I have a story I'm going to tell and prior to reading it keep in mind that it is funny,sad,and scary all at the same time. So don't be afraid to laugh,cry,and cringe.

Friday, January 3rd, 2008

My Grandmother and her husband Bob took a trip to Wal-Mart. My Grandma is in her mid-eighties, Bob is 93. So the couple go to Wal-Mart for their necessities and they prepare to leave. Now, they drive a Mercury Grand Marquis if you don't know what that is it's a big boat of a car. Bob is driving, he puts the car in reverse and proceeds to back out of his parking spot. They were parked about a quarter of the way down in the parking lot. Bob backs all the way through the parking lot and into the front of the Wal-mart through the doors. Now, at this point you might say, Oh my God, thats funny is everyone all right. At this point it takes a turn for the worse. Bob not realizing he just backed into the store literally, puts the vehcle in drive pulls forward (this is where the story gets uncertain) gets confused stops puts the car in reverse and backs into the store again. Now, this is where it gets scary, he pulled away from the store and backed into it a third time. No one was injured, Thankfully. The authorities called my Dad at work, because he is their emergency contact.

This story is funny because he backed into Wal-Mart.

This story is sad because of the embarrassment they felt and the way my Dad had to have felt having to go get his Mom for something like that.

This story is scary because Bob is a legal driver, he passed his drivers exam recently.

The question I'm posing is should there be an age limit for drivers or some sort of policy change making it more difficult for seniors to get a license?

The situation in this story could have been much worse making it not even a little laughable.

i don't think there should be any policies that make it HARDER for seniors to get their licenses. i do think they need to be tested more often, and i think the tests need to be more in-depth. heck, i think they should be more in-depth for EVERYONE. especially teenagers. in fact, 14 year olds should have HARDER tests.

if bob passed a test recently, then obviously the test wasn't a great test. maybe it was just a knowledge test? i think seniors should be tested every year, and they should have to do an actual drivers test at least every two.

i feel bad for your grandparents. i'm sure they're pretty embarrassed. hope everyone's okay!

I like to think that on some level, 'Bob' ran into Wal-Mart intentionally. lol

But seriously, I think at the ripe ole age of 70, drivers should be required to take the driving test annually and at 80, it should be taken bi-anually. I know it seems harsh, but not a week goes by that I don't hear of some old kodger running something, or someone, down. And 9 times oot of 10, it is because they weren't paying enough attention. (IMO)

We've already had this discussion here at Plime.

I still think ALL drivers should get retested bianually. We require pilots to prove their proficiency annually, so why not do the same to drivers? So many people forget the rules of the road, and I think biannual or annual testing would benefit us all.

I my hometown, the post office is located at the top of a hill. An elderly lady in our church once parked there, got her mail, and then jumped the parking barrier and the curb in her Crown Vic, careened down the hill, piled through a tree, crossed the highway at the bottom of the hill, and finally came to a screeching halt in the ditch well over 50 yds away. She was ultimately unharmed, and said she thought she'd had it in reverse; I guess having to put the gas pedal to the floor in order to clear the barrier apparently wasn't enough to clue her in to her error. I wouldn't ride anywhere with her if you paid me.

Unfortunately I'm forced to agree with Moe. Not all, but most elderly drivers have absolutely no business driving. Perhaps licensing laws should be stricter with age, with more frequent competency testing.

I don't think giving them a driving test is going to do any good because the person giving the test is not trained in problems with the eldery.

Bob knows how to drive. He's been driving longer than all of us have been drawing air. 99% of the time, he probably does fine, but Bob is getting up there in age, and needs a doctor, or similar medical professional to test his mental stability. A state trooper is not going to be able to do this during a 15 minute driving test.

Truck drivers, and I'm sure many professional drivers, have to get a full physical every two years. They have to have a medical card on them at all times that states they are medically cleared to drive.

Senior citizens should be no different. I know everybody thinks driving is a right, but it's not, and our driving population is just get older.

Want somebody think of the Walmart greeters?

One of my grandmothers still drives, and it's a source of frustration and worry. She said she'd give up her license 2 years ago.

It's good that no one was injured, but I hope that Bob reconsiders driving, for his own safety as well as everyone elses.

By biannual, are you referring to once every other year, or twice a year. (I hate the word biannual for that exact reason, by the way)

Weird, I was watching the South Park about this while you were posting it. I, um, I agree with South Park on the issue.

I had forgotten about that episode, but its just like that. I've been driving for my Grandma since before I even had a license, but now that I'm older I'm lucky to even have the time to see her once a week. Bob has no business driving I think he bribes the DMV employees so that he can keep his license. He hits stuff often, this is just the first major public incedent.

Ooh - My bad. I mean biennial - every two years.