Pesky gremlins.

I am happy that she will be ok. Talk about a bizarre set of events.

Why put others in danger to attempt to stop the car? Just ram the damn thing to stop it and have another jump in and turn it off....

(insert sarcasm)

No no no, lets try jumping into the vehicle doing 15 miles an hour in reverse that is doing donuts. Cause that isn't risky or stupid at all.

Kudos for the firefighter trying to ninja jump into the car.

This shows that old people don't even have to be behind the wheel to cause an accident.

The old lady was thinking to herself: "I will never laugh at those old people, who ONLY drive through some business' outer wall, AGAIN."

markl323-I shouldn't even be acknowledging you but I would be curious to know how old you are because your post sounds like you're very young, ignorant and kind of mean. I have a feeling you'll change your tune with you become an "old fart". FYI, I am 41 so I probably qualify as an old fart in your eyes. Cheers!

Just another day here in sunny S. Florida. Happens on a regular basis and I've seen it first hand, too many times. Every year, an elderly person runs over their spouse in the driveway, or hit the gas instead of the break and ends up in Dunkin' Donuts lobby. Or the one I've personally witnessed many times....going the wrong way on a divided highway.

I used to be on the road all day for work, and Boynton/Delray/Boca was a big part of my area. I would be white-knuckled all day after dodging seniors in those areas. Making right turns from the left lane or driving 25 mph while traffic is flowing (around them) at 45.

Yet any time someone tries to legislate changes for Driver's Licenses, the seniors and their lobbyists start screaming bloody murder and discrimination while living in their "seniors only" communities. It's OK for them to endanger everyone else's lives now that they are at the end of their's, but it's not OK for anyone under 55 to live near them....go figure.

Hey guys! News Flash! It's a Miracle! markl323 is never going to age! Spread the word! Hate much?

Looks like officer Wigam showed up.

arguesforsport - very funny post

It may seem funny looking at it from the outside, and I've had to laugh and shake my head after witnessing some of these occurrences, but it can be scary as hell when you're in the middle of it.

Let me guess... she was a blonde?

I don't get it - if the car was in reverse, as soon as she took her foot off the brake to turn and get out to check her mail, wouldn't it have started moving right away? And seeing as she's 82, she couldn't have been moving that fast, so.... It sounds like she would have had to have gotten out of the car AFTER it started to move. Wasn't that a clue?

Just like "I fell down and couldn't get up" it is very funny-----until it's you!!! Someday it will be you. For seniors having a car and the mobility it provides is no different than for you. Facing not being able to drive is tough for older people. Many know they should not drive but can't face it. That is why more testing is needed. Now stats wise you are more likely to be killed by a teenager than a senior on the road. Especially at night. I had a good laugh when the kid (14 years old) two doors down from me called my next door neighbor's hot much younger date (under 30) "that old lady with the Mustang!"

@markl323, well if you want her to be locked up so badly, maybe we'll force you to take care of her...it's only fair, it WAS your idea, after all.

You're just @!$%#ing heartless.

Take her driver license away - now.

My son was hit by an older driver when I was living in Mission Bay in Boca.... thank God he was going slowly enough that my son wasn't seriously hurt. And that's just one example of the many, many, MANY incidents in that area with the elderly! Everyone should be re-tested when they're 65 and I'll stand by that even when I'm that age.

65 is not old. If the Republican get their way you will not be able to retire until long after 65. You want everyone to walk to work? 85 is where people might be tested. 65 is the new 40.

I'll never understand why people who can't remember to get out of bed before they pee sometimes are still allowed to operate heavy machinery.

Too bad, could have been in the running for top Darwin award for 2012.

economykiller,

"Time to stop driving perhaps?"

I think so. Apparently she doesn't know there is a gear on cars called "park" and an emergency brake, both of which should be engaged before getting out of the vehicle if the engine is still running.

and I am sure you are the PERFECT driver, who never makes a mistake while driving right?! Geez.

The lady probably should not be driving. Likely, her strength is weakening as well as her eyesight and she did not realize the vehicle was not in park. There does come a time when we must admit that we can no longer do certain things for our own good as well as the safety of others.

Well christina,

I can honestly say I've never RUN MYSELF OVER, so thats a +1 for my department.

Christina-3845455

and I am sure you are the PERFECT driver, who never makes a mistake while driving right?! Geez.

And I'm sure you're the PERFECT poster and never post anything dumb!

We once saw a man get out of a camper and get run over by it. He was probably all of 40, if that.

It must be nice to be the perfect driver.

Technically she wasn't driving when she was hit!

thepunisher-2054749

Too bad, could have been in the running for top Darwin award for 2012.

that award doesn't apply here since she's too old to give birth and it may be too late since she probably has great-grandchildren by now

I've done virtually the same thing - forgot to put the car in park before getting the mail, and I'm a long ways away from 82. Fortunately I realized it before I was completely out of the car. But as others have pointed out the judgmental posters who insist on taking Ms. Bartlett's driver's license away are probably convinced they've never done anything stupid. No disagreement that there comes a time when people should turn in their driver's licenses (I know some 20 year olds who are at that stage), but this incident does not strike me as evidence that Ms. Bartlett's time has come.

@chochabalua - I fail to see how your reply is responsive to Christina-3845455's comment. She points out that some posters set standards for others that they likely fail to meet themselves. How is her post an example of that?

Maybe she had passed her mailbox and reversed to get close to it but forgot to put the car in "park" after doing so. Considering she is 82, she has an excuse - forgetting to do things is very much possible. I just don't understand what excuse people in their 30s or 40s have when they are reversing and suddenly get out of the car to check their trunk and run themselves over. This has happened at least twice in my city, and it has been fatal.

@Hot-in-Miami - that's a plausible scenario. Equally plausible is that she pulled up to her mailbox, actually tried to pt the car in park but didn't move the gear selector far enough. You don't have to be forgetful to make that mistake.

would it be ironic to be hit by a tornado after getting hit by your toronado? LOL

No. It would be coincidental.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony

Oh-That's GOOD! lmao

Try finishing the article. She didn't break any bones.

Shaun, did you read the article?

She will keep her license here in Florida. All she needs is an eye test within the last year. That's right. You can keep your license as long as you could read street signs up to a year ago.

Don't matter how many people you may kill. Luckily her count is still at zero.

Oh, now that's scary!

Not so. I renewed my license twice in the past 10 years. Never did they check my eyes nor ask for an eye exam. I told them I use contacts because of myopia and they said "ok, and?". They never bothered to put it on my license, as they should. My dad is in his 80s and still has his license, he was never asked for an eye exam although he has had LASIK and now has perfect vision. He is an excellent driver and more mentally sharp than people half his age. He signals lane changes, turns, and never drives with his blinker on. He also has perfect hearing. My point is, the DMV here is a joke. No wonder we have such bad drivers, they never bother to test anyone.

Not the case in Hillsborough County, (Tampa). When we 1st moved there and had 30 days to get our Florida licenses, we were all good with simply turning in our out of state licenses and got the same endorsements (CDL B and Motorcycle) without needing to test, but they made my wife and I take a vision test. While we waited, it was routine for the DOT worker to ask everyone before us in line to step up the the vision machine. I thought nothing of it, but when you say you weren't asked 2x to take a vision test, I do find that hard to believe.

I believe the "cut off" age is 75 for the vision test if I remember correctly. I didn't read it entirely because my wife and I are in our forties and she was surrendering her license because she did not feel safe driving (she has MS). But, it said on the renewal card and in the DMV, "must have a valid eye exam within the last year".

I had a great aunt who was still driving and she was in her late eighties. She couldn't see or hear very well so I called the DMV to find out if we could get her license removed. There was not a way to do it. The lady actually said they had not gotten that request before. She finally quit driving and I'm glad as she could have killed someone. I could easly see her changing lanes and be rear ended by a speeding ambulance or cop who would have lights and sirens going. She would not have seen or heard anything. And God help a guy on a motorcycle.

Jean-3392470: You are obviously NOT a FLORIDA resident! I personally know 3 drivers in my complex that are in their 90s and still driving. There are MANY elderly drivers here and we hear regularly about the DMV renewing licenses through the mail for 6 years to a 98 year old driver! If you come here WATCH OUT!!

Counted six cars on I95 near Melbourne (FL) yesterday with the turn signal on and the next exit 4 miles away. These old folks are so conscientious. Many younger people don't bother to signal at all (lol).

no stress

Counted six cars on I95 near Melbourne (FL) yesterday with the turn signal on

Taking a left around the world!

Driving with blinkers on is also typical of younger folks who have their music blasting so high that they can't even hear the irritating "tick tock tick tock" or their turn signal. To be fair to the older folks, I have seen people of all ages that are guilty of this.

Flattening the tires was probably done in an effort to slow the car down.

Now, 10-15 MPH is pretty damn fast for a car to move while idling. This car, however, looks like an early 80s Toronado - carbureted, so I'm guessing it was on high-idle, which the car will maintain until you tap the gas pedal once.

Obviously they didn't see the old Clint Eastwood movie The Gauntlet, they fired about 2 bazillion rounds in the bus's tires and it kept going. LOL

A lot of 18 year olds are horrible drivers even WITHOUT texting.

One good thing about teens, most don't own their own car. Their parents can still take them away and stop paying for cell phone service. If you 16 year old is EVER caught texting and driving I will end her cell phone service and put her car up for sale. There is not much you can do with an elderly person who refuses to give up the keys...until they do get into a bad enough accident.

I meant to type if my teen is caught driving and texting. Some people can't drive, I can't write.

Of course teens drive like crap. But. . . 1. Teen's driving habits will get better, while seniors will continue to deteriorate. 2. While teens drive like crap, it's pretty predictable crap - they'll just do the stupidest thing they can do at the time. With seniors you have no idea what the hell is going on. I can anticipate teen idiocy, I can't anticipate anything about a senior driving. 3. At least a teen has good enough reflexes to have some hope of recovering from their stupid maneuvers. Seniors' reflex time can be measured in minutes. And finally, most people know very little about driving and drive like crap anyway. Take away reflex time and sight and add some arrogance and a slowing thought process and this person who has driven like crap all their life anyway is now completely incompetent to hurl a 4000 - 6000 lb object down the highway. States should not automatically renew licenses for anyone over 70.

Christina. If you forget once and a person is killed or hurt, you're liable.

Maybe u should join ranks with old people who stopped driving.

You simply cannot forget, even once. This is the one thing you shouldn't mess up.

Um, no. I don't need to stop driving. I need to stop being so distracted by everything other than driving. And I hardly think that leaving my car in 'D' turned off is really gonna kill someone....

Christina-3845455

some of you people are HORRIBLE. I can not believe some of the comments I am reading! There have been numerous times I have forgot to put my car in park - and I'm 34. That doesn't mean that I should stop driving.

No, It means you should stop drinking and driving!

Christina, leaving your car in drive while turned off will not kill someone you are right. However putting it in reverse and exiting the vehicle can cause serious damage and bodily harm (and yes death). This woman isnt evil, and saying she can not drive is not an insult. It is a fact certain people lack the ability to drive (or lose it over time), and for everyone else's protection those people should not drive. The fact you take your driving responsibility so carelessly is absurd to me. It is a privilege to drive, not your right. I think you do need to pay much more attention to what you doing, but also (wait for it) maybe even think about what you are doing once in a while. Ignorant (not dumb, just ignorant) people like you is how accidents like this occur and it DISGUSTS ME how laz a faire your approach to operating heavy machinery is. I would not ride in the car with either you or this old lady.

Leaving your car in "D" for drive means you are leaving your keys in your ignition when you leave your car. Cars are intentionally designed such that if the car isnt in park, the keys will NOT come out of the ingnition switch unless that ignition switch is broken, and

1) It means anyone, including your kid or a neighbors kid, can get in a turn it on and indeed get harmed or harm someone .... especially if he/she is a preschooler.

and

2) Leaving it in "D" means that it can roll down the driveway into on-coming traffic which can indeed cause an accident which can cause a death.

There was a child who locked his parent's car doors and turned on the engine ... it rolled into the street, his father was harmed trying to stop it and the child was harmed in the accident. They were preparing to go out, had the keys in the ingnition with the car off and put the kid in the carseat. They left for a moment to do or get something, the kid squggled out of his car seat, locked the door and pow .... chaos. This happened a few yrs ago and the parents where charged with both negligence and endangering a child.

It reminded me of a similar instance when my youngest brother did a similar thing while we were getting ready to leave for church, just he didnt get the car started (those older cars needed a pump of gas with the ignition turned to on to actually be started). It was in the late 60s (he was born 1964) and was seated in the front middle since he was the youngest while my brother and I were in the back seat. Since the key had turned, he was able to get the car into reverse and it rolled down the hill we had for a driveway. My father was able to get the car to go into the front yard retaining wall along the end of the driveway (about 4 large cars length uphill) just before the street and ended up w/an hernia that had to be medically/surgically corrected.

Cars not in park when turned off can be a danger, even a life threatening danger, and those irresponsible enough to leave a car that way SHOULDNT DRIVE. If you can NOT be responsible in how you drive and park your car, you are being irresponsible with a deadly weapon!

There have been numerous times I have forgot to put my car in park - and I'm 34. That doesn't mean that I should stop driving.

Um. Yes it does. Or do you have to kill someone first?

Driving is not a right, it is a privilege. Do you know how much damage an idling car can do to a human body? If you are 34 and forget to put your car in park, then may be you should not be driving. You just admitted you are not a safe driver. Guess what? You are supposed to be a perfect driver so that you do not kill anyone else. When driving you are supposed to be in control of your vehicle 100% of the time. As we get older our mind looses its ability to retain short term memory and our reaction time becomes slower. There does come a time when a person needs to stop driving and it is probably about the time you get out and forget to turn off your vehicle or put it in park.

I am 33 and NEVER HAVE I ONCE forgot to put my car in park. NEVER have mistaken gas for the brake. You probably just drink too much. Stop before you kill someone.

Christina, leaving your car in drive while turned off will not kill someone you are right

Wait, how can you even turn off a car while it's on "D"? My car won't allow me to do so, I thought it was a standard safety mechanism on all cars that the car must be on "P" before you can switch off the ignition, take your keys and lock the car?

You are so clueless. It is SOOOOOO everywhere. It happens in every single state in the country. Florida is not the only state that has OLD people living in it. Do some research once in awhile.

@Old Dude-2562014 - OK, I'll help you understand. While the article does not state so, it seems reasonable to assume that she actually stopped the car at one point. And the car did not go from 0 to 10 MPH instantaneously when she took her foot off the brake to get out of the car. It's admittedly speculation on my part, but to me the most likely scenario is that she actually tried to put the car in park but didn't move the gear selector far enough. Which would beg the question what slow reaction times, forgetfulness or a number of other things the critics here have accused Ms. Bartlett of have to do with anything.

Maybe it was a mistake for her, but it is a common occurrence with seniors down here.

Laura....

Watch your back.

An 82 year old woman in New Smyrna creatd a new "drive through" at Wendy's here last year.

Evenstar13

I lived in Boynton Beach for a year, bizarre place. Boynton Beach mall was on lockdown one christmas eve due to shooting in mall. Too many drugs and gangs!

Which leads to senile drivers? Very bizarre indeed!