A local couple were hit head on by an RV, killing the husband in a five vehicle crash, in Colorado. The driver of the RV is 79. Another person was also killed but the driver of the RV was unharmed.

I have a certain apprehension about elderly seniors who drive RV's. Especially this part of the country. We have open roads and we see them swaying and swerving. I think they think they "own the roads" with the HUGE fifth wheels, RV's and some like buses! I stay clear of them when I see them on the road.

Please......if you are an RV'er, take special precautions about your driving skills and reaction times. The wife, who was severely injured, has a son left at home.

Scary.

In Canada when a person turns 80 or if they have a medical condition that will impair their driving ability, by law, they must be tested for driving, every 2 years.

Just yesterday an elderly woman was killed on an expressway because she turned her car into oncoming car traffic.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local...ishColumbiaHome

There was another incident several wks. ago locally, where someone was merely sitting on a park bench and they were killed, when an elderly woman accidentally reversed the car in a parking lot quickly..directly into the person!

I'm sorry I really truly....truly...hope those of you who drive will voluntarily recognize when one is unable to ..and ease off. The added use of cell phones while driving, is scary when other people observe drivers in cars doing such stuff. I see it all the time when I cycle.

Seeing a driver using a cell phone while driving, really scares
me. And even though it is against the law, too many people
still use phones while driving. Many people, twenty to twenty-five years older than WB and me, drive rigs much, much larger
than ours. And I agree it's dangerous. I know a man age 94, still
driving a car. MIL, age 88, still drives. There really should be a cutoff limit. But I think that's for the lawmakers to decide.
I do agree, Di. Some people are too young to get behind the
wheel. And some people are too old to get behind the wheel!

From the home front...my stepmother was having some sort of medical procedure done on her heart as an outpatient. My Dad, who is legally blind and cannot drive, would not go w/her because she insisted she drive herself home. He did not want to be in the car with her...and rightfully so!

After her procedure, the doctor TOLD her she must take a taxi home. She was THEN still mad at my Dad for not going with her.....or maybe because he was right! I assured him that he did the RIGHT thing.

My SM is 80.

I do know when people lose their independence and cannot drive
any longer, they get really bummed. It is sort of sad. But
that's a difficult time for all the aged. On the other hand,
they need to realize innocent folks' lives should not be put in danger.

Anne327,
You are absolutely right. People should've been born with phones on their ears. Why they have to talk on the phone or text while
driving, I haven't a clue. But that is really unsettling. And right U R; good excuse not to go to the doctor.

One is not shopping every day. A person cannot afford it during retirement years. Nor should one be so ill to be seeing a doctor that frequently..meaning more than once per month???

Then you should not be living by yourself.

If I work out the cost of a taxi cab ride for grocery shopping twice per wk. at $15.00 round trip. $30.00 x 52 wks.= $1560.00 annually. One just organizes their shopping in bigger lumps and less trips. Even better if one shared the grocery shopping expedition with a friend or neighbour. Some of those trips could be replaced with social visits somewhere in town.

Unless you bike ...10 miles to get little things.

And what is the cost of just owning a car and running it annually?

Really, I know a guy who is earning over $80,000CAN annually, he's about 10 yrs. older..close to retirement. He doesn't have a car, is married and has a teenage daughter. He takes public transit or occasionally takes taxis. After all, it's cheaper to pile in 3 family members for 1 taxi cab ride.

No, I don't want to be in a car with someone around my age when I get frail and who if I notice is incompetent/dangerous. I have deliberately refused rides from 1-2 young people who I knew had careless driving styles.

The rationale of an elderly person living solo out in a rural area makes less and less sense. We have to completely change our attitude about where we live and where we want our necessary services to be located in relation to our home in final phase in life.

I have a good, single and childless friend who is weighing the real estate market to improve..to sell the 3 bedroom house that she inherited and move from a town of 2,000 to a city of 300,000+. Both of her parents are dead. She is 1 yr. older than I. I doubt the prospect scares her, she's lived in different cities for her education and has travelled to various cities for consulting jobs across Ontario.

I know she has given up the romantic idea of country living as a permanent home. It's not realistic for her long-term. She is quite healthy and like Anne, did spend last few years looking after her dementia/ill mother before she died.

It's a house that she loves, of course has memories for her, but for practical upkeep not realistic for her solo.

Anne, honest being healthy doesn't mean people have to engage in huge bike rides like myself or Madelaine (ok Madelaine you have cycled up some mountains, ok? :)) I appreciate your compliment but becoming healthier is a whole lot simpler than doing tons of biking. Although daily physical activity and some exercise is very helpful too.

I personally know several loved ones who made a conscious disciplined decision to eat healthier...decades ago. The evidence of their health/a whole lot less physical suffering/ recovery from surgery compared to other people their age, is humbling/amazing.

I suspect for yourself Anne, you are already working towards that goal, healthier eating, hiking, yaddydaa..

Sharing a home with 2-3 others yes, would solve part of the problem. We probably will see more and more of this happening informally, quietly ..over the next few decades.

For the work that you do Anne, which is physical also, you are taking good steps to look after your health. You see a great deal in your job that most of us on this forum don't see: some elderly,ailing patients could have reduced the severity of some of their conditions had they taken preventitive steps years ago for healthier lifestyle and habits.

The reason why my father recovered so quickly from his appendix surgery when he was 75, was because he was already healthy, at a normal weight, no cardiovascular problems and very minor arthritis. Try to imagine if he was ie. 80-100 lbs. overweight what his surgical recovery might have been like.

And he doesn't jog, bike nor hike, etc. He just eats healthy in right portions for him and does some minor walking to the store..it's only 15 minutes way.

Actually, he was filmed on local tv last week --he was hauling garbage bag and handing over to a worker. (on garbage strike workers and pileup of garbage in Toronto) I was noticing more what he looked like in that split 20 secs. on tv since I haven't seen my parents in over 2 yrs.

The body rebuilds itself and mends itself during sleep. No sleep means that does not occur, and yes aqpparently it is going to take its toll. You can exist longer with lack of food then with lack of sleep, and that a medical fact.