According to a new government study, accidents that are caused when a motorist mistakenly slams on the gas pedal instead of the brake are much more likely to involve older female drivers than males.
The study, which was sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that approximately 2/3rd of drivers involved in such accidents were female. When you consider general accidents involving all drivers, males feature in the most number of accidents.
The study also found that drivers about the age of 76 and below the age of 20 were much more likely to be involved in gas pedal accidents. This could possibly be because the areas of the brain that help in planning and organizing, and other driving -related activities, are not as developed in persons below the age of 20. In the case of senior drivers, these areas may not be as robust, affecting the person’s driving skills.
The most serious accident linked to a motorist slamming on the gas pedal instead of the brakes that Los Angeles car accident lawyers have come across, was one that occurred in Santa Monica in 2003. In that accident, an 86-year-old senior driver slammed on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, and kept his foot on the gas pedal as the car raced through a busy market. The car plowed through pedestrians, throwing them into the air, until it finally came to a stop over a pedestrian’s body. By the time the carnage ended, 10 people were dead, and dozens were injured.
These accidents are an illustration of the kind of driving challenges that senior motorists face as they grow older.
