Guest Post by Eric Peters
I wish I’d filmed this one – but I was too busy swerving to avoid a head-on collision.
I was at a “T” intersection, waiting for the light to go green so that I could make a left turn and merge with southbound traffic. The light turned green, I began my turn… and found myself almost head-to-head with a Coot driving the wrong got-damned way down the street!
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
The biddy was wearing those Old People oversized sunglasses – which to me is like seeing a guy guzzling straight from a fifth of Jack Daniels. But the old coot glasses – and certainty of, at best, really poor vision and probably glaucomic poor vision – are given a pass by law (and law enforcement) while the Jack Daniels results in merciless and brutal prosecution by the law and law enforcement.
Why?
Isn’t impairment the relevant consideration?
No, it isn’t.
If it were, old coots who can barely see – and advertise the fact by wearing those huge Old People oversized sunglasses – would be pulled over and taken of the roads as aggressively as the law and law enforcement go after those who tipple, even if slightly (and even though their impairment is hugely debatable or at least, not established).
But, no.
The blind – but sober! – are free to wander over the double yellow, drive the wrong way down streets, onto curbs… . Because they are merely old. We will all be old one day ( a cop actually told me so, once) and therefore we must be patient and understanding.
No matter the mayhem caused and risk presented.
Even the usual warble-that-justifies-anything – saaaaaaaaaafety! – is powerless wen it comes to the glaucomic ancient among us.
Had this old bird head-on’d my VW Atlas press car (thankfully, it was not my car) the old bird would not have been dragged from her car, thrown over the hood and had her blood forcibly drawn. Probably, the law enforcer would be solicitous toward the old bird; she is probably someone’s grandmother!
Try that one after having run into someone head-on after driving the wrong way down the street… after having had one too many.
And it’s not just the enfeebled and blind. It is toleration of shitty driving generally. The last thing that is expected of anyone is competence behind the wheel. But tread over the politically incorrect line when it comes to drinking – or speeding – even when both are done competently and responsibly, with nothing to point at that could be adduced as evidence of impaired driving – and it’s crucifixion time.
I left the old bird waiting to make her own left turn – from the wrong lane and facing the wrong way. As oblivious as a guy half her age and three times as drunk.
But glaucomic grandma will not be taken off the road.
At least, not until she finally does kill someone.
Old people have to go places too. As a society if we ‘ground’ them we are going to have to make other arrangements for them… or kill them. Maybe you could volunteer a couple of hours a week to drive some old people to the grocery store or their doctors office? Alternatively we could pay higher taxes and have a county provided van do the driving for them. Beyond that it gets real expensive. Home care, Assisted Living facility right on up to the $8000/month nursing home.
Of course if self driving cars become a reality the problem is solved. The senior citizen, or several of them, buy a self driving car and tell it to take them to the store or the doctors office. Hell, we could dispense with ambulance trips to the hospital as geezers could just tell the car to take them to the ER.
Taxis or Lyft or Uber are way cheaper than owning an automobile. My grandparents gave up their car and were both safer and happier….
If they own a car they could afford a taxi.
Not so in Canuckistan…… A one-way mile taxi ride to your house is over $35!!! Lotsa clover’s here…….
Vision tests are a part of drivers license renewals for older people where I live and most places I know of.
Where they are not required, if there is any place, they should be.
FWIW, I’m quite old and still don’t need glasses to drive, easily passing the eye test at the license renewal, but realize that vision can deteriorate from marginal passing to failing without the person realizing it and needs to be retested each time.
FWIW, I was almost in head on with a young guy in a pickup talking on a cell phone who turned onto the wrong side of the road at an intersection I was approaching and ran me off the road and into a field without apparently even noticing he did it. I suppose I should be grateful it was a field next to the road and not an irrigation ditch or other obstacle.
in Cali, once you have a license you’re good to go. Havent taken a renewal eye exam yet. In fact I believe in Cali they may just hand out licenses on the street so as not to create an unPC environment
Have had a Cal DL since I moved here in ’72. Renewed automatically every 4 years unless you pull a pistol on somebody. They do require an eye test starting at 60. Have to be honest. I’ve seen my skills diminish. Raced motocross when I was a young guy; had superior skills. But the reflexes sadly aren’t what they used to be, no question.
Ah, yep. Cell phones are a greater menace than age or alcohol. The only near accidents I’ve had in years have involved distracted drivers who have a cell phone implanted into their ear. Usually younger looking, often female (no statistical sample) but unified in having their hand leaning into their heads, the other hand draped distractedly over the steering wheel and looking like they haven’t seen a thing all day.
Complain, object or be a victim of their distraction, and they flip you off.
These old fucks, boomers and up, are the.worst.drivers.ever. So safe they’re dangerous and back in the day, they damn sure didn’t let others get away with it without letting their feelings be known…..so I extend the same courtesy and delight in watching their shocked and aghast expressions when I flip them off and hopefully get a chance to tell ’em what I think. Same thing in the grocery store or other, nothing but time to burn and almost get in the way so someone will talk to them. I’ve got a buddy that rams grocery carts – hard….and then follows up with ‘oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you right fucking there in the middle of the isle holding everyone up!’……actually very funny when it’s ‘live’. This is the same generation that wants to pass laws for every fucking single thing they got to do as well.
Ohhhh, down arrows from the ‘they’re just living their lives – leave ’em be’ crowd. Unsafe as hell, and that’s not adding in driving into the sun, shitty vision and horseshit reaction times, complete unawareness of how fast they’re traveling, NOT looking for shadows, etc., and my favorites, turning into a passing lane THEN turning on their fucking blinker only to tell me which way the road goes and apparently them! My favorite though, is how they believe whichever way they are traveling (streets/avenues) has the right-of-way…..which is understandable when you only had to apply for the fucking right to drive vs. actually take a test. If you’re one of these assfucks, get off the road. Oh, I forgot about the left turn freaks that need 1/4 of a mile of open road – both ways, before proceeding. There is zero sense of traffic ‘flow’ with this crowd….none. Watch ’em at a four way stop sign, not light, and view the ignorance in all it’s boomer glory. Okay, now down arrow your little boomer hearts out.
No, you ignorant (It’s spelled “aisle”) little turd. You get the down arrows because you and your turd-bird friend are a pair of smart-asses who lack respect for folks older than you in ways that deserve correction, perhaps severe correction. You personally express yourself like the jerk that you are. You don’t know your ass from a hole in the ground and are sadly too stupid to know even that. Not much more could be expected from someone who generalizes to the extent that you do, but you and your butt-buddy had best hope one of the old and senile doesn’t over-react and decide to shoot you while you’re still standing there fapping.
Yeah, clearly spelling without proof reading while busy at work is a sign of ignorance – you got me. As for the rest, it’s an insufferable generation – with exceptions….didn’t think I’d have to point that out but, considering that you are a boomer, it makes sense. Ever notice how your gen hates painting with a ‘broad brush’ and nearly always (see what I did there for you…) prefers to pop a generalization with what…….that’s right!….Their personal experience! Classic. Otherwise, just know that increasingly you are seen as I have stated. If you ever had to suffer under and tolerate that gen’s bullshit, from childhood till now….you’d understand, but – you don’t and can’t so, go ahead and rage against the machine but just know, we’re sick of your shit.
I saw a bumper sticker not long ago. It said…
“Old age & treachery will always overcome youth & skill.”
Heh… bet on it Buckwheat.
…..wow, what sage advice from an old fucker. I’ll always remember where I was when I first read them. Thank you, thank you –
Not a bad troll Thomas. Not bad! Anyways you have a point when it comes to generalizations.
As for sage advice. I got none.
As for all the Coots out there with their feelz hurt. Too bad..
Mostly agree, but you have to love the irony about not respecting your elders, when the whole post is about a boomer not respecting his elders (the greatest gen).
One of the greatest life lessons my father taught me is …..you never eff with a man you don’t know. I wish your “buddy” luck. One day he’ll need it. No need to down arrow you. You sound like a road rage death waiting to happen.
….no, just a little ‘northern aggression’……nice shot at the guilt thing though, try harder.
Best be careful which old coots you ram. My old man, even old and frail, would have beat the shit out of asshats like Tommy and his fuckwit friend. And I shit you not. The sound of the carts hitting would be immediately followed by the sound of Tommy and/or asshat friend’s teeth hitting the floor.
Fucking pussies. Picking on old folks. Need a good asswhupping. Their mommas and daddies did a piss poor job. Maybe they will get lucky and ram my cart someday. Their whole world would change.
After 20+ years over the road, one of the things I have observed is that bad drivers come in all ages, colors and social classes. A 20 year old with a phone, texting, from her lap, to avoid the “no texting” law, is no damn better, and will likely be driving for 70 more years.
At least granny is probably going slow enough to dodge.
I’m hoping autonomous vehicles will reduce the need for old people to get behind the wheel themselves.
Then, if all the other assholes would also get off the road, I could travel safely to my destination.
Yeah, as a trucker I had the same feeling about 90% of the people driving cars.
I posted a pro-EV position on Eric Peters’s website. He placed me on a spam list so I could not reply to the sycophants who populate it.
You should thank him; he just saved you a shit-ton of time pointlessly arguing your position.
I don’t think that’s a Spam List. His website software got seriously screwed up a few months ago, so it won’t receive posts from many users. I’m thinking it has most defects in regard to losing posts from Safari browsers.
Eric, if you’ve been wondering why your post counts are down, now you know.
My mother in law has cataracts in one eye and blind in the other yet still insists on not only driving but if I drive her around she tells me which turn to take and when to turn, she is always wrong because she’s fucking blind.
She had me so pissed off last time I told her she was going to wear horse blinders in my truck, yet the state allows her to drive….
We took my dads license away two years ago after he got lost for 8 hours after he went out to get the paper and turned north because in his confused mind he needed to talk to the free tax accountant to get his taxes done, in February.
He was ok then but two weeks later, he was pissed, I had to take his car keys away and then sold the car.
I told him I could care less if he ran into a tree, but if he took the life of another and lived, what then? Kill someone for a newspaper?
I get being proud and independent and all that shit, but he was a risk to innocents.
Just like the day I found him on his roof with a leaf blower blowing off leaves. When I asked why he told me to mind my own fucking business. I replied “If you fall off I hope you land on your head and die, I’m not going to wipe your ass while you’re in a wheelchair.” He climbed down and told me that was a cruel thing to say, I handed him a beer and then took his ladder away.
Old coots, I’ll be one someday.
See, if I had you’re view/experience, that is what I would like to think I’d say/write. From my vantage point, the message is lost.
Learn the language you piss-ant. Its your, not you’re.
They say “life begins at eighty.” You can drive like you want, say what you want, do what you want, and NO ONE will ever call you out about it. 🙂
The minute I turn 80, I’m done wearing pants. I’ll just be hanging out there in the wind. “Oh sorry, I forgot. I’m 80.”
Like this guy – http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/07/25/charges-man-90-touched-himself-at-pool-ogling-pretty-ladies/ who unfortunately was hassled by our local copfuks.
With or without the trio of vibrating dildos?
I’m going to try heroin when I’m 80.
And from what I hear,…. I’m going to LOVE it!
PS won’t drive anymore then-honest!
We have all encountered an elderly person having a confused issue driving . The double left turn lanes that become “my half is in the middle lane” Drive defensively
Remember states recieve additional funding for drunk driving arrests from a federal grant of money we do not have thus the DUI witch hunt ! It’s about the money . Yes drunk driving is an issue so why do states allow state licensed businesses to serve more than one alochol drink per person per day ? The Maryland state legislator in Annapolis (Moscow on the Bay) claims one drink can impair people’s judgement so the state gets it both ways , they tax and liscense the liquor beer & wine sales that impair you and you drink 2 or 3 and boom you are impaired to drive . Yes personal responsibility and accountability should reign supreme BUT the state already claims you are impaired after one drink so at what point is their liscensed establishment held to account for profiting from your impairment . Just an open question of when you are not responsible and when does contributory neglence show its face ?
Someone I know used to “code” accidents for the Highway Dept. (now called Transportation). It’s probably a lot more automated now, but back in the ’70s-’80s, people would have to read through the police reports for each accident and “code” a lot of information into the state mainframe on their 3270s (no, I’m not making that up). If there was any alcohol on the scene, that was put down as the “primary contributing factor”. An example of this that he showed me was an accident where somebody had had ONE beer before going on an errand. While sitting at a stoplight waiting for the light to change, somebody with his head up his/her ass rear-ended him. The cop who showed up noted that the driver of the stopped car had beer on his breath but wasn’t impaired. According to policy, alcohol was duly recorded as being the PCF. It was this way for any conceivable situation you can imagine. I don’t know for sure, but I doubt things have changed.
About 20 years ago or so, Nevada outlawed open containers. Up to that point, it was OK to sip a little as long as you weren’t impaired. Now an open container is pretty much the same as DUI. One of the things I noticed the day after the law went into effect was all the cans and bottles on the side of the road. It’s not like there were no litterbugs before, but since then you can’t go anywhere without seeing beer and booze containers thrown out to keep from getting a ticket. I spend a lot of time out on the copious public land we have and just can’t believe the mess.
I’m not going to argue about the problems older people have driving – I see it too. But being sixty, I remember driving before there was a speed limit (God Bless what Nevada used to be) on two lane highways with lanes barely wider than your car and a ditch on each side. You HAD to stay in your lane or there was going to be a serious accident. Today I see most people struggling to even stay on the pavement with two huge lanes in each direction, a 15′ shoulder, and rumble-strips on the sides of the travel lanes. Some of them aren’t even texting, for Christ’s sake! How in the hell did they ever pass a driver’s test? So, yeah, maybe my eyes aren’t what they used to be, but I can at least stay in my lane. I also seem to be the only person in the area that knows that signal lights are for signaling your intention way ahead of time, not to let people know you are 3/4 of the way through a turn.
Story reminds me……..Long ago, 1967, I was running on the qtr. mile track at Mercersburg, Pa. Nice spring day. Two elderly women in a black 50″s Buick came across about 50 yards of grass to pull onto the track. Circled twice before they realized something wrong. All the runners fell out laughing. The passenger bat shook her finger at us.Pulled off the track, headed for the blacktop. True story.
To attribute the wrong way driving plague only to older drivers is so inaccurate as to be deceptive at the least.
Nobody…young or old, sober or drunk, should get a break for wrong way driving.
And from most news reports I see, the majority of these wrong way drivers are at least 3 times over the BAL limit: obscenely drunk, rather than simply old.
A significant minority are from “other countries,” and can’t read the signs or understand the roadways. But that’s a whole ‘nother subject.
The speed at which age erodes driving skills varies widely from person to person. I endorse more frequent driver’s tests with increasing age. But if they pass the tests…BACK OFF!
With any luck, you won’t be around long enough to be “old.”
As an act of site heresy, I will try to provide some constructive information and avoid argument.
Old people want to be able to maintain their ability to drive, and the rest of us want our roads to be safe. We should be looking for how we can all get what we want. So we should be focusing on how to ensure old people stay about their wits well into old age.
Based on what I’ve read, keeping dietary and topical metal exposure low is key. There seems to be a strong correlation between Alzheimers and aluminum. Greater intake of metal chelators (like coffee and aspirin) seem to greatly lower the risk of Alzheimers.
So, encourage the older folks to drink more coffee, give blood once a year, and avoid using antiperspirants (which contain aluminum and titanium small enough to cross the epidermis into the blood). Baking soda can be used as a cheap deodorant, just slather it on your armpits at the beginning of a shower, and wash it off at the end.
My mother and I had to take away my father’s truck keys when I watched him go the wrong way on a divided four lane street following him out of Kroger’s parking lot.
I watched some 20-something tourists (out of State plate) make a left the wrong way onto a one way street in downtown Las Vegas.
The oncoming traffic was two Metro motorcycle cops. I’m still laughing.
Do you suppose someone took their keys?
An old lady heard a breaking news report on the radio to watch out on the local interstate because there was a wrong way driver.
She called her husband’s cell phone to warn him since she knew he was probably using that road to get home.
He answered and after she told him he replied,”Honey,everybody is driving the wrong way today except me.”
That sounds like a quote on the culture of fly-over country from the media or politicians.