Mario Andrette drives again

[moonnadine]

New member diagnosed 2yrs ago LBD. 70 yrs old; no auto wrecks, ever. If this changes and I have major crash (my fault) with injuries to other driver, will I be forced to live in a lean-too the rest of my life after being sued for damages because of my LBD status and decreased cognitive abilities that wax and wane?

[jeffcobb Ambassador]

Yes. When my LBD first started taking things away, I realized my own clean record would mean nothing when balanced against the logic that I knew I was impaired and drove anyways. Not sure which location you are in but on one hand, the successful prosecution of someone with clinical dementia is rare to unheard-of BUT thats legally-speaking, the case would be too hard to prove. As for civil matters, that is a whole new ballgame with a whole new threshold for liability.

But in truth, is the risk of hurting someone else, maybe taking away a mother or father worth whatever driving brings you now? As mentioned above if such a thing happened, a clean record would be absolutely nothing if for no other reason than that clean record described someone else, who you were, not who you are now. Its a tough pill I know but its true. Perhaps I gave up my driving privileges too soon, who is to say. I just know I have gotten out without hurting anyone and it cost my family nothing. Sometimes for me, that counts as a win.

[moonnadine in reply to jeffcobb]

Thanks, Jeff. It IS tough pill to swallow, no doubt about it. And since we are living in a hard to fathom litigious society, lawyers have no problem getting a defendant's medical record and using it to strike fear in the accused. But I hear you; maiming or dealing with vehicular homicide at 70 is not how I want to finish off my life in prison. Plus the terrible guilt.

Thanks for your advice--looking forward to a long and happy relationship with you guys. If you are up and about, I'll be the old man carrying groceries along with the postman--through rain, sleet, and hail. Walking, of course.

All the best

David

[Poppygail Ambassador in reply to jeffcobb]

I don’t mean this to sound harsh but the legal consequences to us were the furthest thing from my mind when I gave up driving. The thought that my arrogance in thinking my driving skills weren’t diminished even though I had been clinically diagnosed with dementia and that arrogance may cost SOMEONE ELSE their lives was more than I was willing to live with. Especially since that someone else could have been my wife, my children, or my granddaughter. But that would have in no way lessened the guilt or culpability I would have been subjected to had I continued and hurt a total stranger. Either before or after said accident. It wasn’t about me, it was the danger I was presenting to all the others sharing the road with me.

I know my father drove much too long and was beyond lucky that he hurt neither himself or anyone else. Although he thought his skills still adequate, they were horribly diminished and it took all we could muster to convince him otherwise. The doctor acutely had to threaten to report my mother to the state before she would accept suspension of her driving privileges.

All I’m trying to say is that the benefits of my driving were far outweighed by any potential gain on my part and by the potential harm to others and I did so. Begrudgingly but completely willingly.

I hope this in some way helped your decision making process.

Good luck on your journey.

Randy