This was posted in today's Sun Sentinel newspaper.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sou...-home-headlines

Elderly Melbourne woman crashes car into neighbor's pool

The Associated Press
Posted November 7 2004, 6:29 PM EST

MELBOURNE (FL) -- An 80-year-old woman was pulled to safety by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper after she accidentally drove into her neighbor's swimming pool.

When Paulina Cacciabue tried to turn her car onto the neighborhood street, a tire lodged in a storm drain. She stepped on the gas instead of her brakes. Her sedan shot into the neighbor's yard Saturday and plunged into the pool.

Lucien Fecteau, who had never met his neighbor, was reading the newspaper and watching television as the car hit a tree stump, mailbox, fence and pool enclosure. He didn't notice anything until he saw state trooper Rodger Carpenter sprinting toward his pool.

"She was just floating there,'' said Fecteau.

Cacciabue escaped uninjured.

Carpenter, who was loading his truck in front of his home next door, said he watched Cacciabue approach the curve and turned away but realized the car had left the roadway.

Fecteau's pool will be drained and cleaned by environmental officials, a patrol spokesman said.

Imagine if this was not some neighbor's pool, but a public pool or a playground at a local park.

 

damn...

 

So you take an example of one person driving and generalize to octagenerians should not drive

I don't think women should drive b/c I saw a woman involved a fender bender last week.

 

I'm merely stating another example of why people over a certain age should be retested when it comes to renewing their driver's licenses. In Florida (and other states), the last year alone has produced tons of examples of senior citizens doing things like this. Not too long ago, a senior citizen, while trying to park at the post office, hit the gas pedal & slammed through the concrete block wall, killing a few people & injuring more.

I may be generalizing, but I don't think it's that far fetched to say that some (if not most) of the people over 75 years old should not be driving any more. What it comes down to is safety.

 

Yep its true here in SoFl. To many old people that are incapable of driving are on the road. Last year a intersection near where i live, Pines and Flamingo, was rated as the most dangerous intersection in the country. Guess what is a block away, a Century Village. I have watched many accidents occur because old people cannot even see over the wheel. Furthermore, today my friend was T-Boned by an 86 year old woman who ran a red light (she gave the same excuse to the police officer- gass instead of brake). Hes ok tho.

 

Oh c'mon, that's clearly not what she meant.