are allowed on the roadways endangering so many. They cut into lanes at the last minute, slam on their brakes while looking at a shopping mart, and do manuevers that not only us have difficulty avoiding, but the average citizen doesn't stand a chance. I'd love to see the stats on how the accident rate climbs during the season months.

Gosh did you hit the nail on the head w/that one. My biggest problems of driving all day are doing defensive driving tactics against these old geezers. It's just not fair they are allowed on the roadways endangering so many. They cut into lanes at the last minute, slam on their brakes while looking at a shopping mart, and do manuevers that not only us have difficulty avoiding, but the average citizen doesn't stand a chance. I'd love to see the stats on how the accident rate climbs during the season months.

A 90 year old woman pulled out from a side street onto Bee Ridge during rush hour traffic. She drove across all 7 lanes while traffic slammed on their brakes. :shock:

So I get behind her and turn on the red & blue lights. Hummmm, she's not yielding. Then I turn on my siren and she's still not yielding. So out of curiousity, I hit the odometer button to see how far she's going to drive before she stops. :roll:

We drove 1.5 miles at 30 mph in a 45 mph zone when she was finally FORCED to stop for traffic that was backed up at a red light. :?

So I walk up to her drivers door and she refuses to look at me. She just sits there, hunched over in her seat with both white knuckled hands squeezing-to-death her steering wheel. So I finally start tapping on the window and then she looks up at me and says, "Who??? Me??? You want me???" :lol:

Yeaaa lady, I want you!!!!! Pull over into that parking lot (and I pointed to it)!!! :twisted:

Now, it turns out that she is a fully dressed 90 YOA Catholic Nun. :shock: And when I told her what she did, she denied it all. :roll: And then she refused to sign the ticket for failing to yield to Bee Ridge traffic (when she almost caused multiple crashes by cutting across 7 lanes of traffic from a side street). :cry:

Now I don't know about you, but I am NOT going to arrest a 90 YOA Nun for refusing to sign a ticket, so I BEGGED her to sign it -- and she finally did, but under protest. :?

So after she signs the ticket, I hand it to her and she angrily snatched it out of my hand and then she accidently put her car in reverse (instead of forward) and she accelerated and backed into my patrol car and hit it --- and then she put her car in forward and drove away without stopping to see the crash damages to my car. :?

I looked at my front bumper and only saw a transfer of paint, so I just let her go. But I did get her DL reexamined, which resulted in the permanent loss of her DL because she couldn't pass the medical exam.

Welcome to Florida!!!!! :shock:

[CHUCKY CHEEEZE]

I get them on a weekly basis where they dont stop until they are caught at a light. They literally never know Im there until I knock on their glass, then they freak out and lock the doors and start screaming. They shouldnt be behind the wheel but they make the NADA and AARP so much money they lobby against any move to test these driving-s7's . As you appraoch, the problem is they dont see you, but it gets worse if they suddenly come out of a coma as you get righ on them becuse they yank the wheel, slam on the brakes etc....
Between them and all the teenagers running around with the 50-cent so loud they can't hear whelen live in concert, it's really dangerous running code these days. GOD forbid you have an unmarked, you're twice as invisible.

The Old people live in sarasota, their parents live in St Pete

these driving-s7's

Now THAT was funny

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Any one see the news story last week about the 81 year old pilot who killed his grandson and himself when he crash landed? Why in the world are we letting someone FLY A PLANE at 81! Come On! Isn't it bad enough they are on the roadway? I can only imagine how much the "mail in pilot's license renewal fee" must be. At least the cost of two early birds!

81YO pilot Harlan Northcutt didn't have his grandson with him. He was flying an Angel Flight mission, flying a 49YO female cancer patient and a friend of her family home after she received treatment in Tampa. His son and grandson were flying to FL in their own plane at the time of the crash. They were coming to visit, and Mr. Northcutt told his son he was so looking forward to seeing him again, that he had an Angel Flight trip and would see them that evening. Tragedy for all involved.

The laws need to change to make the elderly retake their driving test annually past a certain age or at least when they qualify for a handicap parking permit simply for their age. The problem is in order to change the law it needs to go through the legislature. Which is of course....... A bunch of senior citizen drivers who don't want to lose their privelage to drive. And it's just that, a privelage not a right. So until another way can be found to create new laws or restrictoins I guess it's all about responding to the crashes and shaking your head.

I work at a medical facility here in SRQ, and had a man come in for a proceedure where he needed a ride home. He was 97 and stated he drove himself. I thought it couldn't be... but it was. He not only drove himself, but left his car in front of the doors AND thought he was going to drive himself home after receiving anesthesia... He had some wits about him... but took 18 minutes to move his vehicle from the door to a parking spot on the 1st floor of the garage, and that includes a golf cart ride from the garage to the entrance door..............

How does this happen? How was he still driving (A nice Lexus SUV) at 97 ????????????????

It was 0400 hours and while I was northbound on Tamiami Trail in the Venice area, I noticed a car driving about 7 mph, so I pulled him over. It was an old man who was about a billion years old with Alzheimers. He didn't know who he was or where he was and he was driving his car like it was a buggy being pulled by horses e.g. 7 mph. :roll:

They're out there!!!! :shock:

Now, it turns out that she is a fully dressed 90 YOA Catholic Nun. :shock: And when I told her what she did, she denied it all. :roll: And then she refused to sign the ticket for failing to yield to Bee Ridge traffic (when she almost caused multiple crashes by cutting across 7 lanes of traffic from a side street). :cry:

Now I don't know about you, but I am NOT going to arrest a 90 YOA Nun for refusing to sign a ticket, so I BEGGED her to sign it -- and she finally did, but under protest. :?

So after she signs the ticket, I hand it to her and she angrily snatched it out of my hand and then she accidently put her car in reverse (instead of forward) and she accelerated and backed into my patrol car and hit it --- and then she put her car in forward and drove away without stopping to see the crash damages to my car. :?

I looked at my front bumper and only saw a transfer of paint, so I just let her go. But I did get her DL reexamined, which resulted in the permanent loss of her DL because she couldn't pass the medical exam.

Welcome to Florida!!!!! :shock:

I completely understand why you did what you did. Still, you should have reported her to the Diocese. Her attitude wasn't right. :roll: