In San Diego, a truck ran off the ravine when its 75-year old driver mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake.

It fell 200 feet down the ravine through thick vegetation before landing on its roof. The truck’s 77-year old passenger managed to get out of the vehicle but the elderly driver was trapped and unconscious. The driver was extricated by rescuers and was airlifted to the hospital.

The 77-year old passenger allegedly told authorities that his friend had a bad hip. Park Ranger Noel Adams also said that the driver told her he had a bad foot.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Maurice Luque said that the two old men were wearing their seatbelts which saved them from getting thrown out of the truck.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, people aged 70 years and older represented approximately 12 percent of the driving age population and about 10 percent of all drivers in the US.

The Federal Highway Administration reported that there were more than 20 million licensed drivers 70 and older in 2007.

While elderly drivers are involved less in fatal car crashes than teenagers, there were still 4,598 people above 70 years old who died in motor vehicle crashes back in 2007. An elderly driver’s physical, cognitive, and visual abilities may decline as they advance in age.

It is impossible to generalize that like drunk drivers, all older drivers are potential road risks. Some elderly drivers are in excellent shape while some, like the 75-year old driver who drove his truck have certain physical limitations that may impair their driving skills.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has a Mature Driver Program which is an eight hour course for drivers 55 years old and older. It covers a variety of topics of special interest to the mature driver and some insurance providers offer discounts for elderly drivers who complete the class and receive a completion certificate.

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Tags: car crashes

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 9:47 pm and is filed under Car Accident, Personal Injury. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.