Florida 1-95 Construction Project Confused Driver in Wrong-Way Accident
An elderly driver involved in a Florida highway traffic accident on I-95 in Brevard County late last month told law enforcement she became confused by a construction project prior to making a bad turn that sent her driving the wrong way on the highway.
The driver, an 84-year-old woman from Melbourne, told Florida Highway Patrol that she was not sure what to do when she came upon a construction site at Palm Bay Road. She then drove up the southbound exit ramp to interstate 95 and proceeded to travel north -- the wrong way -- in the southbound lanes. Two other motorists stopped to avoid the wrong-way driver, but a Miami driver unable to stop his semi truck struck the other two motorists. Two people received medical care for minor injuries, and the elderly driver was charged with driving the wrong way.
Construction site accidents at Florida highway work zones can occur and cause injury or death to both motorists and road construction workers, when drivers become confused by unexpected obstacles such as cones, barrels, blocked lanes, rerouted traffic, temporary signage, and detours. The Federal Highway Administration has published a Work Zone Operations Best Practices Guide in an effort to help states learn from each other's experiences and improve work zone mobility and safety management.
Florida Elderly Driving Accidents
Luckily no one was seriously injured or killed in this accident. But car crashes involving elderly drivers that make news headlines are not unique to the Sunshine State. A national debate is underway with some states discussing whether or not older drivers should be retested before having their driver's licenses renewed -- or revoked. Discussion is also focused on whether age alone should be the major factor in determining driving aptitude...or if health is a more important factor for drivers of all ages, and whether physicians should play a role in reporting patients whose medical conditions may make them unfit to drive.
According to a CBS News report, Florida leads the country in older-driver deaths, and drivers over age 75 have more fatal accidents than any other driver age group except teenagers (CBS News Health, "Elderly Drivers Not Ready to Give Up the Keys," May 13, 2001). Florida is aware of the challenge, which will increase as the Baby Boom enters its golden years. Edmunds.com praises Florida's highway planners for "making visibility and navigability improvements statewide since at least 1991" and for launching the Florida GrandDriver program.
Wrong-way driver sets off I-95 accident in Brevard
OrlandoSentinel.com July 29, 2009
Edmunds.com: Florida Paves the Way for Senior Drivers
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