Auto auction tragedy

Mazdax605 wrote: License has been suspended 4 times apparently. Currently it was permanently revoked.

Still legal to drive a private vehicle on private property. Wise? Can't tell from here. Legal? Yes.

Being in the "old age group" I tend to take exception to some of the comments.

BUT then I guess I am an exception. I like to take a brisk drive on a crooked road, I am comfortable at high speed and in traffic. I am always aware of my surroundings. I gave up track days due to loss of disposable income.

So that is just me. I guess.

Duke wrote:

Mazdax605 wrote: License has been suspended 4 times apparently. Currently it was permanently revoked.

Still legal to drive a private vehicle on private property. Wise? Can't tell from here. Legal? Yes.

Insurable, Hell No.

In reply to iceracer:

There are always exceptions. We recently had a bus driver retire at 70, pushing his way through city traffic right to the end. The problem while a good driver can eventually become average, when you start with mediocre skills they deteriorate to poor ones.

In reply to iceracer:

There's always exceptions. Good thing you would pass a simple test that happens maybe every couple years that takes 20-30minutes of your time, then go hit some back roads with a smile on your face. (Meanwhile maybe someone else doesn't, and another family gets spared an accident.)

I fully support regular testing for ALL drivers every time their license is renewed, but possibly at a shorter interval for older drivers.

Another tactic for getting people off the road that have mental or physical issues that would hinder their driving abilities would be increased cooperation between doctors and the licensing authorities. So if someone gets a diagnosis, it's reported and their license is suspended pending improved diagnosis, a passed drivers test or something.

Indeed. I mean, Paul Newman was still winning races deep into his 70s, wasn't he?

Meanwhile, that guy you saw being a complete moron in his early 30s? What's HE going to be like in 40 years? And thanks to advances in automotive safety, not only will he be more likely to live that long despite his best efforts, but relying on active nannies will actually make him worse.

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Apexcarver: That's the states fault. A seizure diagnosis in SC means 6 months loss of license, minimum. Then you must be without a seizure for at least 6 months before you can apply again.

Same in Ohio.

It makes me really scared when there are mumblings to reclassify migraines as seizures. Which, they kind of are, but kind of aren't, because you retain your faculties while it's happening. (I had one yesterday morning. It threw me off for most of the day.)

The unintended consequence of such laws, of course, is that people who do get seizures refuse to see a doctor because they don't want to lose their driver's license. Coincidentally enough, I have never been medically diagnosed with migraine and have never seen a doctor about it so anything I saw or write about getting them is unsubstantiated rumor.

In reply to RX8driver:

Problem is doctors putting their patient's independence over the safety of the public.
(On top of the obvious problems of people being too prideful/stubborn/blind to their inability to drive)

RX8driver wrote: I fully support regular testing for ALL drivers every time their license is renewed, but possibly at a shorter interval for older drivers. Another tactic for getting people off the road that have mental or physical issues that would hinder their driving abilities would be increased cooperation between doctors and the licensing authorities. So if someone gets a diagnosis, it's reported and their license is suspended pending improved diagnosis, a passed drivers test or something.

There's actually a lawsuit about that here in PA right now.

As an act of vengeance in a divorce, a man submitted an anonymous complaint to the dmv that his (soon to be ex) wife shouldn't be allowed to drive by doctors orders.

No actual doctors orders needed, no sort of proof needed at all, the dmv revoked her license until she gets a full physical and checkup.

Turns out "concerned friends and family" have the option to anonymously call the state and have someone license pulled, and it's up to the person who got it taken away to prove they're able to drive.

While I immediately started thinking of people to prank before this loophole is closed, it does have some merit for the older people.

Story time:

My grandfather was over 90 before he quit driving. Blind in one eye, cataracts in the other, a driving position that makes "gangster lean" look straight up and down. Honestly, I drove better with a fifth of whiskey in me than he could sober, but no one from the state gave a E36 M3, at all. We didn't know we could call and have his licensed pulled, but he eventually got the hint and stopped driving about a month before he died. He had a Damn stair lift put in the garage to get to the car, I think at that point, driving days are over.

Our driver's licenses are good for like 4-5 years. I'd have zero problems with having to take a test every other time or so it was renewed, and a vision test EVERY time your license was renewed.

Accidents don't usually have single causes. I concede that age may be a factor, but it is far more likely from a statistical viewpoint to involve younger drivers than older ones. I am very much in favour of regular retesting.

By the way the only data I could find that examined medical causes for accidents generated a rate of around 1%, usually older males in single car crashes.

I can't even imagine employing a person with a revoked license to drive your cars regardless of legality. Especially when it's done around crowds of people. That's astonishingly irresponsible.

In reply to dculberson:

It's entirely possible that they didn't. He most likely had one when he was hired and then the DMV took it and they never checked. We check for notices of license suspensions and revocations daily, get a surprising number and very few of them have to do with actual driving infractions. Most are due to not paying some sort of fee or a paperwork snafu for people that work in one state and live in another.

A fourth person has died today as a result of this accident. The auction was back open for business today. Latest I've read was the operator of the Jeep hasn't been charged with anything as of yet.