This is an article I wrote as it appears in The Platte County Citizen, 03/26/2003. It is not accessible from their website, so I have put it here.
| ||
|
I recently wrote about rude drivers. An accident that happened a couple of doors down from
the Citizen office recently made me wonder if older (although not rude) drivers should be
tested more thoroughly or even be granted the privilege of driving.
As I sat here in my Main Street-facing front window, I heard what I thought was the door next door slamming and felt some kind of jolt. I noticed some people across the street at the courthouse look in that direction, so I stepped out the front door to look. An elderly woman was sitting in her car, which was about three feet inside of the appliance store several feet down from our office. The smell of burning rubber lingered in our office for several hours that day. I have a renewed interest in this subject now. What if this lady had been just three parking spaces closer, in front of our office? My desk is in the window and I would’ve been seriously injured. An unwitting pedestrian could’ve been strolling down the sidewalk to the bank or a shop. Luckily, the lady was not injured - just shaken up - nor was anyone else injured. There was some major glass breakage and I’m sure some damaged merchandise. In her 70s, my grandmother knew it was time to stop driving. She began to think she was no longer perceptive enough to operate her car. She knew she had people who could chauffeur her where she needed |
to go, so she sold her car and turned in her driver’s
license, so to speak. As people grow older, their reflexes, along
with their bodies, deteriorate.
I would imagine the first-mentioned accident happened because the lady meant to hit her brake, but didn’t move her foot far enough, hit the accelerator again and when it wouldn’t stop, she pushed harder, causing the car to go through the window. How do you know when you’re too old or not as sharp as you need to be anymore? I don’t know. Maybe someone should come up with a system. There is a minimum age to earn a driver’s license; should there be a maximum age? Should older drivers be tested with eye and/or driving exams? I never gave it much thought before, but now, it really hits home. It was some glass and metal this time. Next time, it could be a human being. It could be your grandmother who is hurt or killed. Why not nip it in the bud; let's not wait until it’s too late. After writing this, another incident just like it occurred in St. Joseph. An elderly lady drove her car into a physician’s office, injuring a patient in the waiting room. (“Her foot slipped” is what the newspaper account said of the cause.) · On a more positive note, my husband created a |
web site for me a year or so ago. It was to
be someplace to keep all my work — my columns, feature stories, photos — sort of like a
scrapbook or gallery. It was on a site that was free, which means annoying advertisements
across the top of each page of the site. It was plain and simple: click on the item you
want to read, it takes you there and also gives contact information for The Citizen, with
links to the Citizen’s web site and subscription information.
My husband, who likes a challenge and is working toward a career in web design, decided to move it to our site, which contains a family message board and some work he did for a car dealer. My site has been under construction for months now, and I have some anxious “fans” who are waiting patiently for all the columns I’ve written since September of last year to be posted. There is at last, a light at the end of the tunnel. The site has an updated photo, a beautiful background and links to stories; it now has a rating system for visitors to rate the stories. The site will also have photos and other features, along with an updated list of my columns. I can always use ideas for columns. Visit http://tracy.thetietjens.com to rate stories and submit any future story ideas and I will see what I can do with them. |