Farmers Market Tragedy Evokes Thoughts on Driving Skills, Habits

Re “Seniors Aren’t the Only Hazardous Drivers on the Road,” July 20:

Naturally the hue and cry went up after the driving tragedy in Santa Monica: “He was too old. He shouldn’t be driving!” There are a lot of drivers in California who are not old but shouldn’t be driving! Age cannot be used as the sole gauge of driving ability and proficiency.

Bud Yount

Santa Ana

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I would be perfectly willing to support new DMV rules requiring drivers 70 and older to take more frequent vision and/or driving tests if the DMV also were to require drivers of mega-vehicles to undergo additional training before taking to the road in Hummers, Lincoln “Terminators” or Ford F-2250s. It is ludicrous to require special licensing for motorcycles but allow anyone with a standard license to wield these weapons of mass destruction without special training. Those who want to menace the public in such vehicles should at least be willing to undergo a half-day class on driving oversize vehicles.

Though the recent accident was tragic, at least George Russell Weller was driving a standard-size car. Would the outrage and outcry be as great if the driver had been a 30-something soccer mom in a vehicle the size of a semi-truck? The results would likely have been much, much worse.

Sandi Cain

Laguna Beach

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Here’s my retirement fantasy: My husband and I move to a close-knit community where I can walk to just about everything. Instead, we live in Orange County, where one must drive to just about everything.

My condolences to those whose loved ones were injured or killed in the tragedy at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market. The media is flooded with articles about the menace of physically impaired elderly drivers, some of whom I’ve observed personally. The Times, in its article “New Rules for Aged Drivers,” touched on the problem by saying, “The end of driving is hard and inconvenient for anyone in Southern California....” Amen to that, brother!

My husband just returned from a vacation in Germany, where a combination of heavy rail, light rail, subway, and shuttle bus transportation made travel a breeze! What a lovely, nonpolluting and convenient arrangement!

Families took weekend outings using public transportation rather than jamming into the family car and then streaming onto overcrowded highways. There were parks, with lots of trees all over the place! Working people took public transportation to work, walking the final blocks to their destinations.

What will it take before we finally get it? Southern California desperately needs good, efficient, clean public transportation.

Valerie Garcia

Fountain Valley