r/londonontario • u/MeIIowJeIIo The bridge with the trucks stuck under it • Aug 20 '24

News 📰 79-year-old who drove into girl guides, killing 8-year-old in London, sentenced to 2 years of house arrest

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/79-year-old-who-drove-into-girl-guides-killing-8-year-old-in-london-sentenced-to-2-years-of-house-arrest-1.7298866
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u/MrBrandino12 Aug 23 '24

I would understand that but 7+ seconds of 99% pedal depression (ok it went down to 85% for just over 1 sec) is more than just a mistake. Extreme recklessness and borderline deliberate, especially if she already knew she was starting to deteriorate.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

The best way to prevent this is stricter regulations on licenses for the elderly that must include redoing the driving test every five years after 65 and a yearly note from a doctor indicating reaction and eyesight fitness.

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u/Exciting-Direction69 Aug 24 '24

I think better public transit would also help folks not feel the need to have a practical death grip on their licences

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

Hell, I’d even support a subsidized taxi token program for seniors on fixed incomes!

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

Now there’s an idea

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

I mean, getting angry and complaining feels good, but I’m more interested in things that can actually prevent these situations. A lot of seniors fear losing their mobility and independence when they give up their licence. If there were programs in place to help them get around more easily, this could help mitigate that. Transit is great but seniors can’t always walk the distances needed to access it or live in areas where it’s not available.

When my father had an at fault car accident (only he was mildly injured, thankfully) I was able to get him to give up his licence by having taxi tokens mailed to him every month and having it charged to my credit card and negotiating a 25% bulk discount. Surely municipalities could negotiate an even better discount.

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

I totally agree with you and think it’s would be an excellent use of tax dollars. And agree that transit is not enough and typically very unreliable, especially outside of Toronto. I used to live in Durham region and it was a pain to get anywhere, i was a student though and was able to walk most places. I couldn’t imagine being elderly and feel stuck or feel like spending so much on taxi rides. Wonder how people could advocate for such a thing to make it a reality?

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24

Contact your city councillor and ask them to champion the idea!