A 95-year-old Israeli woman in an apparent hurry to get places was pulled over by police while doing 130 kilometres (85 miles) an hour in a 90 kilometre (60 mile) an hour zone, reports said Monday.
“The way was clear so I put down the pedal,” the nonagenarian told officers who pulled her over.
Police confiscated the speedster’s driving licence for a month and she will have to appear in court for the offence.
Israelis are notoriously bad drivers, with many exhibiting a near complete disregard for speed limits and other traffic regulations. – Sapa-AFP
We found the following interesting facts and numbers about the elderly and road safety on the Arrive Alive website:
Facts and Numbers
• As the elderly are less agile and resilient, the likelihood of being killed as a pedestrian is more than twice that for younger adults
• Every fifth person killed on roads in Europe is aged 65 or over – it is estimated that by 2050 one death out of three will be an elderly person, if their safety level does not improve.
• The elderly are more likely to be severely injured or killed in a crash. The fatality rate of the 65-74 year olds is about twice that of the 30-64 year olds. The fatality rate even is eight times higher for the over-75s.
• With the same impact force, the death rate is approximately three times higher for a 75 year old motor vehicle occupant than for an 18 year old. The physical vulnerability has the severest consequences during ‘unprotected’ journeys such as walking and cycling.
• Older drivers find it more difficult to judge the speed and intentions of other drivers. From the age of around 45 most of us need glasses to see well either at a distance, close up or for both. For example, by around the age of 60 our eyes will normally require three times more light to see as well as when we were aged 20.
• The fatality rate of elderly drivers is considerably lower than that of elderly cyclists and pedestrians.
• The death rate is particularly high for elderly cyclists
Visit the Arrive Alive website for more information on: