Caution: Lunatic at the Wheel

Image via WikipediaYesterday, as I'm driving through a residential area near my home, a lady in a big, white Cadillac sedan pulled out of a side street in front of me. She apparently was going in more or less the same direction as I was traveling so as I continued on I was following her.

At the first red light, she was the second car in line, I was the third. When the light changed, the first car drove off and white Cadillac just sat there. After waiting several seconds, I gave two quick, light taps on the horn. White Cadillac gave me a friendly wave in the mirror! She then realized what was going on and drove off.

At the next red light, the entire routine (minus the wave) was repeated! At the next light, I had to stop for a left turn, but white Cadillac proceeded on into the next block where there are two left-turn lanes. She obviously wanted to turn left (Of course, that's speculation on my part as she used no turn indicator.) She couldn't seem to decide which left-turn lane she wanted so, she straddled both lanes.

100 Fuel Economy Tips from EcoModder.com

The spiraling cost of filling your tank busting your budget? EcoModder.com suggests more than a hundred ways to improve your fuel efficiency. Some examples ...

• Clean out your trunk
• Remove roof racks
• Check tire inflation
• Avoid drive-thrus
• Combine errands
• Close sunroof and windows
• Use cruise control appropriately

See more tips...
Hypermiling, Fuel Economy, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com

Drivers on Cells

You know it's true. People driving while on the cell phone are becoming an even greater problem. You don't need any professional studies to tell you that. All you need do is look around while you're in traffic.

Now, it seems, they're not only jeopardizing my safety, but they're wasting my time, too.

Study: Drivers on Cells Clog Traffic - TIME

Brit Cars

Last Sunday, 9 September, DelGrosso's Amusement Park in Tipton, PA, hosted an exhibition of British cars. I would estimate approximately 60 cars ranging from a 1933 Rolls up to a current Mini were on display. Most of the cars were Triumph and MG open roadsters, which were first made popular in the US by returning servicemen.

Oil by the Numbers

FYI: In the past few days, the price of gasoline at the pump has risen approximately 4%. I read a news story this morning indicating the prices of crude oil for August delivery rose between 0.12% and 0.18%.

Interpret these numbers as you will.

Kids Hit by 70-Year-Old Driver Near Middle School

BELMONT, Calif. (AP) — A sport-utility vehicle jumped a curb outside a middle school Wednesday afternoon, plowed into a group of children waiting for a bus and rammed into a tree, trapping several students underneath, police said.

Five to seven children were hit, and the others hospitalized were injured or shaken up as they tried to escape the oncoming car, DeSmidt said.

The male driver of the SUV was at the school in Belmont, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, to pick up a student, DeSmidt said. He did not know the driver's relationship to the child.

The Honda was registered to Mauro H. Yan and Lorenza Y. Yan, of Redwood Shores, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

A woman who identified herself as Mauro Yan's wife but would not give her name told the San Francisco Chronicle that her 70-year-old husband was driving, and that he thought the SUV's brakes had failed.

At the scene, investigators combed through debris, including the SUV's front grill and discarded sneakers and backpacks. They noted the absence of skid marks that would have indicated the driver tried to stop, but said it was too soon to draw conclusions about what that meant.

The crash occurred about 12:30 p.m., at the end of a school day shortened because of standardized testing, Principal Maggie O'Reilly said. School will open as usual on Thursday, but the state tests are canceled for the remainder of the week, she said.

Read more at USA Today ...

Older Drivers, Dangerous Drivers

This article highlights a problem I am beginning to grow very concerned about because of my observations of my aging parents as well as my experiences on the roads.

By Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarros, USA TODAY

DALLAS — As his 90-year-old neighbor struggled last May to set out on a morning drive to the store, David Prager began to worry.

Elizabeth Grimes, a widow who had lived on Meaders Lane for 50 years, had backed out of her driveway, across her lawn and off the curb. Her 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis then hit the curb across the street, Prager recalls, before Grimes mistook the gas pedal for the brake and "took off with a jackrabbit start."

Six blocks away, Grimes drove through a red light. The car slammed into Katie Bolka, a 17-year-old high school junior who was driving to school to take an algebra test. Five days later, Bolka died.

The crash was emblematic of what health and safety analysts say is likely to be an increasing problem as the elderly population booms: aging drivers, clinging to the independence that cars give them but losing their ability to operate the vehicles, causing more accidents.

The only measure scientifically proven to lower the rate of fatal crashes involving elderly drivers is forcing the seniors to appear at motor vehicle departments in person to renew their licenses, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), citing a 1995 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

But most states do not require older drivers to renew licenses in person, and only two — Illinois and New Hampshire — require them to pass road tests, which can be crucial in identifying drivers whose physical ability or mental awareness has diminished.

Safety and health specialists are especially concerned about drivers 85 and older, who, federal crash statistics show, are involved in three fatal accidents a day

Normal aging causes medical problems that affect driving. Reflexes, flexibility, visual acuity, memory and the ability to focus all decline with age. Medicines that treat various ailments also make it more difficult to focus and make snap decisions.

Elderly drivers are less likely than other drivers to be in crashes involving high speeds or alcohol, but they are more likely to crash at intersections where they miss a stop sign or turn left in front of oncoming traffic.

Read more ...