Aged Road Warriors On Highway To Hell

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Asahi: Wrong-lane expressway driving incidents top 900 in 2008
Drivers mistakenly used wrong expressways lanes that put them in line with oncoming traffic 914 times in 2008, the third consecutive year for the figure to top 900, expressway operators said. Around 40 percent of accidents caused by such mistakes involved drivers 65 or older...Officials of the National Police Agency said such wayward driving caused 258 accidents resulting in injury or death of others between January 2001 and the end of February this year. Sixty-nine people were killed and 435 suffered injuries of varying degrees. That translates into an average 2.6 accidents each month and 5.1 people injured or killed. According to Osaka-based West Nippon Expressway Co., 44.7 percent of wrong-lane accidents between 2002 and 2006 were caused by drivers 65 or older. In comparison, 4.7 percent of all expressway accidents are caused by elderly drivers..."The reason elderly people are more prone to making such mistakes is because they are less capable of recognizing the surrounding situation," Kazumi Renge, a professor of traffic psychology at Tezukayama University in Nara, said. "Many tend to mistakenly drive for long distances on the outside fast lane (for traffic going in the opposite direction) thinking that they are on the left lane"...more...

Related FG Threads: Killer old farts cause 42.6% of traffic deaths and Aged Road Warrior Risks

[MrSatyre]

Twice in my life I've seen truly staggering examples of when it's past time to hand over your driver's license.

Once I was driving North home to VA from NC in the States, on a very straight and level stretch of one-way I-85. I saw multiple pairs of brake lights appear several miles ahead of me, so I immediately slowed. Then I started to see people pulling off the road, and I slowed even more. Then...way in the distance...I saw a bright white light. It grew in intensity. Completely baffled, I pulled off the road and waited. The light grew brighter and closer until suddenly I realized I was looking at a pair of headlights! Several moments later, a large old Cadillac drove past me in the opposite direction South (again, on a one-way North-bound stretch of interstate highway). It was not moving fast, and it was not moving erratically, so I got a clear look at the driver. He was at least 70 years old, and staring straight ahead. Amazed, I watched him in my rear view mirror until he drove out of sight over the horizon.

The second time, driving North on I-95 outside of Springfield, VA, everyone slammed on their brakes and all four lanes came to a complete halt, and I watched as a car backed up and did a U-turn to catch the exit they had driven past. Old person at the wheel? Don't know for sure, but who wants to bet?

[Greji]

Twice in my life I've seen truly staggering examples of when it's past time to hand over your driver's license.

How do you set an age on this? Some 20 year olds should not be allowed behind the wheel. Driving ability and common sense can be missing at any age. Japan has an advanced electronic test on license renewal, which tests reactions, distancing and signal recognition that everyone 65 to 70 must take and at age 70, the driver must take an actual driving test in a vehicle with a DMV testing monitor.

[Big Booger]

maybe they should add larger WRONG WAY signs with bright colors and reflective tape so that the elderly drivers can see that they are going the wrong fucking way. Cars should also be equipped with warnings when you drive in the wrong direction that scare the hell out of you and get you going back in the right direction.

[bigbambooba]

First time post but long time lurker here.

Apart from the old crooners and trucks piled with scaffolding the worst drivers are the prats who drive Nissan cubes...they have no clue whatsoever. I allways allways keep my distance from these muppets.

[Taro Toporific]

1 in 6 drivers suffering dementia have caused car accidents
Mainichi -- March 17, 2009
One in six drivers suffering from dementia have caused car accidents since they were diagnosed with the condition, a national survey by the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society has found.
Amid growing concerns over dangerous driving by those suffering from cognitive impairment, including driving the wrong way on expressways, the survey has revealed the actual condition of dementia driving on a national basis for the first time....
<big snip>
....from June this year, the National Police Agency will start to perform cognitive function tests on those aged 75 years old and over when renewing their driver's license, in order to assess the damage caused to memory and judgment by aging.
However, as Manabu Ikeda, a professor of neuropsychiatry at Kumamoto University's Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a member of the survey team, points out: "The cognitive function tests are restricted to those aged 75 and over, which means almost half of drivers with dementia may not be tested. A reduction in the age of those to be tested should be considered."