Too Old to Drive? Does Giving Up Our Driver's License Means Relinquishing Freedom?

In July of 2003 in Santa Monica California an elderly man plowed through the Farmer's Market on Arizona Avenue killing 10 people and injuring approximately 63 others pedestrians. At the time of the accident Russell Weller was 86 years old and was operating a 1992 Buick LaSabre. It was reported by onlookers that the driver had just made a turn from Fourth Street onto Arizona, when his speed rapidly escalated from 30 to 100 miles per hour. Instead of heading for parked cars, the man drove through the crowd. When the car came to a stop, there was a body pinned underneath it, a body onto of the windshield, and a pair of shoes on the top of the car.

An infant died, a young child died, several adults died, and many were critically injured. Some families were destroyed as a result of this catastrophic freak accident. Onlookers screamed, and cried, as they surveyed the destruction of lives and property strewn in the street. Fruits and flower stand lay demolished in the street among the bodies that were strewn around them. How could this happen?

Russell Weller, the driver of the car, told the police on site that quite possibly he hit the gas instead of the brakes. An onlooker helped the man exit the car, as he did the onlooker realized the man was lucid as he exited with his cane. Other witnesses said the man looked totally confused as to his surroundings. Many onlookers wanted to attack him for the carnage he had caused. But several people came to his defense citing he was an old man and to leave him alone. Alcohol and drug tests ruled out alcohol and prescription drugs.

So what really happened? Was Mr. Weller too old to be driving? Did he really get confused? Could he have been suffering from dementia, which could not have been proven through drug and alcohol testing? Could he have had a stroke at the time of the accident? Was he simply too old to be driving? And when exactly are we too old to drive? Giving up our driver's license after all for many of us means relinquishing freedom!