This is why I am happily accepting of the Australian registration rules for safety equipment in our cars. The safer you can make the car the more survivable it is, who knows the poor lady may still be with us if she only had a shoulder (3 point) belt? For everyone who complains that it violates their rights, remember its your loved ones you are putting to risk. Doc.
I drive like everybody on the road is a fu*king idiot. Texting, gabbing on the cell phone, playing grabass with their girlfriend and just plain assholes who think they own the road. Teen age girls are the worst. They think the are bulletproof, running red lights. People have seemed to forget that cars are equipped with turn signals. You have to watch them all. _____________________________________________________________________ Like I told the kid, "Your music's not too loud, its just like OKC, it sucks!"
Try driving here every day! Ha! We've all seen it, we all know what the problems are. Something needs to be done, because driving is not taken seriously these days. I used to cruise to enjoy it. Now, I always wonder as I'm walking out my door if i'll be coming back. Shouldn't be like that. But until then all we have to do is keep doing what were doing and keeping vigilant out there on the roads. I saw a girl the other day with a cup o' soup in one hand, a cigarette in the other, while a cellphone was wedged between her ear and shoulder doing about 60 in a 45. Not a care in the world, some folks... SO sad to read about this accident. I've seen my share of traffic fatalities, one I arrived at a bit to late to give the guy a chance at surviving. And at 25 years old, all my experiences on the roads of this country have really opened my eyes and made me a safer, defensive driver. Too bad I (we) am part of the minority. My prayers to the family of Mrs. Tracy Fons.
Even worse after seeing the additional photo and hearing the story. Not sure how you anticipate an old lady coming towards you, about to pass by, and then suddenly without warning veering into the casino, but I agree you have to drive a rod more like a motorcycle. We are all vulnerable in these old cars. Prayers from the midwest for family and friends.
This was a sad event indeed. The area is on the main street/highway and it's 45-50 mph traffic there. I drive in this area, as I live up here. I didn't know the owner, but have seen the car around town. Reno/Sparks has quite a few rods/cars events/clubs up here, so we get use to seeing them here. As to the yearly tests, nope not here. Some changes are in the works though. As to more details on how she died, they didn't report the details and were waiting to contact family first. Thoughts and prayers to the family. Let's be careful out there.
The cars are safer from the standpoint of protection when there is an accident, but in my estimation the car companies are actually encouraging these distractions by equipping new cars with all kinds of displays for navigation, bluetooth crap, DVD players, etc. When I'm on the road, it's pretty much continuous attention to what is going on. It might stem from my flying days, when "situational awareness" was stressed. In other words, KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND YOU AT ALL TIMES! My condolences to the family of this woman, I can't imagine the sorrow and feelings of loss by the husband and kids. Having to bury your wife/mother two weeks before Mother's Day? WOW, that's going to be a tough one to get through for a lot of years. I'll not even go into what I believe should be administered as justice. Likely to get cited for an infraction or banned from the site..... My wife was hit head-on a few years ago by a teenage girl driver. Just minor injuries to my wife and the three kids in the car, thank God for seatbelts, airbags, and properly installed baby seat. My wife just crested a hill and saw what appeared to be a driverless car coming up the hill in her lane. My wife got over as far to the right as she could, passenger side wheels were on the shoulder when she got hit. The driverless car? Two teenage girls, both bent over looking for a damn shoe under the seat. Probably a good thing for those two that I wasn't in the car with my wife, because they would be living in fear of bearded bald men for the rest of their lives.......
I'd estimate that her head hit the windshield frame. Probably killed her instantly, as it doesn't take much to break the neck and spine. Pathologically, she probably experienced ruptured arteries, and the medulla was isolated after the spine was broken. Generally people who survive the first 20 minutes without a severed spine, die within the hour from swelling. If near a larger hospital you can open the cranium and let the brain expand, and then reattach it after the swelling goes down. You'd need to be in a city of over 10 million to get this kind of emergency service. Generally speaking, riding without a helmet, or riding with a lap belt, are not sufficient for survival above 10 MPH, and complete sudden stop (over 20 G's).
Coretta Scott King was on Glenn Beck a few nights ago and she said something I never heard before... To paraphrase: Reconciliation not victory...she said with victory there is a winner and a loser. the winner becomes the new opressor and the loser becomes the new victim. With Reconciliation both sides are brought to the truth and justice is served. so maybe sending the Old lady to jail is a bit over the top. She definitely should lose her license and be subject to some punishment but she couldn't handle jail. It was an act of negligence and a failure of the system not evil We could be said to be responsible as well for not protecting both the old woman and her victim by ensuring adequate driving skills and mental acuity to drive. It's no different than denying an insane person or drug addict a gun Sometimes the only thing you can do to right a wrong or tragedy is to never do it again or to try and prevent it from happening again. She was a healer, more people than just her will be affected by this tragedy. Maybe her memory can speak out through others to change the situation
Holy CRAP! What a small world! That lady worked as a nurse in my building. I'm the janitorial supervisor in a medical building. I saw a small memorial in the clinic she worked at.
i hear ya. in 99 i was cruising down to a friends house on a small street and a 89 F350 4x4 decided to turn in front of me. totaled my car and almost killed me. i found out 3 weeks later that it was an 88 year old woman driving and she was legally blind but they still let her have her license.
I would guess she was "jailed" after being charged which is part of the process. I'm sure she received bail immediately and if she is found guilty I would be very surprised if she was ever sentenced to serve a sentence including jail time. The charge may be reduced in a plea agreement. I think it is a good thing she was charged, processed and was brought into the system to really bring home the reality of what happened. This serves not only to address her actions but to show the rest of the public that there are consequenses for inattentive driving. I think a sentence of community service speaking to others in the community about this would be very appropriate.
Every time I take my roadster out for a drive here in Vegas, I always think of how dangerous it is to navigate these streets. I tend to drive as if I was still on my Harley which I got rid of due to the driving conditions here. Anyway, I refuse to give up the last thing that gives me pleasure, my Deuce, because of those self involved, inconsiderate, no paying attention idiots on the road. Then to ad age and the draw of a casino you have the makings of a real tragedy as this one represents. I sure the attorneys defending the driver of the offending car will argue that the cause of death wasn't the driver's inattention as much as the use of a vehicle with poor and out dated safety standards.
Here poor family, especially her children. Let's outlaw automatic transmissions. People not smart enough or coordinated enough to operate a clutch are dangerous.
She was a good looking woman, R.I.P. It can't be easy on her dad. As for mandatory retesting, that should happen but each case needs to be on an individual basis, some folks in their 60's (and 20's for that matter) are not safe to drive any more and others far older are fine. One local guy is 100 (4 months ago) and still drives very well, i've followed him and not felt stuck behind him, he is not showing his age and very quick witted.
So sad ro hear....Her poor children. We should all contribute a few bucks to her memorial fund at Wells Fargo Bank. My prayers are with her and her family. This just shows that life is extremely precious and can be taken away at any moment.
The Jalopy Journal
